LAS VEGAS— Visitor volume to Las Vegas was flat in February, surprising analysts who expected an increase in line with a strong increase in gaming revenues, according to Reuters. About 2.76 million people visited Las Vegas in February, unchanged from a year ago, said the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Gaming revenues, meanwhile, saw a sharp increase for the same period, rising 10%. The strong revenue performance coincided with the fact that the Super Bowl and Chinese New Year both fell in February this year; last year they both fell in January. For January and February combined, visitor volume to Las Vegas was down 2.4% while Las Vegas Strip gaming revenues were down 10.2% compared with a year ago. Convention attendance for the two months was up 4% to 1.2 million, while overall hotel and motel occupancy levels were down 3.1%. Air traffic passenger volume to Las Vegas for the two months was down 9.1% to 5.6 million, but that was partially offset by a 15% increase in daily auto traffic from California. Reuters
