Las Vegas: Harry Reid Airport's slots surpass $1B mark in all-time revenue

The company responsible for running the slot machines at Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport, formerly known as McCarran Airport, announced it is celebrating its recent surpassing of $1 billion in all-time revenue. 

Airport Slot Concession Inc, a Michael Gaughan company, operates over 1,400 slot machines at the airport. The company has been doing so for 36 years, throughout which it has generated $1 billion in revenue. 

As reported by Las Vegas Sun, the slot machines generate nearly $40 million in gross revenue each year, and many of those dollars stay at the airport. 

According to Scott Kichline, the airport’s assistant director for business and commercial development, non-aviation revenue is “beneficial” as it “helps to lessen our costs for air carriers.” Funds generated by slots and other airport concessions help keep airport operating costs down, and plane tickets as well. 

As reported by Airport World, Patricia Ross, General Manager of Michael Gaughan’s Airport Slot Concession, said: “We are happy that the slot machines located inside Harry Reid International Airport not only provide Las Vegas visitors’ the opportunity to spend a few minutes at one of our slot machines while they wait for their flight, but that the revenue generated also helps lower operating costs.”

Kichline added: “As a discretionary travel market, we’re very diligent in keeping our costs to the airlines both stable and as low as we can reasonably maintain. Financial considerations aside, Las Vegas is known for casinos. Having slots in the airport is an amenity travelers largely enjoy and have come to expect.”

In the United States, Harry Reid International Airport and Reno-Tahoe International Airport are the only two airports with slot machines. Michael Gaughan, son of Las Vegas casino owner and operator Jackie Gaughan, is also the owner of the South Point Casino.