The number of people visiting Las Vegas in October 2008 was just over three million, 350,000 fewer than in October 2007, the LVCVA reported. Following suit were average hotel occupancy and the average daily room rate. Average hotel occupancy in October was 87.9% down 720 basis points from the same year-earlier period, while motel occupancy dropped to 53.1% from 72.8%. The average daily room rate fell 14.3% to $115.68 from $135.

The total number of room nights occupied in Las Vegas in October 2008 was 3.6 million, down from 3.8 million in October 2007. Airplane passenger traffic was down 12.8% while auto traffic was down 7.3%.

Earlier this week, the Gaming Control Board reported that gamblers lost $905 million in Nevada in October 2008, 22.3% less than they did in October 2007. Gaming Control Board senior research analyst Frank Streshley told GlobeSt.com it is the largest year-over-year decline since the state began recording on a monthly basis back in the 1980s. On the Las Vegas Strip, gaming win fell 25.8% to $475 million from $639.8 million, which also was a record decline.

Casino companies' have seen their stock prices decline even more precipitously. The Applied Analysis Gaming Index, which rises and falls with the stock prices of 10 public gaming companies with significant operations in Nevada, including Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts, MGM Mirage, Boyd Gaming and Pinnacle Entertainment, hit its lowest level since 2004 at the end of November 2008.

Launched in 1998 with a value of 100, the index hit a high of 667.09 in October 2007 on the strength of the record gaming revenue that month. Thirteen months later, with the majority of gaming companies in the index have seen their daily average stock prices fall between 70% and 95% in the past year, the Index stands at 225.91.