LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As Las Vegas continues to see a drop in visitors, questions have swirled about how to reverse the trend during a time of widespread economic uncertainty, especially during the ongoing federal government shutdown.
A visit to the Strip on Wednesday seems as busy as ever — but once again, the latest gaming and visitor numbers aren't adding up.
WATCH | Visitors and locals weigh in on Las Vegas' visitor numbers
Channel 13 spoke with people coming into town at Harry Reid Airport, and while the numbers are down, those conversations paint a slightly different picture.
Mike Crawford and Mike Coleman from Indianapolis said nothing was going to stop their annual trip to Las Vegas.
"It's inexpensive, the weather, the sights, we love people watching," Crawford said, when asked why they visit Las Vegas. "But we're not your typical tourists."
"Absolutely, we have a blast," Coleman said with a chuckle. "We still do pretty much everything anybody else does, but we do it on the cheap for sure."
However, new numbers released by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority on Wednesday show more and more people are choosing to stay home, despite the LVCVA's attempts to lure visitors back to Las Vegas with their "Fabulous Five Day Sale" and flashy ad campaigns in September.
The LVCVA says almost 29 million people are estimated to have visited Las Vegas this year through the end of September, down about 8% over the same period last year.
September was a down month for casinos, too — according to new figures from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, gaming wins on the Strip were down 5.5%, and Downtown Las Vegas wins were down 2% compared to September 2024.
Off-Strip properties continue to do well, though — on last week's earnings call, Boyd Gaming President and CEO Keith Smith says they've seen strong demand at their locals casinos.
"This growth in gaming revenue was offset by declines in our destination business, primarily at the Orleans," Smith said on the call. "Excluding the Orleans, or local segment delivered year over year growth of 2%."
Channel 13 asked Las Vegas local Chelley Chinnis if those numbers surprised her while she was at the airport after her flight home.
"It really does, I really can't tell," Chinnis said. "The plane was full coming in, so I really don't see that."
In fact, Chinnis says her daughter works on the Strip, and sees a trend opposite the data.
"She doesn't say there's any decline, she actually says there's a lot of traffic down there," Chinnis said.
Most visitors who Channel 13 spoke with on Wednesday told us the same thing — with the holiday season and more big events on the horizon, people are staying optimistic about the end of the year in Las Vegas.
"It doesn't feel like it's down, I mean we're coming regardless," Mike Crawford said. "It hasn't impacted our willingness to visit Las Vegas at all."