LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Is Las Vegas really dead?
It's a question that has been circulating on the internet for months as overall tourism numbers are down. However, when you take a closer look at all the factors, Las Vegas is actually doing fairly well.
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Let's start with what can be perceived as bad news.
According to new numbers from Harry Reid International Airport, overall passenger numbers through the airport are down 6.3% compared to the same time last year and when you look at international passengers specifically, numbers are down 9.8%.
The June 2025 Executive Summary from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority also shows that convention attendance, hotel occupancy and room rates are down.
That is not surprising due to several national policy changes. For example, the Trump administration is about to begin charging international visitors a visa integrity fee of $250. That applies to visitors who are required to obtain non-immigrant visas to enter the United States. However, the fee is refundable and won't apply to visitors from countries like France or Australia that are part of the Visa Waiver Program.
Another issue that could affect numbers is a change in the way gamblers can deduct losses on their taxes. The Big Beautiful Bill put in a change that would only allow gamblers to deduct 90% of their losses compared to the previous 100%.
Derek Stevens, owner of The D, Golden Gate, Circa and Circa Sports previously told Channel 13 that he's already heard from some of his high-volume clients who said unless the issue is fixed, they'll move their gambling business offshore.
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On Friday, the House Ways and Means Committee was in Las Vegas for a field hearing. Chairman Jason Smith said lawmakers are considering an amendment to the Big Beautiful Bill that will restore the deduction back to 100%.
"For those of you concerned about this change, I can tell you that members on both sides of the aisle have heard you and I know that many members on both sides of the aisles are open to working to address it before it goes into effect on January 1."
Several countries have also issued travel warnings to the U.S. over issues like being detained by immigration officials and the White House's executive order on documentation requiring one of two sexes, which could cause issues for transgender travelers.
When it comes to U.S. tourism overall, a recent report from the World Travel & Tourism Council states the U.S. is on track to lose $12.5 billion in international visitor spending this year. The U.S. is also the only country, out of 184 that were analyzed, that is forecast to see international visitor spending decline in 2025.
Now, let's take a look at the good news.
New gaming numbers released on Wednesday morning show that statewide, gaming numbers are up 3.53%, compared to the same time last year. Here in Clark County, those numbers break down like this.
- Las Vegas Strip - Up 0.88%
- Downtown Las Vegas - Up 10.48%
- North Las Vegas - Up 4.7%
- Laughlin - Up 6.61%
- Boulder Strip - Up 19.32%
- Mesquite - Up 2.44%
- Rest of Clark County - Up 5.41%
In fact, the only part of the state that saw any gaming declines over the last month was Elko County, which is down 0.46%.
This was the first time since casinos opened after the pandemic that the state didn't set a record with monthly gaming numbers. But overall, during the month of June, the state gaming win was over $1.3 billion.
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Casinos are also seeing strong numbers. During Tuesday's Red Rock Resorts earnings call, company officials said their second quarter was the highest quarterly net revenue in the company's 49-year history. The Las Vegas operations net revenue was $513.3 million, which is up 6.2% compared to this time last year.
It was largely in part due to the success of the Durango casino.
"Durango continues to expand the Las Vegas locals market, drive incremental play from our existing customer base and attract new guests to the Station Casinos brand. The property once again demonstrated strong momentum within the quarter with increased visitation, higher spend per visit and elevated net theoretical win from our carded customers in the surrounding Durango area," said Stephen Coote, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Red Rock Resorts. "Since opening in December 2023, Durango has added over 108,000 new customers to our database. The resort remains on a solid trajectory and is on pace to become one of our highest margin properties."
Red Rock Resorts officials were also asked if they were concerned about new legislation like No Tax On Tips and how it could affect their bottom line.
"[There's] no tax on tips but there's also the elimination of the federal tax and overtime pay, the new senior tax credit as well as standard deductions, family tax credit and some reductions in marginal tax credits, all which would significantly enhance the discretionary income," Coote said.
Coote explained that when the company ran initial analysis on the No Tax On Tips policy, they estimated about $5 million a year would flow into Clark County. They also estimated roughly 4% to 8% of workers in Clark County would receive overtime pay, which could benefit each worker between $300 to $1,800 a year.
"Then, not to be outdone, we remind everyone that there are about 390,000 seniors that are 65 and older. Just given the marginal median household income of that cohort, we would expect a substantial portion of those seniors will qualify for at least part of the new senior deduction," Coote said. "All of this is fantastically good for our company."
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Boyd Gaming reported similar success in their earnings call earlier this week. The Las Vegas locals segment of the business had year-over-year revenue for the first time in more than two years.
"Growth in play among our local guests more than offset softness in play from our out-of-town customers," said Keith Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boyd Gaming. "We remain confident in the prospects for the Southern Nevada economy and the future of our locals business."
Boyd Gaming officials also said the boost from locals isn't just gaming. It's also higher retail numbers.
"We're just not seeing the same level of demand that we've seen historically from destination business, but that's been more than made up by retail and drive-in business and once again showing up in the unrated segment," said Josh Hirsberg, Chief Financial Officer at Boyd Gaming. "We've had a very consistent core customer and we've been waiting for the retail customer to really kind of come back into the fray. I would say the second quarter was largely driven by unrated business and that's where they showed up."
Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip may not be seeing the boon in business from locals but numbers aren't as bad as many have believed them to be.
When looking at Caesars Entertainment's second quarter numbers, the company reported a net loss of $82 million and is down 3.7% compared to the same time last year.
"Vegas was softer than last year. We started with a strong April and May and June started to decline. The booking window contracted. [There was the] high end that we were missing in gaming. Recall that we had both Adele and Garth Brooks in last year's second quarter and we didn't have them this year," said Tom Reeg, Chief Executive Officer for Caesars Entertainment. "I'd expect the third quarter to be soft."
That's why Caesars officials are ramping up the campaign to bring more out-of-towners to Las Vegas.
"We're working with our marketing and our analytics team to really dive into our database, which is our engine of growth and we're looking for targeted opportunity to drive profitable revenues," said Anthony Carano, President and Chief Operating Officer for Caesars Entertainment. "We're really leaning on our database to fill rooms in Las Vegas. We're opening up more of the segments and working with our hosts across the country to drive people here to Las Vegas."
That being said, overall numbers may be down a little but it's not a drastic change and Reeg said they expect it's only temporary.
"I've been around Vegas a very long time as a lot of you have been. This is kind of normal seasonality that we haven't seen in awhile here," Reeg told investors. "It's nothing that leaves me concerned about the customers."
MGM Resorts International reported the same types of trends on Wednesday.
The company reported a consolidated net revenues record of $4.4 billion. Las Vegas Strip resorts did see a 4% year-over-year decline in revenues. However, MGM officials say that's due to rooms being remodeled and lower table games hold at the MGM Grand.
When asked about the overall stability of the Strip, Bill Hornbuckle, Chief Executive Officer and President of MGM Resorts International, said he's optimistic about the future.
"I think history gives us confidence," Hornbuckle told investors. "I think from what we have seen, we saw in May about a nine-week decline in bookings. Now, over the last month, those bookings have increased. That gives us confidence thinking about August, September, and October."
Hornbuckle also said casino operators have been keeping a close eye on claims that Las Vegas customers are being nickel-and-dimed.
"We've followed the headlines, as I think many have, in terms of value appraised and what's being said about Las Vegas and we need to enhance upon that," he said. "Las Vegas is still an amazing value. Some of the rates out there this next midweek are comparable to things I've seen 20 years ago. You say Las Vegas is not a value and that's just not a complete reality."
And as for the future.....
"We host many of the world's largest events and conventions in a city that is not readily, if ever duplicable," Hornbuckle said. "Las Vegas is as solid as ever."