Las Vegas casinos report revenue increase despite fewer visitors

As an important tourist hot spot, Las Vegas attracts millions of visitors every year. Located in southeastern Nevada, in Clark County, Las Vegas is the state's most populous city. The gambling capital of the world, another nickname for Las Vegas, promises exceptional entertainment, supreme hospitality and endless gambling activities.

Sin City attracts millions of tourists every year

While Las Vegas isn't home to one of the top 10 largest casinos in the world, it is certainly a place that offers something for everyone. Besides being a hot spot for tourism, Sin City attracts visitors to conventions as many of the leading hotel and casino resorts organize a range of events throughout the year.

Notably, Las Vegas is also home to some of the best hotel and casino resorts in the world and offers more than 150,000 hotel rooms. According to data from the official destination marketing organization of Southern Nevada, promoting meetings, special events and tourism, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), a whopping 41.7m people visited Las Vegas in 2024, while convention attendance for the same period hit 6m people.

It's no surprise that a major share of the people visiting Las Vegas do so by air travel. In 2024, the Authority recorded that 58.4m people arrived in Las Vegas via Harry Reid International Airport. In contrast, the average daily auto traffic count between the Nevada and California border was 44,072.

Las Vegas visitor volume decreases for eight months in a row

Since the start of 2025, a decrease in the visitor volume to Las Vegas has been recorded, LVCVA data reveals. In fact, between January and August this year, there wasn't a single month without a year-over-year decrease in the visitor volume, according to the recently disclosed data. Not unexpectedly, this translated to a decrease in the last 12 months, too.

Based on the data from the LVCVA, the biggest year-over-year decrease in visitor volume was recorded in July this year. Year-over-year, visitation this July fell by 12% to 3,089,300. A range of events contributed to the increase in visitation during July 2024, including but not limited to Kevin Hart's "Acting My Age" tour at Resorts World Las Vegas and Lady Gaga Jazz and Piano concert at Park MGM. As always, 4th of July celebrations and fireworks attract visitors from across the country and even from abroad to Las Vegas.

Another notable decrease in the number of Las Vegas visitors was observed in February this year. Year-over-year visitations fell by 11.9% to 2,973,300. However, this isn't entirely unexpected, considering that on February 11, 2024, Super Bowl LVIII was played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

"The Big Game" featured the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. In the end, the Kansas City Chiefs emerged as the winners of Super Bowl LVIII, recording their fourth Super Bowl title. Considering this major event, it is safe to say that the visitor volume recorded in February 2024 isn't directly comparable to the data from February 2025.

As noted, a year-over-year decrease was observed in the number of visitors over the last 12 months until August this year. According to the LVCVA, the visitor volume halted at 39.5m until the end of August this year, pointing to a 5.2% decrease in comparison to the corresponding period in 2024. In contrast, for the 12 months until August 2024, visitor volume hit 41.6m, marking a 2.3% year-over-year increase.

After a dip in gaming win during the spring, Las Vegas casinos reported solid results throughout the summer

Unlike the dip in visitor volume, nonrestricted gambling operators across Las Vegas recorded an increase in their gaming revenues for several months in a row. This is evident based on publicly available data provided by the state's gambling watchdog, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB).

The increase in gaming revenue for Las Vegas Strip operators started in June and continued through August. Results for September are yet to be released. Last month, the total gaming win reported by Las Vegas Strip licensees hit $679.4m, up by 5.50% when compared to August last year.

While the highest result in terms of gaming win since the start of the summer was recorded in June, when revenue hit $765.3m, up by 0.88%, the biggest increase year-over-year was recorded in July. At the time, the total gaming win hit $749.1m, up by 5.60% year-over-year.

On the other hand, in May, April, March and February, a decrease in gaming win was recorded. Not unexpectedly, the biggest difference in gaming win was observed in February this year, when revenue fell to $690.3m, down by 13.78% year-over-year. However, this is expected considering the Super Bowl taking place during the same month last year.

Unlike the rest of the months, in January, the highest gaming win increase was recorded. In January 2025, gaming win hit $840.1m, a figure that represents a significant 22.45% year-over-year increase when compared to the corresponding period the prior year.

Different events attracted visitors to Las Vegas this January. One of the much-anticipated ones was the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), recognized as the most powerful tech event in the world. CES took place early in January this year at the Las Vegas Convention Center and attracted visitors from across the globe.

Las Vegas maintains a growth trajectory despite seasonal gaming activity

The released data from the NGCB and the LVCVA reveal that there is a correlation between visitor volume and gaming revenue. However, based on the recent results, it is clear that having more visitors doesn't always translate to higher gaming revenues.

In fact, in the last three months, when visitor numbers decreased by more than 10% in June and July, followed by a 6.7% dip in August, gaming revenue increased by more than 5% in both August and July and nearly 1% in June.

While factors like inflation, economic conditions and convention events affect visitation, they also may impact gaming revenues. Still, in the last three months, fewer visitors in Las Vegas spent more money, boosting casino revenues.

The latest trends suggest that while consumer behavior shifts depending on different factors and visitation may fluctuate, a strong economy, such as the one in Las Vegas, can continue to grow. In the long term, this means further success for the gaming and hospitality sector, boosted positively by an influx of tourists from across the country and around the world.

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