Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026 | 2 a.m.
Despite the drop in tourism numbers, there has been a rise in casino revenue.
According the Gaming Control Board, casino revenue rose about 1% in 2025 over 2024, with last month reporting a 22.5% increase over January 2025. The reason for this rise that casinos are focusing not so much on how many people are coming to town, but rather on targeting the marketing to bigger spenders. Casinos aren’t catering to the average visitor who might spend a modest amount, but to high-stakes players.
Tourism is down because we aren’t the value-based attraction to the average player anymore. Resort fees, parking fees, higher prices for food, shows, almost everything down to a bottle of water, and slot machine “hold” at 7.6% over 5.8% two decades ago, are all contributing factors for why people aren’t coming here like they used to. Corporate Las Vegas is more than willing to see a drop in the number of visitors as long as revenue is on the rise.
This isn’t who we used to be, but it’s important to understand that this isn’t just because of President Donald Trump’s policies, which play a part, but mostly in the shift in casino emphasis toward who they want to market their services to.
Government policies, either federal or local, aren’t placing our community in jeopardy. Corporate greed is the driving force behind the loss in tourism.
