The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority on Thursday reported modest increases in visitation in July, a month traditionally soft because of the city’s hot weather.
The LVCVA reported a 2.7 percent increase in visitation over last year to 3.2 million despite convention attendance being down 5.6 percent to 262,700 for the month.
Other tourism metrics showed modest increases, with hotel occupancy up 1.1 percentage points to 77.2 percent and the average daily room rate up 1.8 percent to $157.45 per night.
Earlier Thursday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board said Nevada kicked off the new fiscal year with a respectable 2 percent increase in gaming win in July, and Strip casinos paced win in Southern Nevada.
Normal convention rotations
Kevin Bagger, vice president of the LVCVA Research Center, said the decline in convention attendance reflected normal rotation patterns with the Association of Woodworking &Furnishing Suppliers Fair and its 11,000 attendees not meeting this year, but returning to Las Vegas in 2027, and the CHAMPS counterculture trade show (24,000 attendees) gathering here in August instead of July this year.
Passenger volume at Harry Reid International Airport was down 7.6 percent to 4.4 million, and the Nevada Department of Transportation had no data to compare vehicle traffic from July 2025 to this year’s average daily traffic volume of 50,908 vehicles on Interstate 15 at the California-Nevada border.
Sports and entertainment events drew large crowds in July with popular UFC fighter Conor McGregor in a July 11 bout at UFC 329 and concert performances across the Strip throughout the month by Ed Sheeran, Kenny Chesney, the Backstreet Boys, Marc Anthony, Kelly Clarkson and New Kids On The Block. The Fourth of July long weekend was also a major draw, and several resorts had weekend fireworks displays, not just on the holiday.
Visitation to two other Southern Nevada cities showed differing results.
Laughlin hosted 160,000 visitors in July, up 8.1 percent, with an occupancy rate up 2 percentage points to 61.3 percent and an average daily room rate of $75.70, up 6.9 percent.
Meanwhile, Mesquite reported 63,000 visitors, down 1.6 percent from a year ago, with an occupancy rate down 3.8 percentage points to 54.8 percent and an average daily room rate of $92.40, up 11 percent.
Strip gaming win up
Earlier Thursday, the Gaming Control Board reported that Nevada’s 453 large casinos won $1.388 billion from players for the month while Strip winnings contributed $776.3 million, a 3.6 percent increase over July 2025.
The Strip was boosted by one of the highest July table-game drops — or amount of money wagered — in recent history, according to an analyst.
“Slot handle was up 4.8 percent year over year (reaccelerating from June’s 1 percent), while table drop was up by an impressive 24 percent year over year, reflecting baccarat volumes up 43 percent year over year (ex-baccarat, table volumes were 15 percent year over year),” industry analyst Daniel Politzer of New York-based J.P. Morgan said in a Thursday note to investors.
“We note July table drop was the highest of 2026, likely driven by a strong entertainment calendar; historically, July was among the seasonally softest months for table drop,” he wrote.
Southern Nevada casinos had mixed results in July with North Las Vegas’s total win up 3.4 percent to $25.5 million, and Laughlin and Mesquite flat at $41 million and $15.1 million, respectively.
Downtown Las Vegas casino win was down 8.6 percent to $68.5 million, the Boulder Strip was off 2.5 percent to $82.7 million, and outlying Clark County, which includes portions of Henderson and southwest Las Vegas, fell 1.2 percent to $164 million.
Elko gains
The highest percentage gains in the state occurred in Elko County markets with win up 15.1 percent in Wendover, 10.3 percent in outlying county areas and 13.4 percent in Elko.
The biggest decline in the state outside of downtown Las Vegas occurred at North Lake Tahoe, down 5.7 percent to $2.9 million, but South Lake Tahoe was up 5.1 percent to $39.6 million.
The Sparks and outlying Washoe County markets performed well with Sparks up 9.5 percent to $17.2 million and outlying Washoe soaring 11.8 percent to $8.8 million.
Analysts attributed the strong Reno-area showing to additional visitation from a major bowling tournament, the 122nd USBC Open Championships, in downtown Reno that concluded its five-month run in July.
Clark County’s $1.173 billion in gaming win represented 84.5 percent of the state’s total gaming win.
Tax collections from July win rebounded from June with collections of $98.5 million based on the 6.75 percent gaming tax rate. The state has now collected $184.2 million for the fiscal year, 0.7 percent ahead of a year ago.
Gaming tax receipts are directed to the state’s general fund for use in numerous capital expense and service programs.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
