Las Vegas Visitation Struggles Endure, But Casinos Benefit From Strong Baccarat
Posted on: September 29, 2025, 08:28h.
Last updated on: September 29, 2025, 08:28h.
- Las Vegas visitor volume remains down in 2025
- Despite fewer visitors, casino revenue has increased
Las Vegas has experienced tourism woes this summer, with pundits citing the continued rise of resort and parking fees, dining check “tariff surcharges,” tighter gaming odds, and fewer perks.
Las Vegas welcomed 2.18 million fewer visitors through August this year. The 7.8% decline in visitor volume from the prior year has pushed the average nightly rate for a hotel room down more than $10 on the Strip.
Despite far fewer guests, Las Vegas casinos managed to increase their summer gaming win. August capped off a three-month year-over-year winning streak for Clark County casinos, as gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Nevada’s most populated county climbed 4% from 2024 to $3.34 billion. Clark County August GGR jumped over 5% to more than $1 billion. The Strip fueled the rally, with GGR on the main drag up 5.5% to $679.3 million.
Statewide, GGR climbed 5.5% to $1.22 billion. Summer GGR across Nevada was up 4.3% to more than $3.9 billion.
Baccarat Strong
Gaming analysts credited baccarat, the game of choice among Asians and many high rollers. August GGR from baccarat on the Strip surged 51% to $114.4 million. June through August Strip baccarat win was up 29% to $355.3 million.
Barry Jonas of Truist Securities said the strong baccarat showing was on strong hold, which offset softer handle. John DeCree of CBRE Equity Research said the August GGR improvement “was driven almost entirely by baccarat.”
Baccarat wasn’t the only table game that saw GGR growth last month on the Strip. Craps win was up 5% to $30.1 million, and poker rake was up 14% to $14 million.
Along with sports betting, oddsmakers keeping $20.8 million of players’ bets, a 178% surge on August 2024, table and sports revenue on the Strip was up 13% from the prior year to $312.6 million. That offset flat slot revenue of $366.7 million.
Overall, the continued strength in mass market gaming volumes remains encouraging, particularly considering the lower visitor volumes,” explained DeCree.
DeCree said he’s optimistic that the next two quarters will bring “stability in visitation, as the convention season kicks into higher gear.” However, he said that he expects “headwinds impacting leisure visitation to remain in the near-term.”
Leisure Hurdles
DeCree explained that leisure headwinds, along with the aforementioned costs of visiting Las Vegas, include geopolitical and immigration tensions between the US and Canada, Mexico, and Southern California, which have been blamed for impacting visitation. The CBRE analyst also said reduced capacity for flights into Las Vegas caused by Spirit Airlines is also affecting traffic.
The Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority said August provided a bit of encouragement.
Following double-digit declines in the past two months, August visitation showed a 6.7% year-over-year decrease versus last August, as the destination hosted nearly 3.2 million visitors,” the LVCVA Executive Summary for Las Vegas read.
The LVCVA explained that the August improvement came despite a tough convention calendar, as the World Market Center’s summer show with 38K attendees was held in July this year instead of August.
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