Las Vegas Woes Continue, Casino Execs Say Fears Overblown, Nevada Dems Blame Trump
Posted on: February 27, 2026, 02:31h.
Last updated on: February 27, 2026, 02:38h.
- Las Vegas Strip revenue was down double digits in January 2026
- Tourism numbers continue to indicate fewer people are visiting Las Vegas
- Casino execs say fears about the destination are overblown
Las Vegas began 2026 where it left 2025: slow.
While the Las Vegas Strip managed to post a trivial 0.03% year-over-year gain in terms of gross gaming revenue (GGR) last year, visitation was down 7.5%. The tourism drop represented 3.12 million fewer visitors.
The ongoing visitor volume pains could be catching up with the Strip casinos, as January 2026 began deeply in the red.
On Friday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board revealed that the state’s 315 licensed gaming facilities generated GGR of $1.345 billion. That represented a 6.6% decline from January 2025.
Table games and sports were the culprit, with revenue from felt, sports, race, and bingo down almost 19% to $425.4 million. Slots were flat at $919.8 million, a 0.5% increase.
Gaming, Occupancy, Visitation Lower
In Clark County, Nevada’s most populous county that’s home to Las Vegas, things were even worse. GGR was down 8% to $1.159 billion. Downtown Las Vegas GGR totaled $79.4 million, 5% lower than a year ago.
On the Las Vegas Strip, casino revenue fell 11% to $747.65 million. The year-over-year monthly revenue difference was more than $92.4 million. Visitor volume in Las Vegas was down 2.2%, and hotel room occupancy on the Strip was down 2.4% to 79.5%. Despite fewer visitors, the average nightly room rate on the Las Vegas Strip was up 7% to $216.
Traffic at Harry Reid International was 8% lower to a little more than four million arriving and departing passengers. International traffic was 19% lower, while domestic flights brought in 7% fewer people.
Las Vegas Blame Game
Casino executives continue to blame the media for reporting on fears regarding the state of the destination. Officials at MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment say such reports, despite the data, are overblown.
“I read the headlines, ‘Las Vegas is dead.’ Stop,” Bill Hornbuckle, MGM’s CEO, said during a discussion hosted by the Vegas Chamber.
There really is no crisis happening in Vegas,” Tom Reeg, Caesars’ CEO, said during the company’s earnings call this month. “It is normal cyclicality, and it will play itself out. I know that the pricing gets focused on social media and I am sure if I say the wrong thing here I’ll read it tomorrow.”
Some of Nevada’s Democratic delegation blame Trump for Las Vegas’ struggles.
2025 was the year of the ‘Trump slump,'” opined US Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV). “POTUS is killing our tourism economy, as he discourages international travelers and raises costs here at home.
“Every tourist who chose not to come to the United States represents lost tips and wages for our workers, and lost revenue for our businesses and local communities. Donald Trump’s chaotic and offensive agenda caused this. He should be fixing it. But instead of helping Nevada’s economy, he’s more focused on building himself a ballroom,” added US Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV).
Last Comments ( 4 )
Vegas isn't the only game in town anymore and they should expect more of this if they don't adapt to the current environment.
Yeah, it’s Trumps fault. It’s trumps fault the strip is full of drug addicted vagrants, hustlers and nefarious people taking advantage of the foot traffic. It’s trumps fault downtown is a dump. It’s trump fault that the BJ games on the strip have such crappy rules anymore, it’s like robbing the player. It seems as though It’s trumps fault that Caesar, MGm and other strip operators have a super high slot hold that is like robbery. It’s trumps fault that you park your car in a strip casino parking lot at your own risk of it being burgled or stolen. Whose actual fault is it that Vegas is no longer a bargain city but has become a ripoff city. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. There is no third time. My friend came to town and stayed on the strip, he said never again. Parking was well over 100, resort fee included a closed down pool, not even free WiFi. Tourists are tired of getting ripped off and will go to a local casino in their state before coming back. It’s going to get worse as long as we keep ripping them off, which of course, is trumps fault
Caesars and MGM seem completely unable to accept that their price gouging is part of the problem. People post receipts to social media, ya know.
Yes, as far as Caesars CEO Tom Reeg and MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle are concerned, everything in Las Vegas is fine, just fine, even though all of the hard data suggests otherwise. That's because they're part of that 10% slice of America that isn't impacted by the economy. Do you think either of them pump their own gas, do their own grocery shopping, wash their own laundry, cut their own grass, or do their own housekeeping? They have hired help for those tasks. Do you they're bothered by $35 bottles of water or $100 service charges? And for everything they did say, did you notice that neither of them said anything about reviewing and reducing any of the current outrageous nickel-and-diming charges? They've deliberately implemented policies designed to eliminate the Joe Schmo middle class market. As long as that 10% slice of the market keeps spending at Caesars and MGM properties, the jobs, bonuses, perks, and stock options Tom Reed and Bill Hornbuckle enjoy aren't going anywhere. For all of us Joe Schmoes out there, there's probably a very nice casino within a two-hour drive that will sincerely appreciate your business. In the meantime, Caesars and MGM can take a big bite of my fat backside.