Las Vegas Hits Unlucky Streak: Gaming Revenue Slides in March as Visits Drop 7.8%
Sin City’s Gaming Revenue Folded by 1.11% to $1.28 Billion
Bad Beat on the Strip
Las Vegas just hit a cold streak at the tables. Nevada’s gaming revenue dropped to $1.27 billion in March 2025, a 1.11% decline compared to last year’s $1.29 billion haul. The slump continues a concerning pattern of casino news, with the state’s gaming revenue already down 1.14% for the fiscal year running from July 2024 through March of this year.
The Strip felt it even harder. At this iconic location, cash casinos were down 4.78% year over year, with winnings of $682 million compared to $716 million. And the decline isn’t just a one-month blip either. February was already down 9.28%, with the last winning month taking place in January.
While online casino sites are getting more popular nationwide, physical betting casinos in Vegas are facing more challenges. The government’s wallet is feeling it too, with Nevada collecting just $79.3 million in gaming taxes in March 2025. That’s down 8.29% from last year.
Vegas Baby 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Qlr8S8do44
— Sin City Las Vegas (@SCVegas) February 26, 2025
Visitors Fold Their Hands
The numbers at the tables aren’t the only ones looking bad, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). In March 2025, Southern Nevada had 3.4 million visitors, down 7.8% from 3.7 million in 2024.
This is the third straight month of decline, the first time Vegas has seen a three-month negative streak since the pandemic. February was even worse with a 12% decline, though some of that was due to the inflated figures from the Super Bowl in February of last year.
Hotel numbers tell the same story. Overall occupancy was down 2% to 82.9%, even as daily rates were up 3% to $183.86. Weekend occupancy was 90.8% (down 1%) and midweek was 79.7% (down 2.5%).
These numbers suggest hotels are trying to maintain revenue by jacking up rates but finding fewer takers willing to place their bets on a Vegas vacation.
Travel metrics confirm the trend. Harry Reid International Airport saw its passenger volume drop 3.7% for March, while vehicle counts crossing the Nevada-California border on I-15 fell 3.1%. Both domestic and international players seem less eager to ante up for a trip to play blackjack for money in Vegas.
F1’s “Grand Prix Plaza” is set to open March 2025 in Las Vegas. 🚨
Utilizing the existing Paddock building, it will feature go karts, immersive exhibits, eateries, event spaces, and more. pic.twitter.com/irp0zQNvzI
— Las Vegas Issues (@VegasIssues) February 28, 2025
Political Climate Impacts International Visitors
LVCVA Vice President Kevin Bagger says “unclear impacts of evolving federal policies rippling through international and domestic markets” is the main reason for the decline.
This carefully worded assessment hints at what some analysts are calling the “Trump slump.” Basically, international visitors are folding their travel plans amid political uncertainties.
For example, in March, Western Europeans visiting the US dropped 17% year over year, with an even steeper decline of 25% from Germany and Ireland. Several nations have issued travel advisories, citing higher costs and potential complications returning home.
Domestic visitors aren’t all in either. LVCVA CEO Steve Hill notes that consumer confidence has “dropped pretty significantly over the past 3 or 4 months,” with tariff talks and cost-of-living concerns making potential visitors pause their Vegas plans.
Convention Business Provides Winning Hand
Not all the cards were losers. Convention attendance was up 10.2% year over year, with about 534,000 business travelers coming to town. This helped offset some of the leisure travel decline due to what the LVCVA calls “rotation cycles,” where certain events that skipped Vegas last year are back.
Hill is optimistic about upcoming conventions and warns against overreaction: “What we’re looking at right now, we think, is just a downturn in business for a period of time. Used to be a pretty normal thing.”
For a town that was built on a gamble, this current losing streak may just require a bit of patience until the next hot hand.
Comments (0)