Income falls almost 35% at casinos after tourism decline

“There's many things that can impact the numbers to our licensees, from tourism - which, if people aren't coming, that can have an impact - to renovations," said Shelley Newell, senior economist with the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Newell told The Center Square that room and restaurant construction resulted in short-term income losses that showed up on the report for the 2025 fiscal year.

Clark County casinos, where most of the state’s gambling occurs, saw an income of $1.5 billion – a 34.7% decrease from 2024. The county is home to Las Vegas.

About 90 miles south of Las Vegas, the Laughlin area saw by far the state's greatest income decrease from 2024 to 2025 at 758.6% and a combined income loss of $54.8 million.

Newell said the income losses in Laughlin were due to renovations.

The Las Vegas Strip saw the next biggest decrease in income at $154.2 million, an 81.2% drop from 2024.

She added that income decreases on the Las Vegas Strip were largely due to renovations, such as the planned reopening of the mob-era Tropicana resort in 2027, and a lack of major events such as the Super Bowl, which the city hosted in 2024.

Up north, the Reno/Sparks area saw a 62.7% decrease in income from 2024. In 2025, casinos in the area saw a total income of $47 million.

The decrease in casinos' income is coming after tourism fell sharply over the past year. Overall tourist visits to Las Vegas were down nearly 7.4% in 2025 compared to the prior year, according to a January report from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Nevada’s casinos suffered the most in terms of income, while total revenue (-2.2%) and gaming revenue (-0.6%) decreased comparatively less from the previous year.

“If you're looking at gaming revenue just in and of itself on a year-over-year basis, it was only 0.6% down, which is not a significant difference from the prior year,” said Newell.

Newell said the 0.6% decline was less than she expected, given the low tourism numbers reported by the LVCVA.

The gaming industry is facing wider questions about the growing influence of online gambling and the decrease in tourism related to current U.S. immigration policies. Despite that, Newell said she was optimistic about this year for the casino industry.

“ I would anticipate 2026 to be up,” said Newell.

"We've seen our partners work on the events that we have throughout the state, and when you have the events, it helps drive the numbers up across the board – both gaming and non-gaming," he said. "I don't expect to see a decline.”

The news for the 2025 fiscal year wasn't all bad for Nevada. Income for casinos increased in three areas, including Elko County, which saw 1.6% growth with $93.3 million in income. The other two areas with growth were South Shore Lake Tahoe and Carson Valley.