Las Vegas tourism numbers, and occasionally casino revenues, have been on a general downward slump over the past few years. The iconic city that could well call itself the world gambling capital has been struggling with a sluggish economic climate, a general drop-off in US tourism and an increasing reputation for high costs.
Yet millions of tourists still flock to the famous Sin City every month. While the mega Strip casino resorts are increasingly focusing on high-limit, upmarket gamblers, where $15 beers and $50 bet minimums aren’t uncommon – there are still ways to spend a wild weekend in Las Vegas without exorbitant spending.
Why Tourism Numbers Have Dropped, While Gambling Revenues are Stable
Las Vegas has been changing its image from being all about gambling and showbusiness, to a more event-driven town for a few years now. In 2025, only 36% of revenue at casino properties actually came from gambling. Big ticket projects like The Sphere and sports teams like the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, the NHL’s Golden Knights and the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces have turned the city into somewhat of a sporting hub.
Yet none of that has been able to stabilise declining tourism numbers over the past few years. Visitation numbers were down 7.5% on 2024 across 2025, which was the sharpest decline since 1970. But, possibly due to big ticket events like the Las Vegas Grand Prix and huge concert residencies, gambling revenues have remained steady if not growing at the mega casinos.
Two things were the primary driver of this – increased prices at resorts, and the negative perception of President Donald Trump and his comments about the country. Other factors were also important – the rise of online gambling, the closure of budget airline spirit and general economic uncertainty – but prices and general Canadian disinterest in visiting the US have been cited as the major drivers of the tourism slump.
The rapidly moving climate of gambling across North America has also been a factor in changing Vegas. To illustrate this, a review site on Covers.com, shows the strongest sports betting sites in Canada. If you are interested, you can browse their picks here to get a feeling of how widespread online betting is in Canada now, compared to even 10 years ago. Gamblers use these sites to compare options across bonuses, market depth and more, yet the process is still significantly easier than booking a vacation to Vegas.
Online gambling makes Las Vegas less special – a factor the city knows well and has taken steps to mitigate. However this has combined with economic and political factors to lead many Canadians, traditionally a big market for Vegas tourism, to stay away in 2026.
Some Properties Reintroduce Lower Minimums, All-Inclusive Packages
While many of the big casino operators in Las Vegas have doubled down on smaller numbers of high limit gamblers and big spenders to drive revenue, there remains many Las Vegas hotel and casino operators that have a more mass market approach.
And they aren’t lying down and accepting the change. Where you might find $25 nachos and $50 minimum 6:5 blackjack at the big Strip casino resorts – there are budget options where you can play three hands of 3:2 blackjack and get a beer for $20. In fact, some of these places, especially in downtown Las Vegas, are seeing increased custom as tourists feel priced out of the mega casinos.
Some of the more mass-market oriented resorts have even responded, reducing controversial resorts fees and offering all-inclusive packages that cover food and entertainment as part of an increased fee.
The Plaza, Circa, New York-New York, the Luxor and Ellis Island are all offering such packages in 2026. Others have reintroduced, fairer, cheaper table games and more comps.
But still, many luxury strip resorts continue to sell $1000 steaks served in diamond briefcases or $1 million Grand Prix packages while doubling down on attracting international high limit baccarat customers.
How Things Might Change Going Forward
Two big changes have come for Las Vegas in the past few weeks. The two biggest operators, accounting for 60% of Las Vegas Strip casino operations, may soon change hands.
All signs point to Caesars Entertainment being bought by billionaire Golden Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta, and the world’s largest gambling operator MGM Resorts International could well also soon be sold to billionaire Barry Diller.
If both companies go private again, that could substantially change the dynamic on the Las Vegas Strip going forward.
But that is far from certain – and whether or not more comps and fairer games will bring back Canadian visitors that can now gamble online a lot more easily, also remains to be seen.
July 4 tourism numbers were apparently very good for Las Vegas, early indicators show, but that might well not be sustained over the rest of the year. In the meantime, cheap Las Vegas is still there – but it’s more work to find and your average tourists seem to be increasingly choosing elsewhere to visit in the USA and abroad.
