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Nevada’s gaming and visitation data showed declines again in December, capping a difficult year for the industry in 2025 and raising further questions about the future outlook of Las Vegas tourism.
The Las Vegas Strip fell 6% in December to $827.7 million, which caused its 2025 total to flatten YoY at $8.8 billion. Ancillary southern Nevada markets excelled in the midst of the Strip’s lull, which has become increasingly common in recent years. The Las Vegas locals market (+4%), downtown (+5%), Boulder (+9%) and Laughlin (+10%) all had strong performances in December. All four also posted YoY gains for the calendar year.
According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the state generated $1.43 billion in gross gaming revenue for the month, a year-over-year decrease of 1.5%. Nevada’s GGR total in calendar year 2025 rose 1.2% YoY to $15.8 billion.
On the tourism side, December was another month to forget. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported total visitation of 3.09 million, down 9% from last year. Every metric tracked by the LVCVA aside from convention attendance (+9%) was down in December. Among the declines were sharp drops in revenue per available room (-12%), total occupancy (-6%) and average room rates (-5%).
The year-end visitation total for 2025 finished at 38.5 million people, down 7.5% from 2024.
What will 2026 hold for Las Vegas tourism?
December’s data only adds to the challenge that the Las Vegas tourism industry faced throughout last year. UNLV’s Southern Nevada Business Confidence Index fell to its lowest levels since the Great Recession last quarter, with local business leaders expecting “worsening national and local economic conditions” ahead.
Nevada’s latest Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) staffing report said Las Vegas employment increased by 2,000 in December, after shedding 4,700 jobs from September-November. Despite the increase, Las Vegas still had 9,800 fewer jobs compared to December 2024.
Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Union, told iGB earlier this month his members were growing increasingly uneasy about the slump in tourism. He said a “course correction” was needed, decrying what he termed as “the Trump slump” in reference to the impacts the president’s trade and travel policies have had on the city.
From a business perspective, results have been mixed since the start of 2025. Wynn outpaced its chief competitors MGM and Caesars on the Strip, while locals operators like Boyd and Red Rock Resorts surged alongside strong ancillary market performance. Fourth-quarter results in the coming weeks will tell more about how operators finished out the year performance-wise.
In a note to investors on Thursday, Macquarie analyst Chad Beynon said the latest data affirmed “that the risk to 4Q25 earnings is to the downside for Vegas segments”. Based on market analysis, Beynon said Boyd and Red Rock “are positioned to outperform current 4Q consensus estimates for their respective retail segments”.
Gaming, sports betting results mixed for December, 2025
Looking closer at the Strip, poor performance was again tied largely to poor baccarat hold. The Strip won $156 million on the game in December, a 20% plunge YoY. Volatile month-to-month swings have become common, as the Strip is flat on the game over the last three months but +3% for the calendar year.
To the north, Reno posted a slight decline ($64.7 million, -1.6%) but has had a positive run since the start of 2025. The market finished the year with total GGR of $786.2 million, good for a 3.6% increase over calendar year 2024.
Statewide sports betting GGR was up over 350% in December to $67.5 million, with $42.5 million coming from mobile betting. Nevada’s year-end sports betting GGR of $601.4 million was good for a 25% increase YoY.
