Las Vegas Slowdown Deepens as Gamblers Reject Unaffordable Sin City
When the high rollers stop rolling, the crash is already here.
This article originally appeared on ZeroHedge and was republished with permission.
Guest post by Tyler Durden
A Las Vegas downturn first emerged on our radar early this past summer and has only deepened into fall.
We previously noted that the days of cheap room rates and discounted buffets to lure gamblers are long gone, replaced by steep markups on even the smallest of items. For many working-class Americans, Vegas has become unaffordable, and the latest data from Goldman analysts show the Strip slowdown persisted through September.
“Las Vegas trends remain lackluster,” Goldman analyst Lizzie Dove wrote in a note citing a series of data points, including visitation and gambling metrics, that marked the ninth consecutive quarter of year-over-year visitation declines and continued softness across the Strip in September.
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Here are the key Vegas trends to focus on:
Visitation: Down -8.8% y/y in September, following -7% in August and -12% in July. Convention attendance was especially weak (-19% y/y) due to the calendar shift of Oracle CloudWorld to October. Overall visitation fell -10% y/y.
Hotel Metrics: Las Vegas Strip RevPAR fell -7.9% y/y, driven by ADR -1.5% and occupancy down 570 bps to 81.3%. Weakness was sharper mid-week.
Gaming Revenue (GGR): Strip GGR declined -5.5% y/y to $688mn, largely due to a very low baccarat hold (8.5%) versus the two-year average of 16.3%. Adjusting for hold, GGR would have actually grown +2.2% y/y.
Despite falling visitation, gambling trends increased 11% y/y, suggesting operators are attracting higher-spending, gaming-focused visitors over general leisure tourists
Las Vegas Gaming Stats
Las Vegas Tracker
Vegas trends have been lagging in 2025, with the most pressure to RevPAR
Vegas casino stocks have been sideways since the pandemic.
Related:
August: Las Vegas Tourism Falters As Prices Explode And Amenities Disappear
July: Another Canary: The Las Vegas Economy Is Tanking Just Like It Did In 2008 And 2009
Perhaps the Wall Street Journal report this week about the GOP’s midterm political convention potentially being held in Sin City next year could bring some tailwinds. However, casino operators still need to address the growing affordability issue in the city.
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