Las Vegas Casino Revenue Declines in February Amid Super Bowl Absence

Super Bowl was held in Las Vegas.

Strip and Downtown Casinos Experience Notable Losses

The Las Vegas Strip, the city’s most lucrative gaming district, reported $690.3 million in gaming revenue for February, a significant decrease from the $800.6 million recorded in the same month last year. Downtown Las Vegas, while not as severely affected, still saw a revenue decline of 4.9%, bringing its total to $72.4 million.

Other parts of the city reported smaller declines, with North Las Vegas experiencing a 2.7% drop in gaming revenue and the Boulder Strip seeing a 1.3% decrease. However, gaming venues in the remainder of Clark County, excluding Mesquite and Laughlin, saw a 1% increase in revenue, indicating some resilience in those areas.

The total gaming revenue in Nevada for February stood at $1.21 billion, down from $1.34 billion in February 2024. For the fiscal year that began on July 1, the state’s overall gaming win is down 1.14%. Not all areas saw declines, as Mesquite recorded a 2.8% increase in gaming revenue, while Laughlin posted a slight 0.4% rise.

Northern Nevada, which attracts visitors from the San Francisco Bay Area, also experienced losses. Reno reported a 6.4% decrease in gaming revenue, while Sparks saw a 2.7% drop. The North Lake Tahoe region posted a 9.34% decline, and South Lake Tahoe recorded the most significant drop in the area, with revenue falling by 17.4%. In rural northern Nevada, Elko County saw a 7.31% decrease in gaming revenue.

Tourism and Hotel Performance See Declines

Las Vegas visitation numbers also fell significantly, with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reporting 2.97 million visitors in February, down 11.9% from the 3.37 million visitors recorded in February 2024.

“With the combined factors of a tough comparison to last year when Super Bowl LVIII was held in the destination, a net decrease in the convention segment tied to rotation cycles, and one fewer day on the calendar compared to the 2024 leap year, visitation fell,” said Kevin Bagger, vice president of the authority’s research center.

Convention attendance dropped by 19.5%, totaling 615,400 attendees compared to 764,800 in February 2024. The decline was partially attributed to scheduling changes, including the World Market Center’s Winter show (38,000 attendees) and the Total Product Expo (8,000 attendees) taking place in January instead of February. Additionally, the International Roofing Expo (15,000 attendees) and the National Automobile Dealers Association (22,000 attendees) were held in different locations this year.

Hotel occupancy rates also declined. Overall occupancy was 80.5%, a decrease of 3.4 percentage points year-over-year. Weekend occupancy dropped to 86.4%, down 3.9 points, while midweek occupancy fell to 77.7%, a decline of 3.3 points. The Strip’s occupancy rate decreased from 86.6% to 83.5%.

The average daily room rate in February was $186, down 25% from $248 a year ago. On the Strip, the average rate was $199, a significant drop from $269 in February 2024. Revenue per available room also fell 28% year-over-year, from $208 to $150.

enger traffic at Harry Reid International Airport decreased by 7.5% in February, reflecting the broader decline in visitation. However, traffic counts at the I-15 border crossing between California and Nevada remained unchanged from the previous year.

Source:

‘’Nevada and Las Vegas Strip revenue down again in February’’, cdcgaming.com, March 31, 2025.