Nevada’s gaming industry continued its streak of monthly revenue above $1 billion in January. However, visitation to Las Vegas declined, and Strip gaming results fell sharply compared with a strong start to 2025.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported that statewide gaming win reached $1.345 billion for the month, a 6.6% decrease from a year earlier. On the Las Vegas Strip, gaming win totaled $747.7 million, down 11% year over year. Despite the drop, January marked the 59th consecutive month in which statewide gaming win exceeded $1 billion.
Control Board Senior Economic Analyst Shelley Newell said the January figures were measured against unusually high results from the previous year. “Nevada has continued to record gaming win amounts in excess of prepandemic levels this month,” Newell said. “Statewide total win was 36.7% or $360.9 million over January 2019.”
According to the board, gaming tax collection for the first month of 2026 reached $100.9 million, the highest monthly total so far in the 2025–26 fiscal year. For the fiscal year to date, collections from the state’s 6.75% gaming tax are up 2.1% to $702.8 million.
Performance varied widely among the 20 markets monitored statewide. While the Strip posted the steepest decline, several smaller markets recorded double-digit increases. Mesquite reported a 14.1% increase to $19.8 million, the highest total in that market’s history.
Wendover rose 14.7% to $25.7 million, Elko County increased 12.9% to $36.9 million, Sparks climbed 10.5%, and South Lake Tahoe advanced 10.3% to $24.6 million.
In Southern Nevada, the Strip’s decline weighed on regional results. Clark County gaming win fell 8.4% to $1.16 billion. Downtown Las Vegas was down 5.2% to $79.4 million, the Boulder Strip declined 7% to $81.2 million, Laughlin slipped 3.3% to $40.9 million, and outlying areas of Clark County dropped 3% to $165.7 million.
Analysts attributed much of the Strip’s downturn to table games and baccarat performance. Newell said players experienced stronger results at the tables, reducing casino hold percentages.
Baccarat drop increased 17.8% to $950.2 million, but the hold percentage declined to 12.98% compared with 26.66% in January 2025. Table drop rose 7.1% to $3.3 billion, while hold fell to 13.08% from 17.23% a year earlier. Nevada sportsbook win was down 11.1% from the prior year, while slot-machine win edged up 0.5%.
At the same time, tourism indicators showed continued pressure. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported that 3.3 million people visited the city in January, a 2.2% decrease from the same month last year. The decline followed 12 consecutive months of visitation decreases in 2025, extending the trend into the start of 2026.
Passenger traffic at Harry Reid International Airport fell 7.9% to 4 million travelers. Vehicle counts on major highways showed arrivals from California down 1% and from Arizona down 3%.
Hotel performance presented mixed results. The occupancy rate declined 2.4 percentage points to 79.5%. However, the average daily room rate increased 6.7% to $200.15 compared with January 2024.
Convention attendance provided a counterbalance to weaker leisure visitation. The LVCVA reported a 6.9% year-over-year increase in convention attendance to 672,100. Major events included CES with 148,000 attendees, World of Concrete with 58,000, the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoors Trade Show with 53,000, and the return of the International Roofing Expo, which brought 15,000 participants as part of its alternating schedule between Las Vegas and other locations.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/03/02/117834-las-vegas-visitation-declines-again-as-strip-gaming-revenue-falls-11-in-january
