Fears Las Vegas is DYING as hotel bookings crater due to rip-off prices and tourists angry at Trump
Caesars Entertainment, which runs eight casino resorts and one non-gaming hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, reported a 3.7 percent year-over-year decline in net revenue in the second quarter of 2025, SEC filings revealed.
The company, which owns Caesars Palace and Harrah's Las Vegas, also saw a 21- percent yea-over-year drop in net income in the second quarter.
From April to June, the company brought in $1.054billion in Las Vegas, down from $1.095billion in the same time period in 2024.
One of the reasons Sin City's businesses are hurting is because international visitors have continued to shun the US - including some upset over the presidency of Donald Trump.
Las Vegas welcomed 3.39 million visitors in March, down almost eight percent from 3.68million in February, according to a report by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Hotels were 82.9 percent full the same month, compared with 85.3 percent full in March 2024.
Midweek occupancy recorded a decline of 2.5 percent in the same period, despite more than half a million people attending conferences there.
Casinos also reported an almost five percent drop over the past year. Statewide, the figure fell by 1.1 percent.
Despite the slow start, Caesars CEO Tom Reeg said on an earnings call on Tuesday that the quarter started 'strong' before declining in May and June, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The company reported a net income of $212million in the second quarter. This is down from $268million at the same time last year.
In the first six months of the year, Caesars' Las Vegas operations brought in $2.057billion, a 2.8 percent loss compared to the first six months of 2024.
Its net income was $389million compared to $462million in 2024 - a whopping 15.8 percent decrease year-over-year.
Reeg believes some of the decline could be from the lack of big-name performers, like Adele, who had a residency last year.
It appears the CEO doesn't have a good feeling going into the next quarter, as he told people on the call: 'I'd expect the third quarter to be soft.'
However, he's positive Vegas will turn around in the future.
'I've been around Vegas a very long time…(and) this is normal seasonality that we haven't seen in a while here. It's nothing that leaves me concerned,' he said on the call.
Another reason tourists might be skipping the Strip is its high prices.
A visitor recently shared her shock after she was charged $26 for a bottle of Fiji water from the minibar in her room at the Aria Resort & Casino.
And a British magician was left outraged after he was billed $74.31 for two drinks at Sphere in Las Vegas.
A 2024 study found that the average income of Las Vegas holidaymakers is now $93,000, with many budget travelers priced out of the gambling capital.
Homelessness in Las Vegas has also exploded, with a conservative estimate of around 8,000 people unhoused across a city of just over half a million.
Walk along the busy Las Vegas Boulevard at any time of day and you will see people who are clearly homeless and often under the influence of drugs.
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