Thanks to technology aficionados and gun enthusiasts, January wasn’t a complete disaster for the Strip’s resort industry.
Gaming revenue declined 11 percent on the Strip during the month, driven by players lucking out at baccarat, while overall passenger volume at Harry Reid International Airport fell 8 percent, the destination’s 12th straight monthly decline.
However, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority on Friday afternoon reported visitor volume showing just a 2 percent drop in January, primarily due to Las Vegas hosting the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the SHOT Show (Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade). The conferences combined for some 200,000 convention attendees.
With overall convention business reaching more than 672,100 customers, a nearly 7 percent increase from a year ago, the Strip’s average daily room rates and revenue per available room — a key metric used to gauge profitability — were on the positive side for the first time in eight months.
During an appearance in front of the Nevada Gaming Commission last November, MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle touted his company’s “massive convention calendar.” MGM operates 10 Strip properties.
“Over the next 16 months, there’s more convention business on the books for Las Vegas in our hotels than the city has ever seen before,” Hornbuckle said.
Still, Truist Securities gaming analyst Barry Jonas was more cautious.
“Despite these improvements, we still think most operators are not expecting [first quarter cash flow],” Jonas said, adding that he projects better results from the three months between April and June.
The Gaming Control Board said the Strip’s gaming revenue decreased to $747.6 million, which was down from 2025 but still exceeded all Januaries from 2020 through 2024.
Analysts cited luck at the gaming tables by customers as the primary reason for the Strip’s revenue drop, despite casinos experiencing overall wagering increases in every category.
More than $5.1 billion was bet on slot machines, but revenue of $436 million was a less than 3 percent increase. However, $1.4 billion was bet on non-baccarat table games, while revenue of $193.1 million was a 4 percent decline. Baccarat wagering of $910.9 million led to casino revenue of $118.5 million, a 44.7 percent decline from 2025.
J.P. Morgan gaming analyst Daniel Politzer told investors in a research note that wagering volume “was solid on the Strip,” but casinos with baccarat “faced a very tough comparison,” given that casinos held 26.7 percent of all wagers last January and saw just a 13 percent hold in January 2026.
Every market in Southern Nevada, except North Las Vegas and Mesquite, saw gaming revenue declines in January, but none as steep as the Strip.
Total Nevada gaming revenue fell 6.5 percent to $1.34 billion. Northern Nevada casino markets, including Washoe County as a whole, Reno, Sparks and South Lake Tahoe, all reported gaming revenue increases in January.
Reid Airport’s January passenger count of just over 4 million passengers was the facility’s lowest single-month figure since February 2025. The major Canadian airlines continue to experience declines in passenger volume after double-digit drops in 2025 due to boycotts of U.S. travel by Canadians.
In January, WestJet saw a 28 percent decline in passengers and Air Canada was down 34 percent.
International passenger volume fell 19 percent in January, the fifth straight month of double-digit declines. Clark County Department of Aviation recently announced new one-stop flights between Las Vegas and Paris and Las Vegas and Sydney, Australia, in an effort to boost international travel.
The March tourism figures are expected to see a lift from the four-day CONEXPO-CON/AGG construction trade show that begins Wednesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center and is expected to draw more than 100,000 attendees.