Vegas Casino Stocks Hit A Cold Streak As Visitor Growth Muted

Las Vegas casino stocks have been largely mixed year to date on New York exchanges, as soaring costs for alcohol, parking, food, hotel rooms, bottled water, and other basic items have deterred cash-strapped visitors from the Strip.

Visitor volumes have been under pressure for more than a year, with Canadian travel down sharply in 2025. Major operators such as MGM and Caesars have reported revenue declines in Sin City, according to Bloomberg.

The latest data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority show that visitor volumes increased marginally by 2.1% in February, but this was from a depressed level, as foot traffic remains below late-2024 levels.

Foot-traffic data from Placer.ai indicate that quarterly visits across the top casino operators remain soft, with Las Vegas-exclusive Red Rock Resorts being the only one showing growth.

Vegas foot traffic is expected to remain muted this year: "I wouldn't expect a major upswing," Bloomberg Intelligence gaming and lodging senior analyst Brian Egger said.

Citizens analyst Jordan Bender noted that Vegas is more like a "vacation," with visitors going there "not necessarily to gamble more."

If "you just want a fun weekend for two days, it's not a bad place to go," Suter told clients.

We have detailed for years how unaffordable Vegas has become. Even MGM CEO William Hornbuckle acknowledged this reality on an October earnings call: "Whether it's the infamous bottle of water or Starbucks coffee at Excalibur that costs $12, shame on us."

Vegas must become affordable again - or risk yet another year of muted traffic, which would impact the local economy because the leisure and hospitality industry made up about a quarter of all jobs in the metro area.