Las Vegas can withstand a few bad business trends, just as it can withstand a few national economic headwinds. When both are occurring simultaneously, however, it portends bad things for our local economy. 

So far this summer, Las Vegas area hotels have seen “one of the steepest year-over-year performance declines” of any American market, according to Travel Weekly. Passenger totals fell almost 3.7 percent through May at Harry Reid International Airport, and the slew of summer deals being promoted heavily by major resorts indicates things aren’t rapidly improving.  

Those who are familiar with the industry rightly point out that “national headwinds” have played a considerable role in so many disappointing economic numbers from recent years. 

President Donald Trump’s erratic and arbitrary implementation of “reciprocal” tariffs, for example, have plunged much of the world into a state of economic uncertainty; and as much as anything else, uncertainty is bad news for an economy largely dependent on individuals spending frivolously on luxury entertainment options. 

Making matters worse is that the price increases created by Trump’s whimsical taxation of certain imports are likely just now beginning to be felt. While inflation rates remain relatively low, supply chains have become disrupted and consumer prices still remain elevated — meaning even without massive inflation, consumers and businesses will still feel squeezed by federal policies that replace carefully negotiated trade agreements with sporadic proclamations made via Truth Social. 

But it’s not merely the financial impact of Trump’s one-man crusade against international trade that has deteriorated people’s ability (or willingness) to visit our little oasis in the desert. The sociological and psychological effects of such nativist policies from the White House were already being felt long before the actual financial impact had even come into view. 

Back in April, it had already become obvious that Canadians were increasingly weary of spending their hard-earned vacation dollars in the United States — and while Las Vegas might not run exclusively on the holiday plans of vacationing Canucks, their decision to stay north of the border had analysts rightly worried.  

With the passage of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” worse news looms on the horizon for Southern Nevada. A new “visa integrity fee” for any would-be foreign tourists visiting America, for example, will not exactly incentivize foreigners to grab their wallets and flock to our shores — let alone our craps tables. 

As if national policies discouraging international tourism wasn’t bad enough, Trump’s recently passed “Big Beautiful Bill” also hiked taxes on gambling winnings — a policy that casino owner Derek Stevens rightly explained would impact “everyone in Las Vegas.”  

However, it’s not only the policy and economic headwinds from Washington, D.C., that are causing headaches for the main industry in Southern Nevada. Some of those headaches are self-imposed as well. 

What used to be a value destination has become a largely overpriced experience laden with hidden fees, absurd price hikes and incrementally worse gaming odds along the resort corridor. From charging ever-higher resort fees to milking patrons for parking fees, it feels as if there’s no end to the “nickel and diming” that takes place at many Vegas area resorts — an environment that has become increasingly hostile to anyone looking for a vacation on a budget.  

Even the table games that helped make Vegas the entertainment mecca it is today are now laden with similar efforts by resort operators to treat would-be patrons as little more than walking ATM machines. Those casino-goers who have lived or gambled here for years have anecdotally noted plenty of gimmicks to hustle patrons for a few extra dollars — gimmicks such as triple-zero roulette, mandatory side-bets and other inventive new ways for casinos to squeeze every last drop of cash from those who saddle up to a table. 

Of course, none of this is to say there isn’t still fantastic value to be found in Las Vegas. Perhaps one of the city’s greatest selling points has always been that it has something for everyone, even if one has to hunt around for it. Nonetheless, trends within the industry seem to be oriented more toward courting high rollers while squeezing everyone else, making it less enjoyable than ever for someone on a budget to rationalize the high cost of experiencing what Vegas has to offer. 

If there were enough big spenders ready to look past such petty fees, fines and table-game gimmicks, it might be a good enough business model to keep the industry flush — regardless of what “headwinds” are generated nationally. After all, for the type of tourist who is willing to spend $10,000 on an F1 luxury package, a $55 resort fee is more of a rounding error than an annoyance — and that’s only if it gets noticed at all. 

But evidence seems to be mounting that there simply aren’t enough “whales” who are willing to regularly visit our little corner of the Mojave to make up for the losses incurred by shunning would-be guests from lower income brackets — a point I already hinted at back in January when we learned the disappointing economic results of last year’s F1 weekend. 

The only truly optimistic news is that none of these trends (in politics or business) are inherently permanent in nature. Just as the political winds will eventually shift in D.C., the future of Vegas is not etched in stone. This city has reinvented and reinvigorated itself before, and there are plenty of reasons to believe it will do so again when necessary. 

For the moment, however, the exploitative business model of many current resorts mixed with the Trump administration’s absurd protectionist industrial policy simply doesn’t bode well for our tourist-dependent metropolis in Southern Nevada.

Michael Schaus is a communications and branding expert based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and founder of Schaus Creative LLC — an agency dedicated to helping organizations, businesses and activists tell their story and motivate change. He has more than a decade of experience in public affairs commentary, having worked as a news director, columnist, political humorist, and most recently as the director of communications for a public policy think tank. Follow him on Twitter @schausmichael or on Substack @creativediscourse.