September saw the Strip record its first monthly gaming revenue decline since May, but the nearly 5.5 percent dip wasn’t a surprise as Las Vegas Boulevard’s two largest resort operators said lower visitation and reduced customer spending have continued from the summer months.

The Gaming Control Board said Wednesday that Strip gaming revenue fell to $687.8 million last month, primarily because of a 42.7 percent decline in high-end baccarat income. Revenue from a high-roller game associated with a handful of Strip casinos and known for its pendulumlike win-loss swings carried the Strip to better than 5 percent revenue jumps in July and August, even as visitation dropped.

Statewide gaming revenue also declined for the first time since May to $1.28 billion, down 2.3 percent compared to last year.

Meanwhile, Strip visitor volume fell for the ninth straight month, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, declining 8.8 percent with just under 3.1 million visitors coming in September. Through nine months, Las Vegas visitation is down 8 percent from 2024, which includes double-digit declines in June and July. 

“It was a difficult summer,” Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg said on the company's third-quarter earnings conference call Tuesday. “There has definitely been softness in leisure demand for Las Vegas.”

Caesars, which operates eight Strip properties, said overall quarterly revenue ending in September was down almost 10 percent to $952 million. The company stock price on the Nasdaq National Market fell more than 15 percent Wednesday to close at $18.72.

Revenue per available room, or RevPar, an economic metric used to gauge profitability, has been a yearlong challenge. Reeg said the company has addressed pricing issues that dominated conversations during the year about the market. 

“I don't discount that there are areas in our business and in Las Vegas that might have gotten over their skis pricing-wise,” Reeg said. “But the value proposition in Vegas stacks up versus just about anywhere that you could want to travel. What you can do while you’re in town is the breadth of what’s available. I line that up with any city in the world. So we feel fantastic about Vegas fundamentally.”

On Wednesday, MGM Resorts International said revenue from its 10 Strip resorts declined 7 percent to $2 billion during the same three months, but also said some of the decrease came from lost business at the MGM Grand, which has been undergoing a lengthy remodeling process.

MGM Resorts said its RevPar on the Strip for the quarter was down 8 percent. The company’s stock price fell more than 2 percent on the New York Stock Exchange to close at $31.21.

During the company’s third-quarter conference call on Wednesday, MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle said the company has heard from guests about Las Vegas value and “responded by making adjustments to ensure a rationalized, premium value experience across all of our properties.”

Hornbuckle said MGM participated in the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s “Fabulous 5-Day Sale” in September, during which the company sold “over 300,000 room nights, nearly double our typical pace, reflecting the strong demand that exists for our experiences.” 

Stifel Financial gaming analyst Steven Wieczynski told investors in a research note following Caesars’ conference call that Strip visitation trends have been softer than expected. 

“What is causing this weakness is anybody’s guess,” Wieczynski said. “We believe it’s part combination of a weaker lower-end leisure customer, a decrease in international visitation, and the perception that Las Vegas isn’t a value anymore.”

However, Wieczynski said “fear that Vegas is dead, overpriced, etc., is just flat out incorrect.” Following the pandemic, he said the Strip benefited from “pent-up demand” but that now the market is returning more to its “normal softness during the sweltering summer months. Now, as the world has returned to normal, we believe the Strip will see a more normal seasonality moving forward.”

Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon told investors that Caesars’ trends are improving and there is an increase in group business over the next few quarters.

“We believe the biggest question will be Vegas’ leisure demand in 2026,” Beynon said.  “There is little visibility on that.”

Strip gaming revenue slightly ahead of 2024 

The Strip’s September gaming revenue decline, combined with a 2 percent downtown gaming revenue drop, affected Clark County’s overall total as the market dipped 2.9 percent. September’s results statewide were affected by Labor Day weekend partially falling into the end of August, rather than gaming totals all being counted in September.

Through nine months, Strip gaming revenue is less than 1 percent ahead of the first nine months of 2024.

Revenue from baccarat in September was $50.7 million, down from $88.5 million in 2024. Wagering on the game was up 15.7 percent, but the hold percentage — what casinos kept in wagers — was at 8.5 percent, compared with 17.1 percent a year ago.

Las Vegas visitation declines have filtered into the convention business, which saw a nearly 19 percent decrease in September compared with a year earlier, with just 42,000 delegates.

Some of the declines were represented by the absence of the quadrennial MINExpo that drew 45,000 attendees last September, and the calendar shift of the Oracle CloudWorld conference that drew 30,000 this month rather than in September a year ago.

Hotel occupancy was 78.7 percent last month, a decline from 83.9 percent last September. Las Vegas’ average daily hotel room rate was down 3 percent to $190.56, while RevPar was down 9 percent to $149.97.

Truist Securities gaming analyst Barry Jonas wrote in a research note that the declines in Strip RevPar were expected.

“While the market today may not be convinced that a recovery is a sure thing, an improving fourth-quarter and first half of 2026 could drive upside for Strip operator [stock] valuations from current depressed levels,” Jonas said.

Reid Airport declines continue

Harry Reid International Airport experienced its eighth consecutive monthly passenger decline in September, including a 13.5 percent drop in international travelers, the largest single-month drop for the segment since the pandemic.

The airport welcomed almost 4.5 million passengers during the month, a decline of 6.4 percent from 2024. Through nine months, Reid Airport’s passenger count is at 41.4 million passengers, down 4.7 percent from a year ago.

September’s double-digit international passenger drop came primarily from Canada. Air Canada passenger volume was down 18.4 percent and WestJet was off 44.3 percent. The two airlines are the largest with direct service between Canada and Las Vegas. Another international airline, Aeromexico, saw an 11 percent decline in passengers during September.

Several analysts cited a nearly 46 percent decline in passenger volume from Spirit Airlines, which is going through a bankruptcy reorganization and has canceled service between Las Vegas and several markets.

“The reduction in capacity from Spirit Airlines and the geopolitical tensions related to immigration [and] Canada significantly impacted visitation,” CBRE Equity Research analyst John DeCree wrote in a research note. “Although some of these headwinds could persist, we are hopeful that the worst is over.”