Northern Nevada's leaders never aspired for the area to be like Las Vegas.

"Vegas figured out what it wanted to be when it grew up a long time ago," said Taylor Adams, CEO of Northern NV Now, a nonprofit tasked with growing the region's economy. "They've embraced the future and have adjusted accordingly every step of the way." 

Adams acknowledged that the $1 billion expansion of the Grand Sierra Resort, Reno's largest casino-resort, is small compared to Vegas projects such as the $2 billion MLB stadium being built a few blocks south of the $4 billion transformation of The Mirage into the Hard Rock Las Vegas. Even the completion of the Durango Casino Resort's third phase will bring Red Rock Resorts' investment in the off-Strip property to more than $1.2 billion.

Reno hasn't seen an all-new hotel-casino built since Silver Legacy opened in 1995.

Still, he and other Northern Nevada business leaders are buoyed by the recent non-gaming, hospitality-oriented investments coming to the Reno-Sparks resort community, such as the Grand Sierra's project, which will include a 10,000-seat sports and entertainment arena and other non-gaming enhancements on its 145-acre campus.

A resurging gaming and tourism market, which was decimated for nearly two decades by the rapid expansion of tribal-operated casino-resorts in Northern California, is producing results that are nearing the all-time highs for gaming and visitation.

"You've seen Northern Nevada casino ownership really invest in their properties," said Mike Larragueta, CEO of the Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA), noting renovations and expansion at the Peppermill and Atlantis Casino Resort — the closest properties to Northern Nevada's largest convention and meeting facility. "Both those operators have made a lot of reinvestment into their product."

In downtown, Jacobs Entertainment CEO Jeff Jacobs, who rebranded the Sands Regency into the J Resort in 2023, is preparing to embark on the next phase of his company's Reno Neon Line project, which includes a 600-room hotel tower, a 4,000-seat showroom and other enhancements.

Adams said the ongoing investments support the region's business development efforts, which have been focused on drawing technology companies to set up headquarters in the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, some 30 miles east of downtown. He also credited the market as a hub for interstate trucking with the presence of the nearby access to Interstate 80 and Highway 395.

"We are capturing those headquarters opportunities," Adams said, which, in turn, has "created a whole different business traveler profile than we've seen in past years."

In addition, Larragueta credited smaller, non-gaming hotels, such as Hyatt, Renaissance, Hilton and Marriott brands that have expanded in Washoe County with providing a visitation boost.

"The limited service properties in Washoe County actually represent over one-third of our inventory and over one-third of our room tax [revenue]." he said. "A lot of the economic development and business development is happening out of tech. The new companies moving here are driving a lot of business travel. Another section is youth sports. A lot of those groups like to stay at the smaller properties."

The RSCVA also spent $5.2 million to purchase a prefabricated indoor running track and hosted college tournaments between December and February, including the Mountain West men's and women's indoor track championships, growing from eight tournaments a year ago to 12 for the 2026 fiscal year.

"We literally assemble it and take it down every year, so that it frees up our [convention] halls," Larragueta said. "We also purchased over 2,200 portal seats, so it puts us in a position to host an NCAA championship."

In the eyes of economic development leaders, events produced at the convention center bring additional attention to Northern Nevada. 

The economic development boost is one of the reasons behind a $1 billion, seven-year expansion and modernization of the Reno-Tahoe International Airport expected to be completed in 2029.

Through July, Reno visitation neared 2.5 million visitors, up 8.9 percent from the same seven months as 2025. Reno drew more than 3.8 million visitors in each of the last three years, which was down from an average of 4.2 million visitors the market saw in the three years leading up to the pandemic in 2020.

Last month, the RSCVA said room tax revenue in the 2026 fiscal year topped nearly $500 million, an 8.8 percent increase. Larragueta credited the first six months of 2026 with driving the boost, saying room tax figures between January and June increased 20 percent. 

Reno's single-year high for visitation was 5.6 million visitors in 2002, roughly the same time tribal casinos began expanding in California. 

"We're an emerging midsized city," Adams said. "You look at the markets of our size in the country. What we're doing is largely attributable historically to our hospitality initiatives."

Gaming revenue trending up

That evidence is showing up on the gaming tables and in the slot machines of Reno casinos, where gaming revenue has also been on the rise. 

According to the Gaming Control Board, gaming revenue in Reno is up 8.6 percent to $492.1 million in the first seven months of the year. Washoe County, which includes Reno, Sparks and unincorporated areas, saw an 8.4 percent increase through July to $673.7 million.  

Reno, which collected $786.3 million in gaming revenue in 2025, recorded a single-year record of $850 million in 2000. Likewise, Washoe County gaming revenue was $1.08 billion in 2025, the highest single-year total since $1.14 billion in 2000. 

There are, however, questions about whether the increase has the legs to continue.

Monarch Casinos CEO John Farahi, whose company operates Atlantis, said Reno is no longer a gaming destination because of the tribal competition, which continues to expand in Northern California — the primary feeder market to Washoe County.

"Reno is a fabulous market. It is one of the best areas in the country where you can go hunting, fishing and golfing," Farahi said in an interview with The Nevada Independent. "We're getting all the high-tech companies and the area is a fabulous location for warehouse distribution. Tourism-wise, Reno is going to support the few properties that are already here. But you're never going to see a new Taj Mahal here, absolutely not."

Reno City Councilwoman Kathleen Taylor, who represents much of the downtown area and is running for mayor this November, said the first six months of the year showed a renewed strength in the "core visitor hub." Taylor said downtown is seeing investment from non-gaming attractions, such as the Nevada Museum of Art of the Neon Line Brewery District. 

"We've invested millions of dollars in our riverwalk," she said. "Our job is to create a business-friendly atmosphere for all industries, [and] set policy that is consistent, predictable and transparent. As for gaming, I think the market and experts will dictate if Reno needs more gaming or not."

The Grand Sierra and the J Resort expansions involve some gaming.

Grand Sierra President Shannon Keel said the current phase of the project is the arena, which will serve as the home for Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team, a parking garage, a new entertainment lounge and a public ice skating venue. At some point, developers will add to the resort's gaming footprint.

Jacobs, who opened a 20,000-capacity festival grounds a block south of the J Resort a year ago, said the focus is currently on non-gaming renovations and expansions at the J, including a 600- to 700-person "Rolling Art Banquet Hall"  that is being built within converted floors of a parking garage. The facility will include a classic automobile collection. 

A new hotel tower is being planned to replace the current pool area. A new day-club-style pool would be constructed across from the resort with a pedestrian bridge resembling the Reno Arch connecting the sites above 4th Street.

Jacobs said he disagreed with Farahi's assessment that Reno doesn't need another casino, noting that a small gaming addition is part of the J Resort expansion.

"We're doing things to fill rooms," Jacobs said, suggesting youth soccer fields that were developed on some of the land he accumulated over the past few years will draw clubs from outside the Reno market, which will translate into J Resort hotel room reservations.

"Reno is an attractive community and downtown is a special market," Jacobs said.

'A gorgeous place' 

Reno's resort community believes the Grand Sierra Arena will give the market a boost if it can attract headline entertainers and sports events that have bypassed Northern Nevada because it lacked a modern venue.

Mark Huse, general manager of the three Caesars Entertainment properties that make up "The Row" along Virginia Street, said Northern Nevada is the most unique of the six U.S. locations where he has managed resorts. 

In the past few years, the company's three Reno hotel-casinos have upgraded restaurants, rooms and the enclosed public areas that connect the Eldorado, Silver Legacy and Circus Circus.

"We get customers from over the hill [Northern California], which makes us a destination market. It's like a getaway in their own backyard," Huse said, adding that the company's player loyalty program helps draw business from beyond the San Francisco Bay Area. Caesars operates more than 50 resorts in 16 states.

"We also really take advantage of our database across the entire U.S. and so we work really close with the host departments and create unique experiences," Huse said. "Northern Nevada is a gorgeous place."