Beyond the bright lights of the Strip, however, lies a perfectly ordinary Western city, with neighborhoods, churches, shopping centers, and strip malls. It is that city, and not the hotels and casinos, that draws thousands of new residents each year. This growth, coupled with its unusual economic basis, has made Las Vegas one of the wealthiest cities in the country, but it has also brought problems to the area. Las Vegas is among the country’s leaders in personal and property crimes, as well as suicide rates, alcohol consumption, and illegal drug use. The city also suffers the modern urban ills of air and water pollution, and the roads are choked with increasingly heavy traffic as new suburbs spring up in all directions.
- This federal law, enacted in 1988, protects workers by requiring advance notice of significant layoffs, giving them time to prepare for the transition.
- Federal and state authorities brought the hammer down on several casino operators doing business in Nevada in 2024.
- I think table games are going to become more of a high-end luxury thing,” he said.
- During the call, representatives discussed that they’re currently developing a plan to finally build Durango Station.
- “All of this would encourage casinos to re-examine their staffing levels and make strategic cuts now in order to prevent more widespread layoffs in the future,” she said.
Treasure Island Ditches Hotel Operator Raddison for Accor
To date, there have been no significant workforce reductions for Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, which represent nearly 60,000 casino employees in Las Vegas and Reno. Union members have contractual protections, so industry workforce reductions typically affect other categories of employees, such as mid-to-upper-level management. Experts and executives say the staff adjustments are strategic, part of a long-term shift toward greater efficiency and profitability in a post-pandemic market. Sonya Owens, who has worked at Caesars for the past year, said she hasn’t worked a single shift in two months despite being on call. The former Wet ‘n Wild waterpark holds a special place in the hearts of Las Vegas locals. The empty 27-acre lot where the amusement park once stood is a sore subject for many city residents.
LAS VEGAS – A teenage suspect has been arrested in connection with a series of cyberattacks that cost casinos on the Las Vegas strip at least $100 million, according to authorities. On March 26, Resorts World similarly announced the termination of “less than 50” full-time employees. To address the tourism decline, the LVCVA is launching the first-ever VegasWide Sale featuring dozens of deals on hotels, shows and attractions from Sept. 22 through 26.
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Entertainment will be a huge attraction to Resorts World given its Theater by AEG. Dates haven’t been announced for artist residencies but there will be plenty at after it opens. Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, Tiësto and Zedd are all featured in its “Stay Fabulous” campaign. Additionally, this month the government allowed nightclubs and strip clubs to open once again. Insomniac Events also just announced Deadmau5 will perform on May 21 at Downtown Events Center.
The Guinness World Record for ‘Most Casinos Visited’ Will Be Set Today in Las Vegas
Red Rock Resorts will have more information about the plans for Durango Station during its next earnings call. During the call, representatives discussed that they’re currently developing a plan to finally build Durango Station. Others are looking at next year, especially around the time of when Las Vegas hosts the 2022 NFL Draft. The latest and greatest Las Vegas news this May includes cryptocurrency on the Vegas Strip, new residencies and booming casino sales.
- The company’s portfolio also extends to major hospitality, entertainment, and commercial developments worldwide.
- The influx of new casinos has attracted significant investment in infrastructure to support the growing needs of the gaming and hospitality sectors.
- The settlement makes clear that Sibella is being punished for what transpired at MGM Grand, not what allegedly occurred at RWLV and absolves him of any wrongdoing related to the latter.
- Online sports gambling is legal in 33 states and Washington, D.C., putting digital gambling in the hands of more than one-third of Americans.
Penn Entertainment Stock Could Be Lifted by New Projects, Sports Betting
This was leaving a hole in the live poker summer schedule, but have no fear, Wynn Las Vegas is here. There are still rumors that Bally’s Las Vegas (the Caesars casino) could be rebranded, sold, and/or both. Caesars CEO, Tom Reeg, says the company doesn’t plan on vegas casino app selling a property this year. Jane Bokunewicz, faculty director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism (LIGHT) at Stockton University, said casinos ultimately follow customer demand when making floor decisions. While no single layoff signals a crisis, the cumulative effect paints a picture of a hospitality industry undergoing a structural transformation in which fewer people may ultimately be needed to serve a changing Las Vegas customer.
It is one of the country’s leading vacation destinations, drawing far more tourists than the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Park. “Las Vegas is one of the most important markets for food and beverage, entertainment and retail in the US,” said Hirschfeld. “The extended hours of operation in the market yield some of the highest sales per unit in the country.
Underlying that basin is a series of aquifers that once led out into small springs near the site of what is now the downtown area. These springs, most of which have dried up because of excessive groundwater pumping, historically flowed into the Colorado River toward the Pacific Ocean. The southern limit of the Great Basin reaches to just 15 miles (24 km) north of Las Vegas; its waters, which have no outlet to the sea, disappear into a vast inland desert. Downtown Las Vegas is built to serve not residents but guests—tens of millions annually. Once derided as a cultural backwater, Las Vegas has evolved into an economic power that outstrips the output of whole countries.
Las Vegas tourism decline leaves casino workers struggling to find shifts
The two racinos only have ETGs and video lottery terminals; there are no live dealer table games or random-number-generator-controlled slot machines at either property. According to the most recently available data, visitation to Las Vegas, hotel room occupancy rates and occupied room nights are down through the first three months of 2025 compared with the same period last year. Year-over-year gaming revenue reported by Strip casino operators has declined in six of the past seven months, while downtown Las Vegas casinos posted declines in four of the past six months. Coin-in and table game drop, which is the total amount gambled and a key metric used by casinos to gauge volume, has also been up and down lately, with more dips than jumps. Amidst the regulatory challenges, Las Vegas is also experiencing a surge in casino developments.
The project aims to meet the growing demand for integrated entertainment while positioning Las Vegas as the ultimate stage for professional baseball and large-scale global tourism. Working in collaboration with JLL, Bally’s Las Vegas will feature two luxury hotel towers totaling 3,000 rooms, a state-of-the-art entertainment venue with a seating capacity of 2,500, and more than 500,000 square feet of retail, dining, and entertainment offerings. The resort will also include a casino and a VIP experience with direct access to the ballpark, blending the thrill of professional sports with the energy of the Strip. LAS VEGAS, Sept. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Bally’s Corporation today announced plans for Bally’s Las Vegas, a transformative new entertainment resort destination set to rise on the iconic Las Vegas Strip at the former site of the Tropicana Las Vegas. The groundbreaking project will share a 35-acre campus with the new Las Vegas Athletics Major League Baseball ballpark, creating one of the most striking developments in the city’s modern history. The project is being submitted for entitlements to Clark County and is expected to commence development in the first half of 2026.
Two other individuals with ties to illicit gambling activities were also named in the complaint. In August, state gaming regulators filed a complaint against RWLV, alleging that the property was a haven for criminal misconduct dating back to its 2021 opening. In November, the second Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix took over the Strip, transforming the heavily traveled corridor into a high-speed racetrack. Although initial reports suggest the second running of the annual F1 race failed to match the prior year’s debut in Las Vegas, the casinos on the Strip welcome the influx of international visitors during a historically slow period. Part of the reason Las Vegas casinos enjoyed such a strong start to 2024 was due to one of the biggest spectacles in sports delivering in a big way. Nevada casinos have enjoyed a prosperous post-COVID business boom unrivaled in the industry’s existence.
Several new casinos are under construction, promising to offer state-of-the-art gaming experiences along with luxurious hospitality services. These new projects are part of ambitious expansion plans that aim to boost tourism and entertainment offerings in the city. Nearly every major tourism indicator — except gross gaming win — was down for the month of August, continuing a trend that began earlier this summer. On the final night of live dealer table games at Golden Gate, Lenny Balmer and his group of friends were playing blackjack. Balmer, a 49-year-old mechanic from Southern California who travels to Las Vegas “a lot,” said he is unlikely to make a return visit to Golden Gate in the future. The $6.3 billion dual acquisition of IGT and Everi all but solidifies Apollo as one of the largest and most influential players in the gaming industry.
Such developments ensure that Las Vegas remains a top destination for both domestic and international tourists. “Bally’s Las Vegas represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine the heart of the Strip,” said Soo Kim, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Bally’s Corporation. This is also the only casino poker room in Las Vegas without plexiglass as of the writing of this article. The casino was able to remove the barriers when it was allowed to increase capacity because of the number of employees vaccinated. While the return of Las Vegas is great, it’s going to be a bumpy ride for a little while.
And according to the reliable X news source Las Vegas Locally, Treasure Island enacted its second round of layoffs this summer during the week of August 23. The “less than 50” in the property’s statement is notable not only for its incorrect grammar, but because of compliance with the WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act. This federal law, enacted in 1988, protects workers by requiring advance notice of significant layoffs, giving them time to prepare for the transition. Enter LVXP, an ambitious project that promises to feature the city’s tallest building and an NBA-ready arena. The 752-foot, 2,605-unit hotel and condominium project with an 18,000-seat NBA-ready arena on the north Strip received approval from Clark County officials earlier this month.
As part of the settlement agreement, Resorts World and its parent company neither admit to nor deny the allegations. But the casino agreed to make changes to its leadership and implement stricter protocols for preventing money laundering, the newspaper reported. A cyberattack against two major Las Vegas casino operators, in which a teenage boy is accused of helping carry out, caused millions of dollars in damage, authorities said. Details on the off-strip casino are sparse but Frank Fertitta shared some insight.
She noted that even longtime employees are being impacted, citing a friend who was pushed to the bottom of the scheduling list after five regular servers were laid off. Although analysts are always hinting at potential blockbuster mergers in the gaming industry, few ever actually materialize. That’s why the seemingly out-of-thin-air announcement that New York City-based Apollo Global Management was buying both International Game Technology and Everi Holdings caught the entire gaming world by surprise. In May, Sibella was sentenced after pleading guilty to a single count of failing to file required anti-money laundering compliance reports while president of MGM Grand. That was on the heels of a then-record $13.4 billion in 2021 and $14.8 billion in 2022.