‘Has hell frozen over?’: Las Vegas tourism is in trouble

Is Las Vegas becoming too expensive for a middle class traveler to enjoy anymore?

By Alex Schechter

Freelance Writer

In early March, Anthony Curtis, the publisher of the long-running Las Vegas Advisor, noticed that Station Casinos had a startling promotion going: $5.99 for a cheeseburger and fries. He found the deal appealing but out of character for Las Vegas, and he promptly announced in his newsletter: “Has hell frozen over?”

The way he saw it, if a consortium of casinos such as Station (typically laser focused on profit margins, like most businesses in town) was willing to bring prices down, it could be a sign that the casinos were hungry for customers.

He wasn’t far from the truth.

According to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority data, the first four months of this year showed a decrease in the overall number of visitors. Mark Wayman, a recruiter for executives in the gaming and casino industries, told Business Insider in May that Las Vegas bookings through the summer are “the worst I’ve ever seen.”

Air traffic into Harry Reid International Airport is also trending downward, as domestic travel for the first half of 2025 was down 4 percent compared to last year.

Tourism trouble in Las Vegas is no surprise. Last year, an economics professor from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, predicted “a slow contraction“ through 2026. “Gross gaming revenue over time will likely return to pre-pandemic trends, as savings and discretionary income return to where they were before the pandemic, adjusted for higher wages and inflation,” Stephen Miller, the director of research for the Center for Business and Economic Research, told CDC Gaming. Meanwhile, tariffs and inflation spurred by the Trump administration continue to stoke concerns about a recession, which would impact the consumer-driven Las Vegas early before hitting other major cities.

As reports point to a general slowdown in tourism for Las Vegas, some are quick to place the blame on inflation and political unrest. Or could it be that tourists have simply gotten tired of overspending?

It’s not uncommon these days to hear visitors grumble about the shameless price markups and ever-increasing add-ons, or what Curtis refers to as “the gouge.” In December, MGM Resorts made headlines when it raised resort fees across its properties — for the second time in a year. Last month, a guest at the Flamingo discovered that the hotel was allowing guests to check in early for an extra $60 — and that’s on top of what they already paid to book the room. His tweet about it went viral.

“This is why we just sleep in the car,” one Reddit user commented in response to increased resort fees.

Insiders, however, said that blips such as these are simply part of Las Vegas’ evolution. “This market is more adaptable than others out there,” noted Jeremy Aguero, a lead analyst at a local research firm. “You can find $8.99 steak and eggs and also $100 steak dinners.” (He’s referring to a popular breakfast special at Village Pub.)

It’s true that Vegas has always operated on a “something for everyone” ethos; in Aguero’s opinion, the city remains just as welcoming to those who can afford the $100 steak dinner — and $55 resort fees — as it is to those who can’t.

This elasticity — the higher highs and lower lows— are arguably part of Las Vegas’ charm. What’s off-putting for some is the increased focus now on the higher end of that spectrum. For instance, an average ticket to Adele’s residency at Caesars Palace last year hovered around $1,000. And with the introduction of Formula 1 racing on the Strip in 2023, access to the fabled Paddock Club suites cost $25,000. Even tickets to a Raiders game are some of the priciest in the league.

Ross Mollison, the founder of Spiegelworld, the company that’s behind some of the Strip’s edgiest shows, said, “Five-star resorts are over 40 percent of the market for ‘Absinthe.’” While “Absinthe” tickets generally go for around $200, Mollison was quick to point out that it’s possible to find deals that bring the price closer to $50.

As Las Vegas continues its summer slump, deals are getting easier to find. MGM Resorts is currently running a Room & Show promotion: Book any stay and receive two complimentary tickets to a show. Across town, Circa’s All-In package offers two nights for $400, with a $200 dining credit (counting the food and drink, that’s basically $100 a night). Wynn’s Fourth of July sale promoted a similar deal.

So which is it? Are travelers shunning Vegas because it’s too expensive? Or is the slowdown actually causing prices to come down? As always in Vegas, it depends where you look.

Success off the Strip

Over the years, downtown Las Vegas, an area several miles north of the Strip that includes the Arts District and Fremont Street, has proven to be a viable alternative, thanks to lower hotel rates and an abundance of restaurants, nightlife and entertainment options.

“It’s got that older Vegas feel,” Aguero said.

Indeed, many of the classic properties lining Fremont Street — places such as Four Queens, Binion’s and Golden Nugget — have free parking, and the resort fee is either low or nonexistent. And while the volume of hotel rooms downtown is much smaller than the Strip (around 6,000 compared to around 85,000), the district claims over half the visitation for Las Vegas as a whole, per the LVCVA.

The Fremont Street Experience, a five-block promenade that’s covered by the world’s largest LED canopy screen, has a zipline and free live concerts, and it sits near two key Vegas attractions: the Mob Museum and the Neon Museum. Anyone looking to let loose, hit the slots and enjoy some kind of spectacle — typical selling points for a trip to Vegas — will be pleased to know you can do all of that downtown, minus “the gouge.”

The numbers appear to agree: While Vegas has seen less visitors overall this year, visits to Fremont Street rose by 6 percent, said Andrew Simon, the president and CEO of the Fremont Street Experience.

Fremont Street’s main attraction is Viva Vision, Sin City’s answer to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: an overhead canopy of screen entertainment that spans over 1,500 feet and includes more than 12 million LED lights. Thanks to the Oscar-winning film “Anora,” Fremont Street has never been more widely known. The digital ceiling glimmers during a now-iconic scene that encapsulates the glitz of Las Vegas.

Fremont Street is gradually becoming an outdoor destination for events. In April, it hosted a Wrestlemania with appearances by Carmelo Hayes and Michin. Thousands of fans turned up to watch the live wrestlers compete in a video game that was broadcast in 2K resolution on the overhead canopy. The next day, the ‘80s band Living Color played to an audience of around 8,000. All of it was free.

Of course, Fremont may not be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s loud, garish and does nothing to hide the fact that you’re essentially walking through a glorified mall. But with its row of iconic casinos such as Golden Nugget and El Cortez, which date back to the ‘40s and ‘50s, it is, in many ways, more authentically Las Vegas than the Strip. Never mind that you have access to the Arts District (home to excellent spots such as Esther’s Kitchen, Soulbelly BBQ and Velveteen Rabbit), where you can enjoy a meal or a cocktail that’s just as good, if not better, than anything on the Strip — for half the price.

The trouble is, many travelers won’t abandon the imagined idea of Las Vegas that exists in their heads. That’s partly due to media representations, but it’s also due to an unwillingness to look beyond the obvious, familiar sights.

“People see ‘Ocean’s Eleven,’ and they want to stay at the Bellagio,” Curtis said. He admits that with the exception of Circa, there’s little downtown to match the grandeur of a place like Caesars Palace. But with the grandeur comes “the gouge.” And as long as folks are willing to pay those higher resort fees, casinos will feel entitled to keep grabbing. “It’s hard to feel sorry for the people who continue to feed it,” he said.

The average traveler likely expects some shameless gouging but within limitations. The only ride that someone should feel like they’re being taken on in Las Vegas is the roller coaster at New York-New York — though at $25 a pop, even something as harmless as a casino side attraction starts to feel a bit gouge-y. (For comparison, a ride on Coney Island’s Cyclone in New York City is 10 bucks.)

At the same time, travelers should consider that there’s more to Las Vegas than the Bellagio fountains and $25 cocktails. It’s still entirely possible to visit the city, see a show, book a nice room and have money left over for gambling. In some ways, you can have your cheeseburger and eat it too.

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Alex Schechter is a Las Vegas-based author. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, National Geographic, Travel+Leisure, Vox, Monocle and others. He hosts the podcast ‘Where Did You Come From, Where Did You Go?’