Las Vegas Strip Revenue Rises 6.5% As Downtown Slips

Nevada casinos generated $1.29 billion in April gaming revenue, up 5.2% from $1.23 billion a year earlier. The Las Vegas Strip led the report, while downtown Las Vegas posted the only decline among Nevada markets.

Good to Know

• The Las Vegas Strip generated $689.4 million, up 6.5% year over year.
• Downtown Las Vegas fell 0.62% to $83.4 million.
• Baccarat helped the Strip, but slot volume gave the cleaner growth signal.

Regional Casinos Quietly Had A Strong April

The “Vegas is dying” talk did not fit the April gaming revenue report from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Statewide revenue climbed, the Strip grew, and regional markets delivered some of the best gains.

Laughlin rose 16.9%, Sparks increased 20.2%, Reno gained 11.8%, and South Lake Tahoe was up 10.4%. North Lake Tahoe also improved 6.6%. Mesquite, the Boulder Strip, and North Las Vegas posted smaller gains, while Las Vegas locals casinos were nearly flat with 0.4% growth.

Downtown Las Vegas was the outlier. Casinos there produced $83.4 million, down from $83.9 million in April 2025. A half-million-dollar drop is not huge, but it looks different when every other Nevada market moved higher.

That contrast says more about the customer mix than the headline totals. Downtown usually serves the value side of the Las Vegas market, with cheaper rooms, lower food prices, and fewer costs than Strip resorts. Yet budget players appear to be choosing regional casino trips instead of downtown visits.

The Strip number also needs context. Revenue rose 6.5% to $689.4 million, but baccarat carried part of the gain. Without baccarat, Strip growth drops to 4.8%.

Baccarat revenue rose about 15% year over year even though baccarat volume fell 2%. The key was hold. Strip baccarat hold reached 16.5% in April, up from 14% a year earlier. The Nevada Gaming Control Board viewed 16.5% as normal for the game, but that swing still helped operators.

Still, the Strip did not rely only on table variance. Slot win reached $407 million, up 5%, and slot handle also rose 5%. Hold stayed almost unchanged. That makes slots the healthier number because growth came from volume, not luck.

Local casinos showed a more mixed slot picture. Handle jumped 27.8% year over year, while slot revenue dropped 1%. That gap likely reflects a hold swing, though several more months will give a clearer view.

For Strip operators, April offered both comfort and a warning. Higher-end baccarat play still matters, and slot demand looked solid. However, regional Nevada growth suggests more western US gambling spend may be shifting toward drive-in destinations. If that continues, downtown Las Vegas may feel the pressure before the Strip does.

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