On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti The real story behind the slump in Las Vegas tourism
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Sep 26, 2025 Jeremy Aguero, a fourth-generation Las Vegas resident and principal analyst, teams up with Tick Sagerbloom, Chairman of the Clark County Board of Commissioners, to dive into the current tourism slump in Las Vegas. They discuss rising costs and how parking fees deter visitors. Aguero compares this downturn to past crises and assures it’s mostly cyclical. Sagerbloom highlights the ripple effects on local workers and the economy, while they assess the impact of national politics on international travel and the city’s evolving identity.
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Porter Describes Quieter Late Nights
- Larry Turner, a Four Queens porter, reports the downtown casinos quiet earlier in the night than before.
- He says he's taken double shifts as hours and patronage have fallen recently.
Tourism Drop Hits Worker Pay And Hours
- Las Vegas visitation fell about 12% year-over-year and hotel, airport, and road traffic are down.
- The slump immediately reduces tips and flexible hours for hospitality workers, rippling through the local economy.
Recent Drop May Follow A Sugar High
- 2023–2024 were banner years partly due to one-off events like Formula One and the Super Bowl.
- Some drop in 2025 likely reflects a pullback from that high rather than a wholly new structural decline.