Las Vegas entered 2026 aiming to move past last year’s softness. Instead, new data show the downturn has continued across key tourism and gaming indicators. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, statewide gross gaming revenue (GGR) totaled $1.34 billion in January, down 6.5% from a year earlier. Revenue on the Las Vegas Strip fell 11% year over year to $747.6 million, marking its steepest monthly percentage decline since February 2025.

Baccarat, often viewed as a barometer of high-end demand, posted a sharp drop. Strip baccarat GGR fell 44% year over year to $118.5 million. The state’s hold percentage on baccarat was 13% in January, compared with 27% in the same month last year. Through this point in the fiscal year, statewide GGR is flat, while the Strip is down 1%.

Other southern Nevada markets also declined in January. Downtown Las Vegas generated $75.4 million, down 5%. The locals market posted $165.6 million, down 3%. Boulder City reported $81.2 million, a 7% decrease. All three markets remain positive for the fiscal year to date.

Visitor volume also slipped. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported 3.2 million visitors in January, a 2% decline year over year. Hotel occupancy was mostly lower, though some pricing metrics improved. Average daily room rates on the Strip rose 7%, and revenue per available room increased 3.5%. Air travel showed sharper declines. Total passenger traffic at Harry Reid International Airport fell 8% in January. International traffic dropped 19%. The bankruptcy of Spirit Airlines weighed on domestic numbers, with the carrier’s traffic down 74%. Major Canadian and Mexican airlines also posted double-digit percentage declines.

Mixed corporate results

Fourth-quarter earnings reflected the broader slowdown on the Strip. The market’s three largest operators — Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment — each reported year-over-year declines in Las Vegas performance for the fourth quarter. In contrast, local-focused operators Red Rock Resorts and Boyd Gaming extended a multi-year trend of stronger results in non-Strip markets, both for the quarter and full year.

Before earnings season, Macquarie analyst Chad Beynon warned that fourth-quarter risks for Las Vegas segments were “to the downside,” while projecting that Boyd and Red Rock were positioned to outperform consensus estimates. Following the reports, Beynon raised his price target for MGM and lowered targets for Wynn and Caesars. All three retained “outperform” ratings.

The divergence underscores a broader 18-month pattern in which local and regional properties have offset weaker Strip performance.

January’s data show that while statewide gaming revenue is holding flat for the fiscal year, the Las Vegas Strip continues to face sustained pressure from declines in high-end play, visitation and sports betting.

Sports betting declines and new competition

Sports betting also weakened at the start of 2026. Statewide sports betting GGR fell 11% year over year in January. Football betting revenue dropped 27% during the NFL and college football playoffs. On the Strip, sports betting GGR declined 17% to $27.9 million, with football revenue down 40%.

Early February data suggest continued pressure. On 9 February, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported Super Bowl revenue of $9.8 million, less than half of last year’s $22.1 million. The comparison is partly distorted by an unusually high hold percentage in 2025 of 14.6%, the strongest in a decade. Still, total handle of $133.8 million in 2026 was the lowest Super Bowl figure in that same period. Industry observers point to several contributing factors, including the expansion of sports-event contracts on prediction markets. The American Gaming Association estimates that prediction markets have diverted more than $560 million in potential state tax revenue nationwide.

Nevada regulators are pursuing litigation against prediction market operators Kalshi, Crypto.com, Robinhood and Polymarket. Nevada was the first state to issue cease-and-desist orders to such platforms last spring. For now, the data point to a market still searching for stability. While pricing power on the Strip remains intact and local properties show resilience, declines in high-end gaming, visitation and air traffic suggest that Las Vegas has yet to regain sustained momentum in 2026.