| If you spend any time on social media, it's hard to avoid the scorching hot takes about Las Vegas' recent financial struggles. |
| Vegas critics say the exorbitant resort fees are brutal, the ever-increasing parking costs are punishing, the comps are few and far between — and did you notice the buffets are vanishing? |
| In short, Vegas is on a losing streak. |
| After fighting to bounce back from COVID-19 closures, Sin City is facing financial headwinds as fewer people, particularly Californians, are visiting, playing and ultimately spending money. |
| My colleague Terry Castleman dived into some theories, but also, as Terry does well, dug into the numbers to tell the tale of Vegas' sudden crap out. |
How do Californians figure into Vegas' struggle? |
| Visits to Las Vegas were down 11.3% in June 2025 versus a year earlier, according to data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. |
| Traffic on Interstate 15 at the California-Nevada border was down 4.3% over the same period, suggesting fewer visitors doing road trips from the Golden State to Vegas casinos. |
| The number of air travelers into Las Vegas overall declined 6.3% over the previous June. In 2024, Californians made up more than a fifth of air travelers into Vegas, with nearly half of those coming from the Los Angeles metro area. |
| A demographic report from the visitors authority estimated that Southern California provided 30% of all visitors to the city in 2024. |
| Add it all up, and Californians could be responsible for a significant portion of the decline in Vegas tourism. |
How do the numbers look internationally? |
| Tourism within the U.S. is only part of the picture, though, as experts previously predicted we are also seeing a slump in international tourism to the U.S. The convention and visitors authority estimates that 12% of the city's visitors are international. |
| A report from the World Travel and Tourism Council projected that the U.S. would lose $12.5 billion in international travel spending in 2025. |
| "While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the 'closed' sign," Julia Simpson, the council's president, said in a statement. |
| The report cited air-travel booking data from March that showed a 15% to 20% drop in expected travel from major tourism sources, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. |
What about Mexico and Canada? |
| Visitors from Canada and Mexico made up more than half of international visitors to Las Vegas in 2024, according to data from the visitors authority. |
| But President Trump's talk of making Canada the 51st state and his decision to hit Canada with tariffs have not endeared him to Canadian travelers. Meanwhile, media overseas have been bombarded with stories of capricious denials and detentions of travelers at U.S. border crossings. |
| Apparently, Mexican and Canadian tourists are not feeling so welcome in the U.S. these days. |
What's next? |
| "Las Vegas thrives on tourism," Rep. Steven Horsford wrote last week on X, "but under the Trump slump, the numbers are tanking." Horsford, a Democrat, represents Nevada's 4th Congressional District, which includes a portion of Las Vegas. |
| By many metrics — including visitor totals, convention attendance and room occupancy rates — Las Vegas has not fully recovered from the onset of the pandemic. |
| In dollar terms, however, Sin City continues to profit even as visitor numbers drop: Clark County, which includes Vegas, collected $1.16 billion in gambling revenue in June 2025, up 3.5% from a year earlier. |
| So, Vegas' luck has not run out yet. |
| For more, check out the full article here. |
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In memoriam |
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For your weekend |
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Going out |
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Staying in |
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Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team |
| Jim Rainey, staff writer
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters |
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