Downtown Las Vegas casinos say business steady despite economic headwinds

Downtown Las Vegas casino executives said business remains stable despite economic uncertainty and shifting travel patterns, pushing back against perceptions that the city is losing its appeal.

Speaking at a community forum hosted by the Downtown Vegas Alliance, leaders from major downtown properties said the market continues to see solid visitation and spending, even as comparisons to post-pandemic boom years remain challenging.

“It has been a challenge. We have some headwinds,” said Cliff Atkinson, chief executive officer of the Fremont Street Experience, who spent the previous two years as president of Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. “But I believe in the resilience of this city. We’re reinventing ourselves, and I think that’s what this city is most known for.”

Executives acknowledged concerns over rising prices, changing travel patterns and a widening “K-shaped economy,” where higher-income visitors continue to spend while lower-tier customers face increasing pressure.

“There’s a lot of social media, there’s a lot of news media that we thought was overreporting the overcharging and prices and affordability of Las Vegas in general,” said Joe Woody, chair of the Downtown Vegas Alliance and chief financial officer of El Cortez. “And we didn’t like that message.”

Despite softer performance compared with record growth in 2022 and 2023, operators said overall demand remains healthy.

“It’s hard to compare,” said Jonathan Jossel, CEO of Plaza hotel-casino. “There’s an expression that trees don’t grow to the sky. While things may not be as good as they were 12 to 24 months ago, it’s still pretty good.”

“There is still a tremendous amount of visitation, tremendous spend (and) gaming spend,” he added.

Operators pointed to diverging performance across properties as evidence of economic stratification among customers.

“We’ve been watching this for several years now, where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer,” said Jeff Victor, vice president of operations for Circa Hospitality Group. “Circa has done quite well. The D has definitely felt it, and the Golden Gate has felt it quite a bit.”

At the same time, some downtown casinos are seeing an influx of new and higher-spending visitors, including customers shifting from the Las Vegas Strip.

“We’ve seen a change in our customer. Our core customer is still coming in, strong play out of them,” Woody said. “We’re getting new faces in there, and it’s the higher end player.”

Executives said downtown’s appeal lies in offering a different experience from the Strip, including lower minimum bets and more personalized service.

“The thing that we have downtown that I hear a lot is the relationships that people feel like you developed,” Jossel said. “Whether it’s meeting Kenny (Epstein at El Cortez) or Derek (Stevens at Circa), people love coming downtown, meeting the individuals, talking to (them) and feeling like they have a relationship.”

He said there is a belief among downtown operators that they can “take care of a customer in a much more meaningful way,” than their Strip counterparts.

“We can make (guests) feel pretty special downtown. And, ultimately, we can repeat that time and time again.”

Looking ahead, industry leaders expressed confidence in the area’s long-term prospects, citing ongoing development and its distinctive character.

“It’s an authentic experience,” Atkinson said. “You can’t recreate the history (of downtown Las Vegas).”