Las Vegas Convention Crowds Surge 25% in June as Leisure Travel Slows

^{Convention attendance continues to grow in Las Vegas. More than 148,000 people attended CES from Jan. 6-9. (Photo: courtesy of CES)}

3.08 million people visited Las Vegas in June, down 0.5% from last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Through the first six months of the year, Las Vegas has seen just 31,300 more visitors than in 2025.

While gaming revenue for the month was up slightly for the state, the Las Vegas Strip saw a 1.39% decrease, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. For the fiscal year, which runs from July through June, gaming revenue at Strip casinos was up 1.96%.

Vacations Down, Conventions Up

Leisure travelers account for more than 80% of visitors to Las Vegas each year. So far this year, overall visitation is essentially flat, only up 0.02%.

Convention visitors make up a much smaller share of overall traffic, but that number is climbing nearly every month. In June, convention attendance was up a whopping 25.8%. So far this year, convention attendance is up 12.6%.

While that's only 409,100 more people, they're among the biggest spenders in Las Vegas. Leisure travelers are always looking for a deal, but business travelers are less concerned with budgets since they often have corporate accounts to cover expenses.

This is the reason Strip casinos like the Venetian continue to upgrade their convention and meeting spaces.

During this week’s quarterly earnings call, MGM Resorts announced it was renovating the Bellagio convention and meeting spaces.

Convention visitors typically stay at hotels on the Strip, which shows up in hotel occupancy across Las Vegas. Downtown occupancy was down 6.7% to 55.8%, while the Strip was up slightly to 82.2%.

So far this year, hotel occupancy on the Strip is up 0.02%, while downtown is off 3.6%. Room rates are following suit, with the Strip increasing 4.1% to $208, while downtown is up less than 1% to $100.87, or 66 cents more than a year ago.

Strip Casino Revenue Down Across The Board

Gaming revenue on the Strip was down 1.39% to $765 million in June. There's no one game to blame for the dip.

Table game revenue was down 4.29% for the month. The major increase came from a less popular game, Let It Ride, which was up 50%. Roulette and mini-baccarat also saw decent increases, but most games were down.

Sports bettors in the area took a bath, with sports betting revenue jumping 42.9%. Downtown casinos saw a similar 46.3% increase in sports betting revenue.

Downtown Las Vegas casinos had a great month at the tables, with a 17.3% increase in revenue compared to last year. The main contributor was a massive 349.38% increase in mini-baccarat revenue.

While mini-baccarat generated less than 20% of the revenue that blackjack did, this increase is a trend we've seen throughout the year in Las Vegas.

Amazingly enough, downtown slot revenue fell more than 3%, and it could have been worse. Every individual denomination was down, except for the seven $25 slot machines, which saw a 235.81% increase in revenue.