Mini Baccarat Surge Drives Vegas Strip Revenue Gains in April, Despite Fewer Visitors

^{Foot traffic on the Strip dipped in April, but casino revenue was up by 6.58% thanks to mini baccarat. (Photo: Marc Meltzer  / Casinos.com)}

LAS VEGAS — For the first time in three months, Las Vegas visitation fell by 1.8% in April, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.  

Airlines flying to Las Vegas also continued to dip during the month. Harry Reid International Airport reported 4.3 million passengers in April, a 7.13% dip from last year. 

On a positive note, Las Vegas gaming revenue declined less than visitation. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, casinos on and around the Vegas Strip saw 6.58% more gaming revenue than in April 2025. Downtown gaming revenue fell slightly, while the Boulder Strip and surrounding areas were up a little.

International Visitation Down Again

April marked the 15th consecutive month of declining passenger volume at Harry Reid. The 7.1% dip was the second-largest this year and the fourth-largest since February 2025.

International passengers again led the decline, falling 12.4% in April and down 14.6% for the year. Canadians continue to skip Las Vegas. Passengers flying WestJet were down 22.1% from last year, while Air Canada was off 21%.

Both airlines also saw fewer passengers than in March. There doesn't appear to be an end in sight, despite the success of Circa's At Par promotion.

Las Vegas Visitation Dips in April

Some 3.275 million visitors traveled to Las Vegas in April, a 1.8% decrease from last year. Visitation is off just 0.2% year-to-date, with more than 13 million people making the trip to Sin City so far in 2026.

Convention attendance for the month was up 3.2% over April 2025, boosted by recurring shows, including the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show, which drew 58,000 attendees, and Google Next, which brought 32,000.

The convention bump pushed the average daily hotel room rate on the Strip to $205.60, up 1.2% from last year. Citywide room rates were flat for the month.

Downtown hotel occupancy and room rates continue to slide. The average room rate fell 5.8% to $94.88, with just 68.4% of rooms occupied.

Vegas Strip Gaming Revenue Boosted by Mini Baccarat

Vegas Strip casinos collected $689.4 million in gaming revenue in April, a solid 6.58% increase from last year.

Table game revenue on the main tourist corridor was up 8.83%. The increase spanned multiple games, from a 6.33% bump in blackjack revenue to a 283.3% surge in mini baccarat revenue.

Strip casinos also saw large jumps in craps and Pai Gow Poker revenue, up 61.8% and 54.8%, respectively.

Gaming revenue was essentially flat elsewhere in the greater Las Vegas area. Downtown casino revenue fell 0.62%, while Boulder Strip casinos in the Henderson area saw a 0.08% increase.

The big mover downtown was also mini baccarat, up 74% from last year.

The only major increase in Clark County was about 90 minutes away in Laughlin, where gaming revenue rose 16.9% in April.

Anecdotally, there has been a noticeable increase over the past year in podcasters and social media influencers touting baccarat's low house edge as a key advantage.

The house edge is slightly above 1%, which theoretically allows a bankroll to last longer than in games with a higher casino advantage.

While the theory makes sense, casinos boost their edge in a couple of significant ways. Mini baccarat games are much faster than the big games played in high-limit rooms, running between 90 and 150 hands per hour compared to about half that for the traditional big table game. 

If the casino earns 1% on every hand, increasing the number of hands played per hour directly increases its total revenue.

The version on the main casino floor often includes multiple side bets. Recreational gamblers love these long-shot wagers with a high house edge because they occasionally produce big winners, as Palms demonstrated this week.

Progressive table game side bets were a hot topic for table game managers at G2E last year. Casinos love them for the revenue boost. Players love the shot at life-changing jackpots.