LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A rainy New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas didn’t stop the fun on Thursday night — revelers took over the Strip to enjoy fireworks, concerts and everything our city has to offer to ring in 2026. Las Vegas Las Vegas casino resorts have been long known for their entertaining shows, endless casino action and bright lights. Las Vegas expects 340K+ revelers for ‘America’s Party 2026’ NYE, potentially ranking among the city’s strongest celebrations, reports LVCVA. Strip November’s revenue dipped despite higher wagering as Nevada gaming rose 2.3% to US$1.34 billion vs November 2024’s US$1.31 billion. A visitation downturn coupled with strong gaming numbers, expansion coming to airport and the rise of prediction markets were key stories of 2025. Plus, Casino Collectibles Association has added a tool to its website to help casino chip collectors find chips to add to their collections.

• We also cover up-to-the-minute news stories regarding gambling, poker games, online gaming, and much more.
• Strip hotel rooms were occupied 87.6% of the nights, down 0.4%, while downtown Las Vegas rooms saw occupancy rates slow almost 3% to 72%.
• Circa Casino & Resort CEO Derek Stevens tells Fox News Digital that reports claiming tourism is falling in Las Vegas are “a bit exaggerated” — and shared his prediction for Sin City in the next six months.
• At the Otonomous Hotel, billed as the world’s first fully AI-powered hotel, guests are greeted not by a human behind a desk, but by Oto, a chatty humanoid robot with the job title “Chief Vibes Officer.”

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“It was fun, it was good seeing people that active, that engaged, and such varied celebrations.” Even mired in a tourism slump, there’s still something drawing visitors to the Entertainment Capital of the World, who say taking in America’s Party was special. Seeing all of the crowds might make you forget that one of the biggest stories of 2025 was the tourism slump hitting the valley, but recently released numbers show we could be starting to move in the right direction.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would increase the number of people with health insurance by 100,000 this year, 3 million in 2027, 4 million in 2028 and 1.1 million in 2029. Margaret Rudin had sued the state of Nevada under a 2019 law allowing people to seek a certificate of innocence in wrongful convictions. Local pickleball aficionados who regularly encounter packed courts across the valley will find some relief in early 2027, when the city of Las Vegas is slated to inaugurate a couple dozen new courts. While Oto may still be confined to the lobby, he offers a glimpse of a potential future where hotels run as much on AI as on human interaction.

Sen. Clay Yarborough (R-Nassau) is hoping to remove the controversial DEI policies from the state’s gaming framework during the 2026 legislative session. The new change comes just days after Chicago enacted a new city-specific license and tax system. MGM China and Melco award about 96% of employees an extra month’s salary for 2025 work, continuing Macau casino’s annual year-end bonus tradition.

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The robot was created by California-based company IntBot, which develops humanoid robots for hotels, airports, and resorts. Check-in is entirely digital, with guests uploading ID via their phone and accessing their rooms using QR codes through the hotel’s app. At the Otonomous Hotel, billed as the world’s first fully AI-powered hotel, guests are greeted not by a human behind a desk, but by Oto, a chatty humanoid robot with the job title “Chief Vibes Officer.” Researchers found that magnetic brain stimulation can reduce cravings in those experiencing gambling addictions for at least six months. Typically, operators rely on geo-tracking to enforce regulatory compliance by using player geolocation data to ensure play happens within a legal jurisdiction. Geolocation technology—which, first and foremost, ensures jurisdictional compliance—is emerging as a vital responsible gambling tool beyond its traditional uses.

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Fewer guests naturally led to hotel occupancy declines. Nevada casino revenue over the past three months is down almost 4% from last year and down 0.5% over vegas casino app the past 12 months. The Boulder Strip helped offset some of the Strip’s struggles with a gaming win surge of 8% to $89.9 million. While table and sportsbook win was up 1% to $259.4 million, revenue from the terminals was down over 5% at $387.5 million. The Nevada Gaming Control Board revealed today that the Strip’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) April outcome was slots’ fault. April marked the third month in a row where Las Vegas casino win was lower year-over-year.

Meet Oto: The robot concierge welcoming guests at an AI-powered hotel in Las Vegas

Despite the unionization milestone, slower tourism, automation, and cost-cutting have shifted the labor dynamics. The 60,000-member union is one of the largest labor unions in Nevada and provides casino workers with better job security and 32% wage increases over a five-year contract. “I think in six months, I would believe that Vegas tourism and our economy overall will be in a much better place,” predicted Stevens.

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Amid some uncertainty, he said the industry has come to the realization that the economy has slowed a bit. “I think in six months, I would believe that Vegas tourism and our economy overall will be in a much better place,” said the CEO of a Vegas resort company. Las Vegas is facing a pronounced tourism decline, with just 3.1 million June visitors this year — an 11.3% drop from last year.

Stevens said Circa has found a niche by being “very sports-oriented,” with the resort and casino drawing in crowds for recent events. There is also information about the gambling industry specific to Las Vegas, as it is often a microcosm of the US gambling industry as a whole. The Gaming Control Board’s latest report shows a 10.3% boost for Downtown Las Vegas casinos in November, while Strip casinos lagged slightly behind, with a 0.5% decrease in November.

Discover the latest in-depth casino industry news at LasVegasCasinoNews.com. He aims to provide up-to-the-minute and detailed coverage of headlines in the sports betting industry. He has followed the retail industry since his time living in Las Vegas and has continued to do so as the online industry has taken off. The poll found that more people favor expanding sports betting in the US. In 2025, all major casinos on the Las Vegas Strip are now unionized for the first time in history. Stevens said he’s spoken with other Las Vegas casino CEOs and said across the industry, there’s a “mixed bag” of opinions regarding the current state of tourism.

• The Grand Ho Tram began welcoming Vietnamese players under government approval, becoming Vietnam’s second casino that locals can access.
• Only 3.1 million people visited Sin City in June, down 11.3% compared to last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).
• Residents who sign up will be unable to use online sportsbooks, ending (most of) the targeted advertising they receive.
• Tennessee has sent cease-and-desist letters to dozens of sweepstakes casinos, signaling growing pressure on unregulated online gambling.
• April marked the third month in a row where Las Vegas casino win was lower year-over-year.

Michael covers everything from online casino reviews to industry news, making him one of the most trusted insiders in the business. Bonus.com is a comprehensive online gambling resource that provides tested and verified promotions, unbiased reviews, expert guides, and industry-leading news. California’s new law, AB 831, signed by Governor Newsom, bans sweepstakes casinos starting January 1, 2026, closing a loophole to protect tribal gaming rights and ensure consumer safety. A bill banning online sweepstakes casinos is now on Gov. Hochul’s desk, with a Dec. 31 deadline to sign or veto. Three attempts by states to ban sweepstakes casinos have failed in the past two weeks and the industry’s trade group is overjoyed.

Reno and Downtown LV Casinos Thrive While Vegas Visits Dip 5.2% in November

South Africa’s National Treasury has proposed a new 20% tax on online gambling revenue. As a result, casinos like Fontainebleau and Resorts World quietly laid off their casino workers, and more casinos turned to automation. The Venetian was one of the last casinos to join the Culinary Workers Union due to a change in ownership.

Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. We also hold a strong commitment to Responsible Gaming, and we only cover legally-licensed companies to ensure the highest level of player safety and security. We’ll likely find out how much the holiday travel period and America’s Party affected tourism numbers later this month, as those year-end reports should be ready and released by the end of January.

Since making a splash in Nevada in 2025, prediction markets could become a $1 trillion industry as they continue to grow, according to a recent report.

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It might not yet be time to panic, but Nevada gaming operators are certainly becoming increasingly worried about their near-term business outlooks. Contrary to expectations, a recent study suggests that access to multiple slot themes does not increase players’ gambling time. A GambleAware-backed study is investigating the best practices for treating gambling harm among neurodiverse people. As the gambling industry evolves and grows, its commitment to responsible gambling is increasingly important. The future of the Texas Lottery is in jeopardy amid a series of scandals and facing a legislature hostile to legal gambling in any form.

Caesars Entertainment’s Q3 earnings revealed a 10% decline in crucial Las Vegas revenue, driven primarily by a drop in international and domestic tourism, despite growth in its regional casino and digital segments. His content encompasses casino, software provider, and game reviews, news, and blogs. Residents who sign up will be unable to use online sportsbooks, ending (most of) the targeted advertising they receive. Portugal extends casino licenses for a strictly necessary period of three months during procedural steps, unless legal challenges arise. Germany’s regulated gambling market moves into 2026 with major legal rulings and regulatory decisions expected to shape its future direction. Lawmakers in Mississippi and Wisconsin are back in session and already discussing expanding their sports betting markets to include mobile sportsbooks.

Plus, Chicago on Thursday plans to implement a 10.25 percent tax on sports betting generated on apps within the city limits. Our wide-ranging research capabilities serve industry partners and national tourism advocacy organizations. Most of MGM’s other Strip casinos, such as the MGM Grand, levy an in-room service charge of around $10. The going rate for a Strip casino hotel in April 2025 was $194 on the weekend and $182 midweek. Strip casinos still managed to charge higher rates. Along with the poor April gaming report, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) exposed today that Southern Nevada visitor volume last month tumbled over 5% to approximately 3.33 million people.

Missouri’s long-awaited launch of online sports betting on December 1st instantly created a diverse and expansive legal wagering ecosystem that also includes federally regulated prediction markets, sweepstakes-based social casinos, and established riverboat properties. Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill to legalize online casino gaming while banning sweepstakes sites. Ohio lawmakers are making another attempt to legalize online casinos after failing in 2024. Tennessee has sent cease-and-desist letters to dozens of sweepstakes casinos, signaling growing pressure on unregulated online gambling. Richard is dedicated to delivering the most current and precise news in the online casino industry.

For the latest Las Vegas casino and gaming industry news and headlines visit reviewjournal.com. 2025 was a landmark year for US gamblers, highlighted by two historic Powerball jackpots exceeding $1.7 billion each, dominant WSOP poker victories, multimillion-dollar casino payouts, and high-profile sports betting parlays cashing hundreds of thousands. As Minnesota continues to work through online sports betting, it is considering banning push notifications from online operators. It would allow up to 11 online casino  brands with a tax rate of 36% to 40%, the highest among iGaming states. The seven states where you can play online casino games pulled in nearly $900 million—specifically, $898.1 million in gross revenue. 2025 was a landmark year for US gamblers, highlighted by two historic Powerball jackpots exceeding $1.7 billion each, dominant WSOP poker victories, multimillion-dollar casino payouts, and high-profile sports betting parlays …

Atlantic City Play in Atlantic City’s wide variety of casinos and poker rooms. Multiple multi-billion dollar casinos are operating here. Entertainment City Sleeping giant of Asian casinos is the Philippines. The Strip’s largest casino-hotel construction project is making progress toward its 2027 opening, with a significant portion of the new vertical structure now complete. The LVCVA chronicles the city’s sights and sounds, showcasing the exciting events happening across the city daily and providing a resource for media.