‘Vegas is solid’: Strip casino giants look beyond ‘soft’ summer
The Strip’s two largest casino operators are shrugging off a sluggish Las Vegas summer and looking ahead to a more prosperous end of the year.
MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment, which combined manage 17 casino hotels on Las Vegas Boulevard, are optimistic about the second half of 2025 and the early part of 2026, counting on several high-volume conventions and trade shows coming to town.
“Las Vegas is as solid as ever,” said Bill Hornbuckle, chief executive officer and president of MGM Resorts International, on Wednesday’s quarterly earnings call with investors and Wall Street analysts.
Hornbuckle’s declaration came hours after June visitation data showed an 11.3 percent year-over-year decline, the largest monthly drop percentage-wise since 2021.
MGM, the largest casino operator on The Strip, reported $2.1 billion in net revenue from its Las Vegas resorts during the second quarter of 2025, down nearly 4 percent from $2.2 billion posted during the same three-month period last year. The company reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and rent costs, or EBITDAR, of $710 million in the quarter compared to $782 million last year, a year-over-year decrease of 9.1 percent, according to public financial statements.
The company cited ongoing room renovations at MGM Grand hotel-casino for nearly $65 million of the EBITDAR decline. On a positive note, executives moved up the timetable for completion of the $300 million renovation project at MGM Grand to October.
‘History gives us confidence’
MGM does not break out specific financial data for its Las Vegas properties in public filings, but executives said group business, room rates and future bookings remain healthy.
“History gives us confidence,” Hornbuckle said when asked why the company remains optimistic despite declining visitation and revenue trends in Las Vegas. He said the company’s luxury properties in the city — Bellagio, Aria and The Cosmopolitan — continue to perform well.
The tone of MGM’s earnings call was comparable to that of Caesars Entertainment — MGM’s chief competitor on the Strip — who, the day before, offered a similar outlook on the market.
“I’ve been around Vegas a very long time…(and) this is normal seasonality that we haven’t seen in a while here. It’s nothing that leaves me concerned,” said Tom Reeg, chief executive officer of Caesars Entertainment, on Tuesday’s earnings call.
Reeg acknowledged a recent slowdown in Las Vegas business and anticipated continued softness through the summer. Much like MGM, Caesars expects to rebound later this year and into 2026, mostly on the strength of group bookings.
Caesars Entertainment reported a 3.7 percent year-over-year decline in net revenue and a nearly 21 percent drop in net income from its Las Vegas operations during the second quarter of 2025, according to public financial filings. Caesars generated $1.054 billion of net revenue from Las Vegas for the three-month period ending in June, down from $1.095 billion during the same quarter in 2024. The company reported $212 million of net income in the second quarter, compared to $268 million last year.
The Reno-based gaming and hospitality corporation operates eight casino resorts and one non-gaming hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.
During the company’s earnings call Tuesday, CEO Tom Reeg said the quarter started “strong” in April but “started to decline” in May and June. Reeg noted that this year’s calendar lacked the big-name entertainment headliners — Adele and Garth Brooks — who were performing in Las Vegas last year, which impacted non-casino revenues.
“Vegas started leaking as a market (at the) end of May. That leak accelerated into June,” he said Tuesday on the earnings call. “I’d expect the third quarter to be soft.”
Contact David Danzis at ddanzis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0378. Follow @AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.
