Las Vegas is replaying the old script of 2025: casinos are making money, but the number of people is decreasing. According to the latest data from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the state's gross gaming revenue (GGR) reached $1.29 billion in April, a year-on-year increase of 5%; Las Vegas Strip was even stronger—up 6.5% to $689 million. However, in the same month, the number of visitors dropped by 2% to 3.2 million, and passenger traffic at Harry Reid International Airport fell by 7% to 4.4 million. According to the PASA official website, what is more noteworthy is what is happening in the industry—Caesars has been privatized and acquired, and MGM may soon follow.
Baccarat three-month rolling +50% Spirit bankruptcy hits budget airline capacity
The growth engine on Las Vegas Boulevard is still Baccarat—in April, the casinos won $124.8 million on this game, a year-on-year increase of 15%, and the three-month rolling total is nearly 50% higher than the same period last year. At a conference last Monday at UNLV, researchers pointed out that global casino operators are increasingly interested in new data driven by smart tables for Baccarat. However, aside from gaming, the tourism data is not so pleasant. The number of visitors in April broke the positive growth of the previous two months, with hotel ADR slightly up 1%, RevPAR slightly down 1%, basically flat. The most troublesome is aviation—Spirit Airlines officially ceased operations on May 2, and its Las Vegas passenger flow in April plummeted 72%, becoming a permanent gap. The two major Canadian airlines, WestJet and Air Canada, both saw year-on-year declines of over 20%, and Mexico's Aeromexico fell 26%. Fortunately, Frontier (+15%) and Alaska Airlines (+33%) are taking over some of the capacity. Overall international passenger flow in April fell 12%, YTD cumulative drop 15%, with Canada and Mexico, the two traditional source markets, being the main reasons.
Both giants being acquired at the same time Caesars
$5.7 billion final bid MGM $5.7 billion final bid MGM $5.7 billion final bid MGM $18 billion pending
On the gaming front, almost all regional markets in the state are rising: southern Laughlin +16%, Mesquite +4%, northern Reno +11%, Sparks +20%—every tracked market in Nevada is showing positive growth this fiscal year. But what really shakes the industry is not the numbers, but the mergers and acquisitions. Last week, Tilman Fertitta privatized Caesars for **
$5.7 billion** (including debt $5.7 billion** (including debt $5.7 billion** (including debt $17.6 billion), Golden Nugget and Caesars have competitive overlaps in three Nevada markets, and divestiture of assets may be a necessary condition for the completion of the transaction. Following this, MGM's largest shareholder Barry Diller's People Inc proposed to buy the remaining 74% of shares it does not yet own at **
$48.30** per share, valuing it at about $48.30** to buy the remaining 74% $18 billion; MGM has confirmed receipt of the offer and will review the next steps. The two most iconic companies in the American gaming industry are being acquired at the same time window—this is not just news for Las Vegas, it's an earthquake for the entire industry.
————
This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders" gambling news channel: https://t.me/pasa_news
Gambling original deep channel: https://t.me/gamblingdeep
Free data report: @pasa_research
PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
