Worrying times
The drop in tourism levels in Las Vegas is well documented at this stage. Every month the figures show another year-on-year drop in people arriving at Harry Reid International Airport, meaning less gamblers to fill up Strip hotels.
special promotions at slashed rates to try to attract people
While gaming revenues haven’t dipped, many hotels are running special promotions at slashed rates to try to attract people to the city, amid falling occupancy rates.
A report from the Wall Street Journal detailed the knock-on impact on hospitality workers. Some of these individuals have seen significant drops in the tips they are receiving, a cut of more than 50% in certain cases.
Trump’s no tax on tips policy
A combination of factors has caused the dip in tourism, between ongoing economic uncertainty due to President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, higher cost of living, and the lack of value for even the most basic goods and services in Las Vegas.
President Trump has tried to keep more money in the pockets of hospitality workers by pushing through his campaign promise of eliminating tax on tips. This received the all-clear in Congress last month, meaning that workers are now exempt from having to pay personal income tax on tips totaling up to $25,000 in a year. They still need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on the first $25,000.
People on the ground
While this measure will save many people hundreds or thousands of dollars every year, it isn’t enough to make up for the shortfall from dipping visitor levels.
Talking to the Wall Street Journal, downtown Las Vegas tattoo artist Charlie Mungo claimed that his monthly income has dipped from between $3,000 and $6,000 monthly to about $1,500. While he said not paying tax on tips is a “rad thing,” he also made the point that “it doesn’t really do us much good if there aren’t any people to get tips from.”
a big dip in Canadian visitors
Mungo highlighted a big dip in Canadian visitors in particular, which once made up to 30% of his customer base but are now almost non-existent. The 36-year-old said that he and many of his peers are “starting to freak” in case things don’t improve.
