Rise amid a fall
Amid all the showgirls at Harry Reid International Airport, fancy new advertising campaign, and special offers all aimed at boosting tourism, a fellow Clark County city has stolen some of Las Vegas’ thunder.
6% increase in tourism in 2025
While Laughlin can only boast eight hotel-casinos, the city 100 miles from America’s gambling capital has seen a 6% increase in tourism in 2025.
Vegas, meanwhile, saw an 8% decrease over the same time frame, which equates to two million fewer people visiting.
The contrast was picked up by local and world media, with a Sin City influencer giant sharing a Daily Mail headline proclaiming Laughlin the “new Las Vegas” on X:
According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), from January to July, Laughlin welcomed 859,000 visitors.
While Vegas always bounces back, Laughlin’s ability to attract tourists amid a US-wide economic slump casts its neighbor in a greedy light, especially given the negative press on Vegas resort fees, parking charges, food and drink costs.
Alternative to Vegas?
Recent media reports have backed up claims that tourists see Laughlin as a cost-friendly alternative to Vegas for a gambling destination. Add in the slump in tourism and the “new Las Vegas” tag for Laughlin, and it’s inevitable that Sin City’s failings would be somewhat magnified.
Late last month, Las Vegas hospitality veteran Aaron Perez publicly laid the blame for the gambling capital’s decline at the feet of “greedy corporations.”
Perez claimed casino operators on the Strip have taken away many benefits gamblers used to get and replaced them with additional fees.
“The comp culture that once brought people back to Vegas is diminished or gone, and instead the Strip has kind of been pricing out their bread-and-butter visitors in favor of trying to only cater to the top one percent,” Perez said.
The prices in Vegas are out of control.”
On Wednesday, the Review-Journal cited tourists Jeff and Karlena Pickering from Washington visiting Aquarius Casino Resort in Laughlin as concurring with Perez. “The prices in Vegas are out of control,” said Karlena.
Facing price comparison scrutiny and declining tourism numbers, the LVCVA launched its first major ad campaign since 2018 on September 4. The “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” big idea draws on the legacy of Sin City’s famous sign, recently seen at Harry Reid International Airport at an activation involving Vegas showgirls.
Laughlin laughing
Laughlin doesn’t seem to need the fancy signs or showgirls to promote itself.
The Review-Journal said that guests at Don Laughlin’s Riverside Resort Hotel and Casino were recently “spending money as they gambled at slot machines and table games and ate in restaurants.”
The casino resort’s Marketing and Entertainment Director Diana Fuchs summed up the free-spending mood with: “You get a lot of bang for your buck here.”
The Vegas daily cited one couple from Wisconsin who came to the Riverside with charter flight and hotel room comps earned through gambling, and another from Arizona who was drawn to the casino resort by a free two-night offer.
The latter couple, Heather and Jack Birkland from Yuma, described their last stay in Vegas as “overwhelming” because of construction and traffic.
