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We all knew there was going to be a “hangover” of sorts for Las Vegas betting in early 2025 compared to 2024. Why? Because there was not going to be a Super Bowl repeat this year.
If you recall, the city of Las Vegas hosted the “Big Game” between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. Big game it was as it went into overtime, only the second time in Super Bowl history. It was the first time the city hosted the whole shebang, not just took in Super Bowl betting.
And of course, it was a massive boon to the city’s business. But now that we have February 2025 numbers, we can see just how so. Keep reading and we’ll discuss in-depth just how much of a Super Bowl hangover the city of Las Vegas felt.
Nevada Numbers Slide Big Time In February 2025
To preface, the numbers we’re about to share are straight from the source — namely the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and the Nevada Gaming Control Board. It’s not a tag-tag third-party source. No, these are the two places that know EXACTLY how much money and people are flowing in and out of Sin City the past two years.
For starters, overall visitation this past Februrary plunged 11.9 percent compared to the same month in 2024. Gaming win on the Strip? Down even more at 13.8 percent for the month.
Obviously, not having the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium is the main factor in the double-digit drop-offs. The NFL title game draws hundreds of thousands of extra visitors, most of whom are very affluent given how much the entry costs to the Super Bowl. But there’s a second reason for the fall-off: leap year. That’s right, 2024 has 29 days thanks to a leap year, whereas 2025 has the usual 28. That missing day stung the city, believe it or not.
“With the combined factors of a tough comparison to last year when Super Bowl 58 was held in the destination, a net decrease in the convention segment tied to rotation cycles, and one fewer day on the calendar compared to the 2024 leap year, visitation fell below 3 million for the month,” said Kevin Bagger, director of the LVCVA Research Center.
Nearly every tourism indicator for February was worse than a year ago, per Bagger. Visitor volume came in just shy of 3 million. Convention attendance was down 19.5 percent to 615,400. Hotel occupancy dipped 3.4 points to 80.5 percent. The average daily room rate took a serious hit, falling 25 percent to $186.16 per night. Room nights occupied dropped 10.7 percent to 3.4 million. We could go on, but you get the picture.
Hell, even Harry Reid International Airport felt the slump. The airport reported 7.5 percent fewer passengers in February compared to last year — about 4 million flyers in total. Almost every major airline had fewer passengers, too. Southwest Airlines, the market leader, was down 5.9 percent to 1.5 million passengers, and the beloved Spirit Airlines took an even bigger hit, dropping 21.8 percent to 452,738 travelers.
Gaming Takes Slightly Less Bad Hit
On the gaming side, the numbers weren’t as bad, but they were far from great either. Clark County — where Las Vegas falls under — gaming win slid 9.7 percent to $1.06 billion. The Strip, specifically, saw a 13.8 percent drop to $690.3 million.
The small morale win, though? Nevada betting as a whole managed to keep its impressive streak alive — making it 48 straight months with at least $1 billion in gaming win — but just barely. February’s statewide gaming revenue hit $1.22 billion, down 9.3 percent from the record-setting February 2024. Hey, a win is a win, right?
It wasn’t bad news everywhere though. Some of Southern Nevada’s smaller markets actually posted gains. Mesquite was up 2.8 percent to $16.5 million. Laughlin edged up 0.4 percent to $42.2 million. Outlying Clark County — including places like Henderson and the southwest valley where the new Durango property is located — climbed 1 percent to $144 million.
When Will Vegas Get A Super Bowl Again?
The Super Bowl wasn’t just good to Las Vegas. No, no, no Las Vegas was ood to the Super Bowl, as well. The city is built to host massive events like with sprawling hotels and ballrooms to accommodate visitors, who can take the edge off with unlimited entertainment and dining options. Plus, 70-degree weather in February is appealing to visitors.
We fully anticipate Las Vegas to become a “rotation” city for the Super Bowl. NFL officials will never acknowledge a rotation exists, but you’re fooling yourself if you don’t think it does. Also a part of the rotation mix is Miami, Phoenix, Atlanta, San Francisco and Los Angeles. All of these cities have or will host multiple Super Bowls since 2010.
The NFL already has its next three hosts picked out — San Francisco, California, and Atlanta. Therefore, the earliest the Big Game could return to Las Vegas would be 2029. Of course, Sin City will face stiff competition from other cities in 2029 and the years that follow. But Vegas has enough advantages that we’re extra confident it’ll soon benefit from hosting another Super Bowl at Allegiant.
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