Vegas Hits a Record 42 Million Visitors in 2015

Las Vegas had a record breaking year in 2015 with 42 million visitors making the trip to Sin City however before the champagne corks start flying, and although that's great news for the casino industry in Nevada, there was still a small net casino gaming loss. The numbers provided by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority confirm that last years high just about pips the 41.1 million mark from 2014 and while gaming revenue may be down, looking at the bigger picture, things are most definitely on the up.

Historically, Las Vegas casinos and hotels have relied on the revenue from slots and casino table games, however things are changing, and Millennials have other things on their minds when visiting the gambling mecca of Vegas...and it's not gambling.

Instead of dropping off the bags and heading directly to the blackjack and roulette tables a new generation of Vegas visitors are getting their kicks in other ways, and while not spending as much on casino gambling, they are still spending. People are now more likely to spend their cash on shows, restaurants, nightclubs and general partying, and it's a trend that's being going on sometime with non gaming revenue in 2014 up by over $480 million on 2007, and that's some swing.

Most analysts will state that Las Vegas is still very much in recovery mode and while that may be the case, record numbers of visitors is never a bad thing. Jonathan Galaviz of Global Market Advisors in Las Vegas says that people are coming to Vegas however there have been no new big attractions for sometime, however that's about to change. Galaviz believes that the new $4 billion Genting Group Resorts World Las Vegas can change that somewhat, providing, "something new, something exciting, something interesting".

More people than ever are checking into Vegas hotels and that's a great sign and while gambling revenue is of course a concern, the fact that visitors are still coming in their droves means that there's plenty of life in Vegas, and plenty to look forward to in the next few years.