Resorts world closing poker room due to low visitors

[jay]

Resorts World Las Vegas is closing its poker room as travel to Sin City continues to dip.

The casino’s poker room will shutter March 30, Resorts World confirmed to Fox News Digital.

Resorts World said it will be “introducing new gaming opportunities to replace the poker room.” It’s unclear what the new games will be.

The poker room offers No Limit Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and mixed games, according to the Resorts World website. The room has a dedicated tournament area with “high payouts.”

Resorts World is fairly new to the Las Vegas Strip, opening its doors in June 2021. Once its poker room closes at the end of the month, there will be just eight poker rooms on the Strip, according to the blog Vital Vegas.

Vital Vegas reported in January on the closure of Planet Hollywood’s poker room, which opened just a few months before.

The poker room closures come at a time when Las Vegas tourism is declining.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said in a January news release that Sin City had just 38.5 million visitors last year. While that may seem a lot, it’s a 7.5 percent decrease from 2024, according to the LVCVA.  LVCVA pointed to “more cautious consumer sentiment” and “ongoing international travel considerations” as to why tourism may be down. As Americans struggle with the cost of living, they may be less inclined to take a vacation.

“The spending slowdown is real,” Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG, an organization that provides audit, tax and advisory services, told The Washington Post last summer. “Consumers are stressed, and this is where we’re seeing it first: in domestic flights, hotels, and a lot of other service-sector spending.”

Not only is domestic travel down but fewer foreign travelers are visiting the U.S. Visits to the U.S. were down among 10 of the top 20 international tourist-generating countries in 2025, Business Insider reported in January.

“Las Vegas operates at a scale that few destinations can match, and 2025 required us to remain nimble as conditions evolved,” Steve Hill, president and CEO of the LVCVA, said in January. “Despite a challenging environment, convention demand remained steady, the events calendar remained strong, and the destination continued to adapt in real time.” Those who do visit Sin City are spending less time gambling. The LVCVA’s 2025 Las Vegas Visitor Profile Study found travelers went to an average of 3.1 casinos during their visit, down from previous years.

Las Vegas’ wedding industry has also taken a hit.

Clark County, which Vegas is part of, experienced more than 70,000 weddings in 2025 — more than 6,000 fewer than the year before, according to Clark County Clerk Lynn Marie Goya. Despite last year’s grim travel numbers, Sin City remains optimistic that tourism will increase given the many events on the calendar, including the Las Vegas Grand Prix and UFC International Fight Week. LVCVA also said international travel should increase thanks to the 2026 World Cup and America’s 250th anniversary.

[jay]

It is well documented that in times of economic uncertany sin sales (alcohol, tobacco, weed, etc) go up and Vegas (sin city) was usually the first place to bounce back.

Vegas was viewed cheap vacation - discounted or free rooms, inexpensive food, free alcohol if your a player, everyone was treated well.
People referred to it as Lost-Wages vs Las Vegas as they made it fun to lose.... now the getting in price is too high for the low to mid range player that they just don't come and the fun doesn't start. If I am in a 30,000 square foot casino, and am the only one. Doesn't matter how much money I have the vibe of the place is that of a mortuary and its no fun to be the only one at the party.

Vegas moved from SIN city to Gouge City and when the economy rebounds I don't think Vegas will be the first place people run to.
I finally think they have plucked the golden goose to the point that fewer and fewer people now think of Vegas as an inexpensive quick get away.

If you read the LVCVA info - weddings are down. Go to Vegas with the Girl Friend blow off some steam, get drunk, and end up married...
With the curtailment of free drinks to slot players there are just too many sober thoughts. The sthick was to sit down at a bar, slowly play some video poker, and drink the night away. This is how the hookers would be able to loiter in the bar to ply their trade as they get 86'ed pretty quick when they are on the gaming floor. Now the machines spit out drink tickets only ever so often.... If your a table player you can probably regail how much that drink cost you while you waited for the coctail lady to bring your drink back. You didn't dare change tables but you were having fun. If your playing low limit in the afternoon - you will be lucky to find a server at all.

Table minimums being $25/hand, $10 min craps - anyone who used to say they had a $200/day gambling budget are now priced out. They might be able to stretch that for 1/2 an hour. I remember an interview with an IGT exec who used to tout that with the introduction of the penny machine (10lines, 10pennies per line - max bet was $1.00 per pull). $20 in should last 20min of fast-paced play. This was the slow bleed you would bet a buck, win back 70c with all the positive reinforcement of the bells and flashes etc that kept you playing. The mom and pop motorhome crowd who would play the nickle machines and shy away from playing 3x quarters for max bet, were now betting a buck a pull on a penny machine. Great mind trick. Machines have easily evolved into 100 pennies per line, 30 lines. Good luck winning the progressive if each pull of that penny machine is now costing you $30 bucks. This is on the floor not the high limit room.

The other note in the article is the absenteeism of the international visitor - they can blame the administration for that.

They say that the convention traffic has held its own - which I find surprising. During the pandemic - many of the IT conferences I used to attend in Vegas like Cisco Live, Gartner, HP / Aruba were all offered online. The party line for some of the companies that I have worked for were - if you can work from home, you can attend vitually. Usually the content is also posted online post conference anyways. Companies always new that a Vegas conference was a bit of a boondoogle where you brought either your wife or the girlfriend - but at current rates they are not willing to foot the bill.

[shortrackskater]

And I'll say it again...
I'm happy I traveled to Las Vegas a number of times before the big changes became evident.
I walked (and biked) the strip with places like the Stardust, and the Frontier still open. We also stayed at Fitzgerald on Fremont street... when it was an actual street, with cars!
I saw a burlesque show at The Sands!
Then, there was my trip to the Glitter Glitch night club... 

The buffets were cheaper, and the food was good, especially at places like the Golden Nugget. I loved the old casinos on Fremont Street. They were packed with people but there would always be a machine to play.

I could walk down rows of slot machines and always find a stray quarter or nickel abandoned in the tray, waiting for me to pick it up and stick it in the slot. 

Filthy dirty fingers (especially when playing nickel machines). 
Cheap and good food. 
Bargain prices hotels.   
No stupid scam "resort fee." 
No paying for parking.    (Total BS... the lots are massive but, of course it's not about the space... it's the corporate profit)
I may be a small person but I felt big there. 

[jay]

I think the Stock Market Analysts are mostly to blame.

Most corporations file quarterly reports.
Based on statements by CEOs and forward looking statements from the previous quarter the analysts all squirl away to figure out what the next quarter will bring.
It doesn't matter what the profits are - it could be 20mil / month. If a stock meets consenus or below the stock drops, so CEOs are always under pressure to increase bottom line. That translates to cutting costs (crappier service) and increasing revenue from any opportunity for a gouge.

[Stayouttadabunker]

Springtime 1991, was the last time I was there.
Played 18 holes at the Dunes casino golf course. 
Of course they blew it up, and built the hockey arena afterwards...that's okay...I like hockey too. 
I might still have a Dunes golf hat somewhere in the attic...lol
Loved playing $2 blackjack hands, counting cards all night long at the Flamingo.
Last I remember was hanging at McCarron airport playing WOF and hit a few big spins on the Wheel.
Left with about $3,200.00 more than I went there with. 
Was an awesome 2 days and 2 nights. 
I always wanted to go back, but never did.