EDITORIAL: Las Vegas’ future continues to look bright

Las Vegas has had its setbacks of late, but those who spent the last year writing its obituary need to take another look.

In February, Southern Nevada hosted 3 million visitors. That was a 2.1 percent increase over 2025. That’s welcome news after 13 months of declining visitor volume.

That wasn’t the only bad publicity Las Vegas endured last year. There were widespread stories about the high cost of bottled water and bagels. Tourists complained about resort and parking fees. There was even a political angle. Culinary Local 226 leader Ted Pappageorge blamed President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration for the tourism decline. Canadian tourism dropped noticeably, which some attributed to Mr. Trump’s remarks about our northern neighbor.

In November, a Slate article dubbed Las Vegas “America’s most flailing destination city.” Fox News reported that visitors were “shocked by ‘absurd’ resort prices.” Last month, The New York Times warned that a downturn here “could signal tough times for the nation.”

If so, what does an upturn here mean for the country?

Despite the bad headlines and some real challenges, Las Vegas continues to be a world-class destination. For one, there was a major bright spot last year. Gaming win remained strong. Another strength is the ability of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and major Strip operators to adjust course. The convention authority rolled out a new marketing campaign that included a “Vegaswide sale.” The February visitation numbers suggest those efforts are paying off.

Plus, it’s hard to estimate the influence of other factors. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people had stimulus dollars and likely a pent-up desire to travel. What happened in 2025 could have been an inevitable adjustment after that Biden-bucks-fueled sugar high. It’s likely that opulent contracts for Culinary employees contributed to higher prices on the Strip, too.

But the most compelling reason to bank on Las Vegas is to see who else is. Late last month, the NBA announced that it’s looking to bring expansion teams to Las Vegas and Seattle. The expansion fee for each team is expected to be $7 billion to $10 billion. That’s a lot of money. Would some of the world’s most successful business leaders be willing to spend that much if Las Vegas were facing a bleak future?

A decade ago, Las Vegas didn’t have a single sports team. By the end of this decade, it’s likely to join the small group of cities with teams in all four major professional sports.

As an added bonus, Super Bowl LXIII is coming to Las Vegas in 2029.

There will always be challenges to overcome — and gasoline prices look to be the most immediate. But the future of Las Vegas is brighter than ever.