August 2025 in Las Vegas was not the brightest month for the US gambling hub. The general pessimism around the market continued throughout, with several major Vegas-based content creators highlighting the continued downturn in visitation. However, there were some bright spots for the future of the city’s tourism trade. 

For one thing, the end of the month brought with it the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s July edition of the monthly report on state gambling business finances. Although a mixed bag it did contain some good news for Las Vegas Strip casino operators after a months long downturn.

Elsewhere in Sin City, a popular budget-oriented casino completed the first stage of a massive expansion and refurb, while a few notable venues closed down for good. 

Las Vegas Strip Casino Revenue Rose in July 

Although the general mood seemed fairly negative throughout the month, with both traditional and social media covering Sin City’s tourism woes, the end of the month did have some good news for the beleaguered city.

Luckily for you, you don’t need to spend thousands on a trip to Las Vegas to have a gamble. Or even keep your money in a bank. With a betting voucher you can visit a participating local retailer, where you can buy voucher tickets to top up on your online casino account. From there you can hit the slots, recreate the live Las Vegas experience with live casino games or even put down some sports bets. The rest is up to you.

Although visitation to Las Vegas was down 5.9% on July 2024, casino revenues throughout the whole state were actually up year on year. Seeing as the gambling business accounts for a large part of Nevada’s tax funds and employs thousands in the city, this is mostly good news. 

According to the NGCB’s latest report, Nevada’s casinos bought in a collective $1.359 billion in revenue for the month. The swing from last year, despite lower visitation, was mostly driven by a lucky month for Las Vegas Strip casinos in high end baccarat play. 

Ellis Island Completes $35M Expansion Phase One 

Amid the struggles of large Las Vegas Casino resorts in recent months, many big renovation or upgrade projects have been put on hold.

But where expensive Las Vegas Strip prices have put off middle class and less affluent visitors, more budget friendly operators are doing allright. 

One of those is Ellis Island Casino & Hotel. The venue, known for cheap drinks deals and more favorable gambling games for players like single zero roulette, has now completed phase one of its $35 million expansion. 

The new features to the popular casino resort include:

• A dedicated space for the new independently operated Boomer’s Sportsbook
• A doubled in size casino floor with 250 new slot machines
• A new digital façade with 1000 square feet of video screen signage
• A new 25-seat center bar with 

Eventually it will have a rooftop bar area called The Deck, scheduled to open in time for September’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. 

A’s To Play Six Las Vegas “Home” Games in 2026

The Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team is set to relocate to a brand new under-construction baseball stadium on the site of the former Tropicana Las Vegas, before becoming the Las Vegas A’s. The $2 billion stadium is pegged for a late 2027 opening. 

Last week The A’s announced the team would be playing six games of its 2026 season at the 10,000 seat Las Vegas Ballpark, the current home of the minor league Las Vegas Aviators.

The A’s will play the Milwaukee Brewers three times between June 8 and 10, followed by three matches against the Colorado Rockies on June 12-14.

Poker Palace, Four Palms Las Vegas Restaurants to Close 

August was also a month of some losses for Las Vegas gamblers. First, legendary and historic downtown casino Golden Gate closed its live table games for good, to replace them with virtual ones.

The iconic casino’s out-of-the-blue decision was met with some pushback from Las Vegas locals. That led the owners to schedule a celebration send-off for the table games, and the venue’s dancing dealers, which will take place on September 7. 

August also saw the closure of pokey but respected locals casino Poker Palace, which opened in 1979. The just north of the Las Vegas Strip venue revealed it will be closing its doors for the final time on October 1. 

A total of 126 employees will lose their jobs as a result the move. 

Back on the Las Vegas Strip, luxury hotel Palms Las Vegas announced it would be closing four restaurants on the property. Although it said this was a consolidation, as it plans to open two new venues early in 2026.

The four eateries facing the chop at Palms are: 

• Rojo Lounge
• Laguna Pool House & Kitchen
• Vetri Cucina
• Mabel’s BBQ 

All four venues were operated by award-winning or celebrity chefs. 

On the flipside, the nearby Venetian announced it is opening a branch of Korean steakhouse Cote, and celebrated dim sum restaurant Nom Wah now has a September opening date at Rampart Las Vegas.