As Las Vegas emerged from the pandemic, pent-up demand was incredibly strong. The Las Vegas Strip had a massive comeback, led by huge events including a Wrestlemania and the Super Bowl.
There was a period when it seemed like the Las Vegas Strip could do no wrong. In 2023 and 2024, the big conventions were packed, huge events like The Eagles and U2 at The Last Vegas as well as Las Vegas Raiders football games drew massive crowds, and it seemed as if every major event, star, and sports league wanted to be on the Las Vegas Strip.
During that time, a number of massive new Las Vegas projects were put on the table. Some, like the All Net project to build an NBA arena on the Strip, have officially gone away, while other huge projects are just stalled based on the state of the Las Vegas Strip economy.
Active and upcoming Las Vegas Strip casino projects
- Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (formerly The Mirage)
- Status: Rebranding in progress; expected to open in 2025.
- Details: Hard Rock International is transforming the former Mirage into a tribal-operated resort, marking the first such operation on the Strip.
- Bally’s Las Vegas (Tropicana Redevelopment)
- Status: Planning phase; groundbreaking expected in 2026.
- Details: Bally’s plans to develop a 3,000-room hotel, casino, and entertainment complex surrounding the future Las Vegas Athletics baseball stadium.
- LVXP Project (Between Sahara and Fontainebleau)
- Status: Early development; specific timeline not announced.
- Details: Aiming to revitalize the area, the LVXP project is set to bring new energy and opportunities to the Strip.
Paused or canceled Las Vegas Strip projects
- Tilman Fertitta’s Center Strip Resort
- Status: Project paused indefinitely.
- Details: Billionaire Tilman Fertitta had planned a 43-story luxury casino resort at Las Vegas Blvd. and Harmon Avenue. However, the project was halted due to a conflict of interest arising from his significant stake in Wynn Resorts.
- Casino Royale Redevelopment (Las Vegas Strip)
- Status: FAA-approved for 699-foot skyscraper; no formal county submissions yet.
- Timeline: FAA approval valid until Jan 21, 2025; construction must start or extension requested.
- Impact: Would become one of Las Vegas’ tallest buildings, altering the Strip skyline.
Image source: Shutterstock
Bally’s project moves forward
When Bally’s demolished Tropicana, the second-oldest casino on the Las Vegas Strip, the company always said it intended to build a new flagship near the stadium.
Bally’s CEO Robeson Reeves made that promise during the now-private company’s third-quarter 2024 earnings call.
“Significant planning efforts are underway which will put Bally’s in a position to begin our own development efforts concurrently with the A’s stadium construction efforts. Given our planning and preparation, our current pursuit is to have initial portions of the casino, hotel and retail offerings ready to go once the A’s begin playing in their new stadium in 2028,” he said.
Exactly when that might happen was not mentioned in that call. The company, however, has now shared its plans for a resort, casino, and more on the site.
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“Bally’s Corp. plans to break ground next year on a vibrant, mixed-use project that will surround the Athletics’ Major League Baseball ballpark with hotel towers, a casino and retail, dining and entertainment options,” according to the the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The new property will be built in phases and should eventually feature 3,000 hotel rooms, a 2,500-seat, state-of-the-art theater and 500,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space, according to Bally’s, according to the paper.
Tropicana Las Vegas: Timeline
- 1957: Opened by Ben Jaffe; became a Strip icon with its South Beach-inspired theme and the Folies Bergère show.
- 1979: Acquired by Ramada Inn.
- 1988: Purchased by Aztar Corporation.
- 2007: Acquired by Columbia Sussex; later became Tropicana Entertainment Inc.
- 2015: Penn National Gaming (later Penn Entertainment) purchased the Tropicana for $360 million.
- 2020: Penn sold the land to Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. (GLPI) during the pandemic.
- 2022: Bally’s Corporation acquired the non-land assets of the Tropicana for $148 million from GLPI and Penn Entertainment, leasing the land for $10.5 million annually.
- 2024: Closed on April 2; demolition planned to make way for a $1.5 billion MLB stadium for the Oakland Athletics.
- 2025: Ground has been broken on the Major League Baseball stadium.
Why was the Bally’s project in doubt?
Citizens Senior Equity Research Analyst Jordan Bender described visitation as “sluggish” in his recent “Brick and Mortar Casino 2025 Preview.” He does, however, think a turnaround is coming.
“He said convention season and group business in upcoming quarters could be at 15-20% in Las Vegas, ‘potentially achieving a record level in 2026,'” Covers.com reported.
Las Vegas visitation fell in each of 2025’s first four months, a cumulative drop of nearly 1 million visitors or 6.5%.
“Analysts predict it will be a challenge to match last year’s 41.7 million visitors, Las Vegas’ highest total since drawing 42.5 million visitors in 2019,” The Nevada Independent shared.
“Right now, this feels like a pretty modest slowdown,” Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill told the paper in June. “It is driven somewhat by Canada, but it’s largely a domestic issue around consumer confidence and consumer sentiment.”
Las Vegas Strip tourism slowdown key points
- Visitor Decline: Visitor numbers have decreased by 12% year over year, marking six consecutive months of downturn.
- Airport Traffic: Harry Reid International Airport reported a nearly 6% drop in passenger traffic in August 2025 compared to the previous year.
- Hotel Occupancy: Hotel occupancy rates fell to 77.5% in August 2025, a 3.7% decrease from the same month in 2024.
- International Visitors: International visitation declined by 12% in 2025, influenced by geopolitical tensions and trade policies.
- Economic Impact: The downturn is attributed to factors such as rising travel costs, competition from other destinations, and policy-related issues.
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