MGM, like its Las Vegas competitors, saw declining casino foot traffic in America’s gambling capital in Q4. It believes catering to higher-income visitors will help overcome a drop in profits.
- MGM is pivoting to focus on high-end, wealthier visitors as lower-end customer traffic declines on the Las Vegas Strip.
- Luxury properties like Bellagio and Aria grew EBITDAR by 7% in 2025, while value properties such as Luxor and Excalibur saw revenue declines.
- Despite fewer visitors overall, MGM’s revenue fell only 3% year-over-year, driven by higher spending from affluent customers.
Company officials reinforced their commitment to a focus on wealthier visitors, pivoting away from a larger mass appeal. While the Strip’s largest casino operator wants to continue to attract visitors from all income levels, the company’s recent earnings call reaffirmed their push toward the wealthiest potential clientele.
The nation’s “K-shaped” economy, where certain earners continue to do well while lower earners see their finances decline, is playing out in Las Vegas and across the country, MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle said during its corporate earnings call earlier this month. Last year saw a bifurcated customer experience with strength at the high end alongside “softness” in the company’s value segment.
“It’s fair to say the ‘K economy’ is ‘alive and well’,” Hornbuckle said on the call, “but given the positioning of our assets, the programming, I think as we get through into April, particularly May and beyond, I think you're going to see some really strong performance.”
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MGM’s most notable pairs of luxury and economy Strip casinos underscored the company’s 2025 revenue divisions.
The Bellagio and Aria, celebrated as the company’s most luxurious properties, generated 7% more in EBITDAR in 2025 than 2024. This comes as the company has invested millions in a new high-end slot room at the Bellagio and a new flagship restaurant overlooking its iconic fountains.
Meanwhile, Luxor and Excalibur, its more family-focused, lower-end properties, saw a “disproportionate” impact on company revenue declines. Though the properties only represent around 6% of MGM’s revenues, significantly fewer visitors had a sizeable impact on the company’s bottom line.
MGM officials reiterated that they were undertaking several new initiatives on the properties, including drink specials and a return of $5 blackjack tables. They also stressed during the call that a year-over-year decline wasn’t necessarily indicative of a dramatic behavioral shift or other macroeconomic trends, but MGM was seeing shortening of hotel booking windows, a reflection of more cautious low-end consumer behavior.
Vegas visitation impacts
MGM’s focus on higher-end players and guests comes as its home city saw drastic year-over-year visitation declines.
Las Vegas saw high double-digit drops in visitation from 2024 to 2025. That includes significant declines in hotel room nights and passenger air travel.
This comes as regional casino operators, including MGM, have seen year-over-year revenue and visitation increases.
The Vegas-specific dips have been attributed to a range of issues, including macroeconomic uncertainty and souring views of America from international visitors. Much of the anger has also been directed at major strip operators such as MGM for perceived price gouging, leading Hornbuckle to apologize for some of the company’s pricing structures last year.
MGM Resorts executives are publicly recognizing that charging $12 for a bottle of water was a bad idea pic.twitter.com/dp4fvm7SN4
— Jacob Orth (@JacobsVegasLife) October 30, 2025
Customers still coming to Vegas are spending more.
MGM casino revenue increased 13% from 2024 to 2025, with much of that coming from high-end baccarat players. Meanwhile, MGM’s hotel room revenue declined from $822 million to $735 million (an 11% decrease) as occupancy dropped from 94% to 91%.
Despite the in-person visitation declines, leading gaming stakeholders have been publicly optimistic about Vegas’ long-term financial stability, with operators continuing to see 2025 net revenues only slightly down from 2024 levels. Even with significantly fewer Las Vegas visitors, MGM’s overall net revenues only declined 3% year-over-year.
High-end customers are a key reason why this financial growth has continued.
“We've picked, I think, the right things to invest in,” Hornbuckle said.
