MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle remains bullish on the city and expects a great showing over the next 16 months, pushed by strong convention business to start.
Hornbuckle also told the audience at G2E that the five-day promotion put on by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, in which casinos offered rooms and other attractions at a discount, was a boon to the Strip resort operator by generating 280,000 room nights.
Hornbuckle said that coming out of the pandemic, the push to luxury gave Las Vegas “magnificent years” in 2023 and 2024. That makes 2025 a tougher comparison. He hopes Las Vegas can approach its record level of visitation from nearly a decade ago, but had no timetable. He focused on what’s happening at this time.
“We’ve had what I would characterize as a rugged summer. We all know what has happened with Canada and Spirit Airlines removing seats. We’re coming out of that. As I look to the future, the next 16 months will be the best convention months this city has ever seen.”
With that as the foundation, Hornbuckle cited the Formula 1 race the weekend before Thanksgiving as “another tremendous success that continues to build on itself.” He added that other events in the first half of 2026 will boost visitation.
Having the World Cup in the U.S. in 2026 will generate a lot of trips to Las Vegas, even though no games will be held in the city, Hornbuckle said. He also looks forward to the Summer Olympics in 2028 that will generate a lot of travel from that city.
Las Vegas is continuing to be good at promoting big events, he said. It will host another Super, the NCAA basketball Final Four, and the college football championship game.
“We remain bullish on Las Vegas,” Hornbuckle said. “I don’t think fundamentally it’s broken in any shape or form.”
Hornbuckle was asked how MGM fared in the latest promotional campaign spurred on by the resort city’s decline in visitation.
“We drove in 285,000 room nights in a five-day period,” Hornbuckle said. “That was up 70% from the week before. Most of that travel will occur this year. Yes, there are all those concerns, but we have an amazing attraction here and people are continuing to come.”
Hornbuckle said that 70% of revenue at a hotel-casino like Bellagio is non-gaming and bringing in great restaurants make the property attractive.
“Sports and conventions are also part of that journey. Area 15 in Las Vegas had three million visitors last year. Las Vegas continues to offer the kinds of things people want to do and see.”
When asked about the federal government shutdown, Hornbuckle admitted it could have a short-term impact, but MGM isn’t modifying any programs or promotions. “There’s a broader impact to U.S. travel. Every week this thing is closed it costs the travel industry close to $1 billion.”
Hornbuckle said the industry will continue to push for a federal measure to override elements in the budget reconciliation bill signed by President Trump in July. That bill allows gamblers to deduct only up to 90% of losses and could push big-time gamblers out of the U.S.
“If you’re a professional poker player, that’s a differentiator. It makes it not as profitable. Let’s make sure that members of Congress know exactly how this impacts our industry. Just the way it’s set up, it’s wrong. You’re taxing something that there’s no gain on at the end of the day.”
