Jonathan Jossel, chief executive officer of the Plaza Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas, says business remains solid and he’s optimistic for the future, so much so, the resort has invested in opening a high-limit gaming room to meet the changing needs of its customers.
“The way the Plaza has evolved, there’s definitely customers coming downtown that have a demand for higher betting games,” Jossel told CDC Gaming in an interview Tuesday. “But I think the bigger part is the new slot machines.”
Jossel explained that when you look at the definition of high-limit games, even on the Las Vegas Strip, very few games are multi-denomination anymore.
Jonathan Jossel (Plaza photo)
“In the old days, a high-limit room used to be, this game is a $50 bet or a $100 bet and that was it,” he said. “Nowadays, everything is multi-denominational. So you’ve got people betting $5, $3, and $500 on the same machine. Why do you need a high-limit space?”
Jossel said it’s not necessarily about the games offered. It’s much more about having a space where a customer who wants to bet those higher levels has a little privacy and an elevated experience.
The casino’s high-limit room will allow top-tier players of the Plaza’s Players Club to check in to their hotel rooms. The new space also features a concierge desk where casino hosts can assist guests with restaurant reservations, hotel room upgrades, reserving a cabana at the resort’s rooftop pool, and recommending activities downtown and beyond.
The 2,000-square-foot space will offer more than 50 higher-limit slot machines and can be transformed into a private event space. In a trend that more Las Vegas casinos are embracing, all slot machines in the new high-limit room are equipped with Acres cashless gaming, capable of accepting Apple Pay and other electronic forms of payment.
A grand opening event will take place on August 28. Jossel said he’s confident the new space will be successful, following a large turnout for a soft opening on Friday.
“If you can add 53 new machines to your floor and not take away from anything else, that’s a great opportunity. So it really serves many purposes for us,” Jossel said of the Plaza’s new high-limit gaming room.
Economics of a downtown casino
The Plaza has benefited since the opening in late 2020 of Circa Resort & Casino, which has drawn more visitors downtown. With only 5%, or 7,500, of the hotel rooms in Las Vegas, analysts say 50% of annual visitors to Las Vegas visit downtown casinos.
Las Vegas welcomed 38.5 million visitors overall in 2025, a 7.5% decline from 2024, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported. Jossel told CDC Gaming that locals make up 10% to 15% of their business. “Locals aren’t a big part of our business. It’s much more driven by tourists and out of market.”
Jossel said the average customer visiting the Plaza has changed a lot in recent years, but the property still offers bingo and other amenities in an effort not to “chase away the customer that’s been loyal to the Plaza for the last two decades.
“I think it’s changed. A lot more people are coming here, a lot more people are aware of us, and our social media and marketing have attracted a new demographic to the property,” Jossel said. “But we want to find a way to maintain a balance between all new (visitors) and keeping those relationships that we built over the years.”
Downtown Las Vegas posted $159.1 million in net income in the 2025 fiscal year, a 20.2 % decline from 2024, according to figures released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB). Revenue increased 0.7% to $1.62 billion, while gaming revenue rose 1.8% to $812.2 million, the NGCB reported.
“I would say Circa (has been) a huge proponent of bringing customers downtown,” Jossel said. “I think the things we’ve done here at the Plaza, the investments we’ve made, have given us a great shot at getting more people downtown.”
Jossel attributed the increased interest in the Plaza to the changes they’ve made over the last five years, whether it’s fireworks, some entertainment and event offerings, plus the upgrades to the property. They all “make people want to come down here and check us out. As a whole, downtown is a great offering away from the Strip.”
In terms of adding rooms, Jossel said right now the answer would be no, but five to 10 years from now as the city continues to grow, downtown Las Vegas “is definitely in need of more rooms and higher-end rooms.”
“With the exception of Circa, no one (has) built new,” Jossel told CDC Gaming “So you’re still dealing with smaller footprint rooms, older infrastructure. I think there will be new towers downtown. It’s just going to take a bit of time.”
When asked if downtown Las Vegas is still a value proposition for visitors, Jossel said, “Value is relative. Absolutely, it’s a value proposition compared to the Strip or other destinations in the U.S. But obviously, it’s not a value if you compare it to pricing of 20 years ago. Somehow, you have to find the balance between those two things.”
Jossel explained that the cost of meat, labor, and infrastructure to run a restaurant or bar is completely different from 20 years ago. “It’s very hard to compare,” he added.
