Cannabis-friendly state legislation involving the Resort Corridor may offer a crucial opportunity for Las Vegas’ ability to attract visitors amid projected shortfalls, a gaming executive says.
The region is facing significant challenges, with nearly 300,000 fewer visitors this March compared with last year. Meanwhile, the Nevada Legislature is grappling with the state budget after financial experts cut their projections for state revenue receipts over the upcoming biennium by $191 million and lawmakers anticipate declining room tax revenue in the coming fiscal year.
Cannabis integration could help address these issues, said Seth Schorr, CEO of Downtown Grand operator Fifth Street Gaming, who points out that competition in gaming has intensified dramatically. The landscape has transformed over the past decade, with other states and online gambling now presenting serious competition.
Schorr suggests it’s time to reconsider the gaming industry’s approach to cannabis. Despite Nevada’s legalization of recreational marijuana, regulators have maintained separation between the cannabis and gaming industries due to federal prohibitions surrounding marijuana.
“There’s a million reasons that we need every tool in the toolbox as a city to drive visitation. So maybe 10 years ago, we could be conservative. Today, it’s got to be on the table,” Schorr emphasized. “We can’t afford to miss any opportunities.”
Representatives from the gaming and cannabis industries, along with state regulators, gathered Monday at UNLV for a panel on how the industries’ relationship has evolved in the past decade with the legalization of recreational marijuana sales and use in Nevada.
Schorr believes there is a market to tap. Consumption lounges, legally separated from Las Vegas top attractions, were “set up to fail,” he said. But allowing them in a resort property “could change the economics exponentially.”
“In 2006, not every casino had a massive nightclub with DJs. It takes long to figure it out and then we’re kind of in an industry of followers,” Schorr said. “We’ll never know how big the opportunity is until we allow operators to embrace it.”
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By Kyle Chouinard, Las Vegas Sun – May 22, 2025