Saying Las Vegas needs to use every tool it can to attract tourists and offer experiences they want during a downturn in visitation, the CEO of Fifth Street Gaming continued his push for a marriage between the casino and cannabis industries.
Seth Schorr appeared during a panel discussion Friday at UNLV’s Cannabis Policy Institute and International Gaming Institute’s 3rd Annual Gaming & Cannabis Policy Discussion.
A year ago at the event, Schorr said Las Vegas tourism would benefit if laws and regulations allowed casinos to host cannabis lounges and allowed their customers to have it delivered to their hotels. He didn’t back down from his support of changing Nevada Gaming Control Board policy and allowing a relationship between the two industries.
Schorr spoke after a university researcher Robin Goldstein outlined his report that revealed that the inability of visitors to access cannabis at casinos hurts the tourism industry and called for a relaxation of state standards.
“A year ago, we hadn’t gone into a terrible summer and seen double-digit visitation decreases and the rise of the prediction markets that are a direct competitor to the casino business,” Schorr said. “Things haven’t gotten better. The casino industry has a lot of competition.”
Schorr called cannabis a “tool in the tool box.” He doesn’t believe in silver bullets, one solution that will put Las Vegas and Nevada back on a more positive trajectory after a nearly 8% decline in visitation in 2025.
“But we need all the tools we can get. I just heard the reasons (from Dr. Goldstein) why there should be a marriage between the cannabis and gaming industries, but I have yet to hear anybody say why there shouldn’t be. As an operator in a competitive market, I sell booze gambling. Regulated and legal marijuana seems to be another thing I would like to offer.”
In response to a question, Schorr said don’t be fooled by numbers that show gaming revenue is up. All that means is gaming operators are good at marketing to their most loyal guests. The industry is seeing the lack of “the general tourist” who didn’t receive a promotional offer.
“Our carded play, people who are part of our players club, is up, but our non-carded play is significantly down. I think cannabis would have an impact. I don’t think it would be a one size fits all strategy. There’s probably a casino that would say no even if it’s legal.
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