Trump’s Las Vegas speech touts tips tax break, tariffs and Lombardo endorsement

US President Donald Trump returned to Las Vegas this week, headlining an hour-long event at Red Rock Casino on Wednesday that combined a defence of his tax overhaul with an endorsement of Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo. Trump’s speech ranged widely, touching on Iran, Joe Biden and the Democratic Party, which he repeatedly called the “Dumocrats” — a label that carries extra weight in Nevada, where five of the state’s six congressional representatives are Democrats.

Trump framed the visit around the policy he first pitched in Las Vegas in June 2024: letting tipped workers claim a federal deduction on their tip income. The provision later landed in last July’s One Big, Beautiful Bill, and allows eligible workers to deduct up to $25,000 in tips from their federal tax bill. It expires in 2028, and married couples must split the cap. Trump recalled being inspired by a waitress at his Trump International Las Vegas hotel, describing her as “beautiful” and joking that “she was my consultant” — a contrast with highly paid advisers he said had not produced comparable ideas.

Nevada has the highest concentration of tipped workers in the country, and the state has also seen strong job growth over the past year. It finished the most recent tax filing season with the fourth-highest average refund in the US, according to Upgraded Points. Trump won Nevada by a 50%-47% margin in the 2024 election, though he lost Clark County, home to Las Vegas, by the same margin to Kamala Harris. “No tax on tips didn’t hurt,” he said.

Tourism and tariffs

Not everyone in Las Vegas credits the tax break with solving the city’s wider problems. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reports visitation fell 7.5% in 2025, while passenger traffic at Harry Reid International Airport dropped 6%. In 2026, visitation has been negative in three of the six months reported so far, and airport traffic is down a further 7%. Canada, traditionally one of the city’s top feeder markets, has been especially weak: traffic from Air Canada and WestJet is down 16% and 23% year to date. LVCVA CEO Steve Hill has travelled to Canada directly, and casinos have rolled out Canadian-focused promotions. Trump called Canadian leadership “nasty” while saying he loved the country’s people.

Trump also celebrated tariffs, saying they “have made us rich.” The ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs he imposed last April under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were struck down by the Supreme Court in February, and the government has refunded $100bn in associated revenue. He has since reimposed similar rates under other authorities, and those moves are facing legal challenges. The Tax Foundation estimates tariffs raised the average US household tax bill by $1,000 in 2025 and by $900 so far in 2026, and that US tariff rates have changed more than 50 times in Trump’s second term. For gaming suppliers, the volatility has become a business reality; Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers CEO Daron Dorsey said in April that companies are trying to become more efficient while planning for disruption.

Las Vegas power players

Several prominent Las Vegas figures attended, including Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, Phil Ruffin and Dana White. Trump praised the Fertitta brothers — chairman and vice chairman of Red Rock Resorts — as “loaded,” noting they own the venue. Red Rock has posted record results for two straight years, and its shares are up 10% over the past 12 months; in Q2, however, Las Vegas revenue and adjusted EBITDA fell 2% and 5% year over year. Their cousin, Tilman Fertitta, recently completed a $17.6bn acquisition of Caesars Entertainment and serves as US ambassador to Italy and San Marino.

Trump called Phil Ruffin “one of the greatest businessmen in the world” and “a money machine.” Ruffin’s holdings include Circus Circus, Treasure Island, the Las Vegas Festival Grounds and a 50% stake in Trump’s Las Vegas hotel. His wife, Ukrainian model Oleksandra Nikolayenko, married Ruffin at Mar-a-Lago in 2008, with Trump serving as best man — a fact Trump acknowledged by saying he was “more impressed by her.”

Dana White introduced Trump, two months after the UFC staged a fight card on the White House lawn. White has supported Trump and the no-tax-on-tips measure, but he has also publicly asked the president to rescind the 90% gambling-loss deduction in the One Big, Beautiful Bill. Trump did not address that request.

Race for governor

Trump used the event to endorse Lombardo’s re-election bid in what is expected to be one of the closest governor’s races in the country, joking: “Will you please win by a big number?” Nevada is a swing state, and Lombardo faces Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is favoured in the race: Ford is at 55% on Kalshi and 52% on Polymarket. Ford has also led Nevada’s legal battle against prediction markets, which the state treats as a threat to its gaming industry. Nevada has succeeded in blocking access to platforms including Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood, Coinbase and Crypto.com, and that record could help Ford politically.

Lombardo briefly had to quiet booing during a moment of silence for Austin Abdelnabi, a local police officer who died in the line of duty this week; the jeers appeared to be in response to the officer’s name. “No, no, we’re not booing him. He’s the officer that passed away here recently,” Lombardo said.