President Donald Trump’s weekend visit to a downtown Las Vegas casino is being touted as a building block towards more favorable tax policies by the gambling industry’s lobbying group.

The American Gaming Association, a Washington D.C.-based trade organization, lauded the president’s visit to Circa casino hotel on Saturday. Derek Stevens, co-owner and chief executive officer of Casino Resort & Casino, told the Review-Journal ahead of the president’s visit that he was prepared to talk about key issues to the gaming industry, including the elimination of the sports betting excise tax and raising the slot jackpot reporting threshold from its current level of $1,200 to $5,000.

In a press release following Trump’s trip to Circa, Bill Miller, president and CEO of the AGA, said the event “clearly demonstrates the positive role the gaming industry plays in the U.S. economy.” He said it was “exciting for our industry” that Trump visited a casino property “so early in his second term.”

“Today’s event is a testament to the president’s commitment to making sure that the tax code not only encourages job creation, but also ensures workers keep more of their hard-earned money,” Miller said in the release. “President Trump’s tremendous support for the gaming industry during his first term was unprecedented – for the first time in history our industry was able to obtain federal economic relief in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdowns. We look forward to further engagement with President Trump throughout this year on critical tax policy and other important industry priorities.”

Prior to running for elected office, Trump owned and operated multiple casino hotels in Atlantic City, New Jersey, including Trump Plaza (closed 2014; demolished 2021), Trump Marina (originally Trump Castle; now Golden Nugget Atlantic City) and Trump Taj Mahal (closed 2016; now Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City). His active involvement with Atlantic City casino operations ended in 2004 following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Trump Entertainment Resorts.

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