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 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.

“Many others would allow it in a highly regulated way and some might completely change their brand to a cannabis-first hotel, creating a first-of-it-kind cannabis experience. We’re a very creative industry and giving that option, you’d see things in all different ways — operators coming up with cool and compelling reasons to come to our city.”

The panel also featured state Sen. Rochelle Nguyen, Assemblyman Max Carter, and Alan Feldman, director of strategic initiatives at the International Gaming Institute at UNLV. CPI Director Riana Durrett moderated.

Durrett asked Schorr about the need for regulatory changes from the Gaming Control Board.

“There would need to be regulations other than just it’s okay,” Schorr said. “We could come up with the right regulations. It’s frustrating when for no reason, I can’t participate in an industry. I’ve proven for 30 years that I’m a responsible operator and that should go for something.”

Nguyen, who has taken up cannabis regulatory reform in the state Senate, said consumers are being pushed into unregulated black markets, which has taken away from tax revenue.

“The idea that we’ve limited one aspect of our tourism economy is ridiculous,” Nguyen said. “To think the cannabis industry is outside of our other tourism industry is naive, inaccurate, and not what’s happening out there in the tourism corridor. We got this wrong in some areas. We had good intentions, but as we move forward, this industry is changing. Not being able to sell a THC beverage at the same place you’re selling an alcoholic beverage is unrealistic. A group of people go out and someone wants a beverage that has THC and someone wants a beer. Those two people can’t go out together and socialize. I don’t think that makes sense.”

Nevada won’t hold its next legislative session until 2027 and Nguyen hopes her colleagues can address these issues, but has her doubts it can be done quickly. UNLV’s Cannabis Policy Institute will help develop and drive strategies and policies that are more strategic than piecemeal like today.

“Both the cannabis and gaming industries have an interest in getting together. That’s where you’ll see some real changes. Both regulatory agencies have to sit down with legislators and figure out how things will work and who will have some of that authority.”

Nguyen said lawmakers can give the Gaming Control Board more discretion in passing their own regulations. That’s only one step.

“The big elephant in the room is we still need to see some change on the federal level,” Nguyen said. “Everyone kind of hides behind that and with good reason. We don’t want to disrupt our gaming industry by gambling on what the federal government is going to do.”

Last month, the Trump administration moved to extend Schedule III controlled substances to cannabis more broadly beyond medical uses.

Carter has proposed legislation to allow cannabis deliveries to non-gaming businesses on the Strip. Though he’s gotten pushback from the casino industry, others have voiced support. Many don’t want it even delivered to nearby businesses on the Strip because of the federal government, he said.

Carter said the biggest concern among casinos was how they fall under banking rules subject to federal oversight and audits. The proximity of a federal offense occurring on or near their properties, even though legal in Nevada, scares the industry.

Not everything is as simple as changing laws and regulations, Schorr said. A lot of operators don’t want delivery people dropping off products to rooms as part of the internal controls on access. A change in law won’t change whether hotels can determine who can go to a room.

Feldman said it’s best to give consumers what they seek, but it’s important to get all the players around the table. At one point, casinos didn’t want nightclubs, because executives thought customers would go there instead of playing on the gaming floor, he said.

“A couple of sentences in a memo from the Gaming Control Board and the casino business model, at least the one on the Strip, will change by the weekend,” Feldman said. “I’ve been around enough casino executives over the decades, walked with them on their properties, and heard them say if they allow us to have cannabis, this is where the lounge will go. They’re already plotting it out. Why? Because they’re seeing what their customers are doing. This may be one of the most customer-sensitive businesses in the country and to allow this to exist in this gray and nebulous 1,500-foot demilitarized zone is frankly kind of ridiculous. I know there’s a road there, because I’ve seen it happen in the other elements of the business.”