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President Trump Visits AGA Member Casino

Ziv Chen

Last Updated: January 27, 2025 1:55 PM EST • 1 min 50 sec read.

President Donald Trump signs executive orders as we look at the details of his rally at Circa Resorts in Nevada.
Pictured: President Donald Trump signs executive orders on Inauguration Day in the Capitol One Arena in Washington. Photo by SAM GREENE / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK / Imagn Images.

Nevada might not be home to many of our best sports betting apps, but it's still the epicenter of gambling in America. 

The American Gaming Association (AGA) has announced that President Donald Trump visited one of its member casinos in the Nevada sports betting market. Circa Resort and Casino in Las Vegas hosted a Trump rally at which the President discussed his proposal to remove the tax on tips, among other topics.

CEO of the AGA, Bill Miller, commented, “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. It’s exciting for our industry that the president visited a casino property so early in his second term. This event clearly demonstrates the positive role the gaming industry plays in the U.S. economy.”

Miller continued: “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.”

Circa CEO uses visit to pitch opinions

The co-owner and CEO of Circa Derek Stevens shared his perspectives on Trump’s visit ahead of his appearance. He described how he intended to express his views on gaming taxes to the president and thank him for protecting workers at Las Vegas casinos.

Stevens said, “If I have a chance, I’m going to explain why the sports-betting excise tax needs to be eliminated, and why the slot-jackpot threshold for a W-2 G (tax form) of $1,200 needs to be raised to $5,000.”

The CEO suggested raising these thresholds would reduce regulatory burdens and wasted time in casinos. 

What President Trump said

President Trump spent 40 minutes speaking to a crowd of around 1,000 people, covering various topics, including his gratitude for his recent election victory. He said, “But I have to be honest with you, I’m really here for a different reason, I’m here to say thank you.”

The president also discussed his plan to eliminate taxes on tips. Trump first floated the idea during a rally on the election trail in Las Vegas in June. In the US, Nevada has the highest concentration of workers with wages based on tips, with roughly 25.8 waiter and waitressing jobs per 1,000. 

Trump has a strong relationship with Las Vegas and the gambling industry as a whole. He made his name partly through his casino empire, including properties in Atlantic City in the New Jersey market. He also owns Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, which once considered opening a casino.

In more recent news, iGaming operator Rivalry announced it would accept the $TRUMP cryptocurrency from its players outside the US.

Written By:
Ziv Chen
Ziv has over two decades of experience in the igaming and sports betting industry, having served in senior marketing and business development positions with both B2C and B2B companies, including Playtech and Microgaming. In 2019, Ziv decided to pursue his passion for writing and became a fulltime industry journalist, covering casino, sports, and gambling business news. He’s specialties include casino games and technology, US state gambling regulation, company performance, as well as gambling affiliates and marketing. As a Pitt graduate, Ziv is a diehard fan of all Pittsburgh sports teams, with the Steelers at the top of the list. In his free time, he enjoys reading crime fiction, biographies (mainly of sports personalities, but not only) and American history. Ziv’s Favorite quote: “We're going to pursue perfection, knowing full well we won't catch it, but we're going to relentlessly chase it," Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach.