Trump Celebrates Landmark Tax Cuts in Las Vegas, Birthplace of No Tax on Tips

President Donald Trump visited Las Vegas on Thursday, crediting the city as the birthplace of his "no tax on tips" policy and telling service workers they had just received "the biggest tax refunds of their entire lives." The visit drew roughly 250 attendees to the AC Hotel Las Vegas Symphony Park. Trump used the occasion to rally support ahead of the midterms, warning his tax policies would disappear if Democrats recaptured Congress.

How the No Tax on Tips Policy Started in Las Vegas

Trump recounted how the idea was born during a 2024 dinner in Southern Nevada. "A young waitress came up to me during dinner, and she said, 'Sir, we should have no tax on tips,'" Trump told the crowd. "I said, 'That's the greatest thing I've ever heard.' I walked outside to the fake news media and said, 'Ladies and gentlemen, there will be no tax on tips.'"

The provision was included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025. It allows tipped workers to deduct up to $25,000 in tips, including casino chips, from taxable income for tax years 2025 through 2028. Trump said Las Vegas workers had reported refunds of "$8,000 or more" from the deduction alone. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that over 6 million Americans had claimed the tip deduction, and that 53 million filers had used at least one provision of the bill.

What Tipped Workers Are Getting Back Under the New Law

Trump also highlighted other provisions of the bill, including eliminating taxes on overtime pay and Social Security, raising the standard deduction, and providing relief for businesses and seniors. "Together, these brand new cuts and deductions in the Republican bill have been claimed by nearly half of all tax filers," Trump said.

An Upgraded Points analysis of IRS data suggested Nevada workers would see some of the nation's largest refunds. Casino worker Robert Fluit said his coworkers were "so stoked about it," adding, "It should have been done a long time ago."

Democrats Push Back on Trump's Tax Relief Claims

While tipped workers celebrate refunds, some Las Vegas gamblers may owe taxes on money they never actually won, after the bill quietly reduced the gambling loss deduction from 100% to 90%.

Democrats pushed back. Tourism has slumped as fewer middle-class visitors can afford Las Vegas trips, gas has climbed to nearly $5 a gallon, and health insurance costs have risen. "The cost of health care has blown through the roof, thanks to this orange man that is in the White House," said Diana Valles, president of Culinary Union Local 226. Rep. Dina Titus criticized the bill's reduction of the gambling loss deduction from 100% to 90%, calling it "phantom income." "Just imagine, you owe taxes on money you never earned," Titus said. "That sounds unfair, right? Well, it is."