Before the late 1950s, Reno was the gambling capital of the United States, but in the last twenty years Las Vegas' rapid growth, American Airlines' 2000 buyout of Reno Air and the growth of Indian gambling gaming in California have somewhat reduced its business. Older casinos were either torn down (Mapes Hotel, Fitzgerald's Nevada Club, Primadonna, Horseshoe Club, Harold's Club, Palace Club) and smaller casinos like the Comstock, Sundowner, Golden Phoenix, Kings Inn, Money Tree, Virginian, and Riverboat closed, and some converted to condos. Reno and Sparks has 3 Malls: The Summit Sierra, Meadowood, and Legends at the Sparks Marina.
Because of geographical proximity, Reno has traditionally drawn the majority of its California tourists and gamblers from the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento, while Las Vegas has historically served more tourists from Los Angeles, San Diego, and other parts of Southern California, and the Phoenix area.
Reno casinos experience some slow days during the week, especially during winter, when mountain passes can be closed to some traffic from Northern California. The train service from California and the airline service is almost never interrupted. During weekends, holidays and special events Reno does see an increase in business. Large special events such as Hot August Nights and The Great Reno Balloon Race pack the area hotels to 100% occupancy.

Several local large hotel casinos have shown significant growth and have moved gaming further away from the Virginia Street core. These larger hotel casinos are the Atlantis, the Peppermill and the Grand Sierra Resort. The Peppermill was chosen as the most outstanding Reno gaming/hotel property by Casino Player and Nevada magazines. In 2005, the Peppermill Hotel Casino began a $300 million dollar Tuscan-themed expansion.
In an effort to bring more tourism to the area, Reno holds several events throughout the year, most of which have been extremely successful. They include Hot August Nights[29] (a classic car convention), Street Vibrations (a motorcycle fan gathering and rally), The Great Reno Balloon Race, the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off (held in Sparks), a Cinco de Mayo celebration, bowling tournaments (held in the National Bowling Stadium), and the Reno Air Races.
Several large commercial developments were constructed during the mid-2000s boom, such as The Summit in 2007 and Legends at Sparks Marina in 2008.
Reno is the location of the corporate headquarters for numerous companies, including Braeburn Capital, Hamilton, Port of Subs, PC-Doctor, and International Game Technology, which manufactures slot machines. Bally Technologies and GameTech also have development and manufacturing presence in Reno.