As a government shutdown snarls air travel and stretches security lines, Las Vegas’s biggest industry is stepping in to show its support for unpaid TSA agents.
MGM Resorts International — the largest casino company on the Las Vegas Strip with a large portfolio of hotels, including the Bellagio, MGM Grand, and Excalibur — sent meals and care packages to its local TSA agents who have been working without pay for five weeks.
MGM Senior Vice President of Global Security and Aviation John Flynn said the company has so far delivered 1,400 lunches to Harry Reid International Airport, with more planned in the next week. There are more than 1,000 TSA employees at LAS.
Flynn said it’s critical that TSA agents are supported so they continue to show up for work to keep Las Vegas’ travel industry moving. If travelers worry about long security lines getting home, they may think twice about booking a trip in the first place — potentially leaving hotel rooms empty and casino floors quieter.
“We’re a city built on hospitality; we depend on travel and tourism,” Flynn said in a recorded message shared with Business Insider. “To be able to keep the lines low and to be able to keep that tourism engine thriving, it all happens here at the airport. Without [TSA agents], we wouldn’t have a seamless experience for our guests.”
It appears the donations are helping. I flew through Las Vegas on Monday around 8 p.m. and saw virtually no line in either the general or TSA PreCheck queue. I also cleared PreCheck in less than 2 minutes.
Luke Nimmo, a Las Vegas airport spokesperson, told Business Insider that donations from MGM and community members “make a difference,” and that wait times have been normal since the shutdown began over a month ago.
This is in stark contrast to some cities across the US, where lines have snaked around buildings and into parking garages for up to 3 hours. Airlines have had to delay flights to accommodate the lines; some passengers waited so long that they missed their plane altogether.
The chaos has popped up at seemingly random airports; it’s unclear why, though spring break travel has exacerbated the problems at some of them. Hot spots like Houston Hobby, New York-JFK, and New Orleans airports have seen the worst waits.
Nimmo said Las Vegas also saw short lines during last year’s shutdown thanks to “generous donations.” Among them was MGM, which sent 700 meals and personal items like soap and mouthwash to TSA agents in November 2025.
Las Vegas airport has opened a “food and essentials” pantry stocked with non-perishable snacks, ingredients, toiletries, and baby and paper products for TSA and customs agents affected by the shutdown.
But Nimmo said inventory is low and has asked the community for more donations. Stocking non-food products helps agents save money on other basic necessities.
TSA agents received their first $0 paycheck over the weekend and won’t be paid until Congress reaches a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security. DHS funding lapsed on February 14 amid a political fight over the Trump administration’s immigration tactics.
It’s unclear if any other casino companies have participated in TSA donations. The Wynn Las Vegas declined to comment; Caesars Entertainment did not immediately respond.
The timing of the shutdown and its subsequent chaos is especially sensitive for a tourism-driven city already navigating economic uncertainty and shifting travel demand.
Gaming revenue is up, but restaurants, retailers, and bars are suffering from declining visitor numbers. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority says the area saw a 7.5% decline in tourists — roughly 3 million people — in 2025, the city’s largest drop outside the pandemic.
Analysts attribute the decline in part to budget-conscious travelers feeling the pinch amid inflation and the city’s growing nickel-and-dime fees and surcharges. The city is also hosting fewer Canadians who have canceled their travel plans due to political tensions with the US.
Several airports are asking for TSA donations
Airports across the US have called on the community to help TSA agents working without pay. Denver International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport have set up donation boxes for gift cards and household essentials.
Many smaller airports like John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids, and North Central West Virginia Airport near Clarksburg have similarly posted on social media asking for donations.
Denver and Columbus airports suggested gift cards for gas and grocery stores, but asked that they be no more than $20 and specified that they cannot accept Visa gift cards.
The gestures of goodwill are reminiscent of when airline pilots, flight attendants, and their respective unions sent pizza and other goodies to air traffic controllers working without pay during the 43-day-long shutdown in October and November last year.
This shutdown has not affected the pay of air traffic controllers, who work for the Federal Aviation Administration under the Department of Transportation, which is funded and open.
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