Can Vegas recover?

Quote: Wizard

The Vegas Wet-n-Wild never seemed to suffer from it being too hot. The lines were shaded, which is where most of the time is spent. There is also no shortage of sunscreen for those who wanted to just splash around the pools. My wife would make sure we were all covered head to toe, with SPF 50 at least.

Have you ever been to Orlando? Same problem, except humidity is high and it rains often. Yet the place is packed with theme parks, water parks and assorted attractions. I'd call Orlando a family-oriented version of Las Vegas. It's got theme parks rather than casinos, themed hotels, lots of shopping and dining options, and it's largely controlled by a handful of corporations. Add some nightly shows and the analogy is complete.

Anyway, Wizard, your take on the Vegas issue is substantially different from mine, and I dare say from most other people in the forum. Living in Vegas is very different from visitng Vegas. I would never give any thought to the lack of things such as water parks or other places to take the kids because a) I don't have kids and 2) if I had children I wouldn't take them to Vegas.

Quote: Wizard

The Vegas Wet-n-Wild never seemed to suffer from it being too hot. The lines were shaded, which is where most of the time is spent. There is also no shortage of sunscreen for those who wanted to just splash around the pools. My wife would make sure we were all covered head to toe, with SPF 50 at least.

I was amazed when it was shut down--it seemed like such a natural complement to everything else Vegas had, especially considering the surface-of-Venus weather in the summer. It could also be open from April to October, which would make it potentially more profitable than other similar water parks. But the powers that wuz decided that THERE WAS A SHORTAGE OF CASINOS, so the park had to be torn down to make way for another one (not that that land has been used for anything since, if memory serves).

Quote: mkl654321

I was amazed when it was shut down--it seemed like such a natural complement to everything else Vegas had, especially considering the surface-of-Venus weather in the summer. It could also be open from April to October, which would make it potentially more profitable than other similar water parks. But the powers that wuz decided that THERE WAS A SHORTAGE OF CASINOS, so the park had to be torn down to make way for another one (not that that land has been used for anything since, if memory serves).

The land is currently being proposed as a potential site for the Silver State Arena.


The Wet ’n Wild, billed as an “aquatic Disneyland” when it opened in 1985, and it left a void in the lives of sunburn-seeking Las Vegans when it shut down in 2004. Since the stadium is unlikely to be built, it seems as if the park was torn down for nothing.

Quote: mkl654321

I was amazed when it was shut down--it seemed like such a natural complement to everything else Vegas had, especially considering the surface-of-Venus weather in the summer.

Venus doesn't get hotter in the summer. The thick atmosphere pretty much guarantees constant temperatures.

Quote:

It could also be open from April to October, which would make it potentially more profitable than other similar water parks. But the powers that wuz decided that THERE WAS A SHORTAGE OF CASINOS, so the park had to be torn down to make way for another one (not that that land has been used for anything since, if memory serves).

In this case you're saying the owners of the water park conspired to sell their property because....?

Actually a seasonal attraction on the Strip won't make as much money as a perennial one. I do keep forgetting Vegas can be quite cold, too, and thus seasonality applies to some activities. So maybe closing down a water park for 1/3 of the year simply cost too much. In places like Florida, they can be open year round.

Perhaps an indoor water park? But then you'd miss the sun when it's nice out.

Quote: Nareed

maybe closing down a water park for 1/3 of the year simply cost too much. In places like Florida, they can be open year round.

Closing for more than four months a year does not seem to hurt greatly water parks in more temperate climes like the Mid-Atlantic.

A glass domed roof with soap bubbles for temperature and shade control?
A movable roof?

Seasonality?
Heck, even ski resorts can become non-season profitable with cooking classes, local artists, etc.
Ice-skating rink? Teen arcades? Roller skating? Dance venue? ... there would be ways to make off-season money.

My main question is would the casinos ever "toke" the water park?

Since all major Strip projects need to be outrageous in some form, I'd suggest two alternatives:

1) An indoor water park, with a retractable dome for the nice times of year.

2) A convertible water/ice park. Pools, slides and such in the warm months; skating rinks and sledding at other times (can be indoors, too, which would help for the winter mode).

Number 2 isn't too outrageous. For the past three years the city government has been putting up makeshift ice rinks and some kind of sledding tracks in Mexico City from December through February, fully outdoors.

The City needs to take advantage of its numerous inexpensive hotel rooms and good connections to all major cities. It needs to expand beyond simple tourism and conventions. It could be a home for think tanks that don't need to be in Washington DC. It could be a good place for educational institutions.

*[[Acton Institute]]
*[[Alexis de Tocqueville Institution]]
*[[Allegheny Institute for Public Policy]]
*[[American Civil Rights Union]]
*[[American Consumer Institute]]
*[[American Enterprise Institute]]
*[[American Foreign Policy Council]]
*[[American Institute for Economic Research]]
*[[American Iranian Council]]
*[[American Israel Public Affairs Committee]]
*[[Analysis Group]]
*[[Askew Institute on Politics and Society]]
*[[Aspen Institute]]
*[[Atlantic Council of the United States]]
*[[Atlas Economic Research Foundation]]
*[[Battelle Memorial Institute]]
*[[Bradley Foundation]]
*[[Brookings Institution]]
*[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]]
*[[Cascade Policy Institute]]
*[[Cato Institute]]
*[[Center for American Progress]]
*[[Center for an Urban Future]]
*[[Center for Economic and Policy Research]]
*[[Center for Ethical Solutions]]
*[[Center for Global Development]]
*[[Center for Governmental Studies]]
*[[Center for Immigration Studies]]
*[[Center for International Policy]]
*[[Center for Media and Democracy]]
*[[Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement]]
*[[Center for Public Integrity]]
*[[Center for Security Policy]]
*[[Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments]]
*[[Center for Strategic and International Studies]]
*[[Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]]
*[[Claremont Institute]]
*[[Committee for Economic Development]]
*[[Committee on the Present Danger]]
*[[Competitive Enterprise Institute]]
*[[Constitution Project]]
*[[Corporation for Enterprise Development]]
*[[Council on Foreign Relations]]
*[[Demos (U.S. think tank)|Demos]]
*[[Discovery Institute]]
*[[Economic Opportunity Institute]]
*[[Economic Policy Institute]]
*[[Economic Research Institute]]
*[[Employment Policies Institute]]
*[[Freund Group|Freund Scholarly Research Group]]
*[[Foreign Policy Research Institute]]
*[[Foundation for Economic Education]]
*[[Foundation for Excellence in Education]]
*[[Foundation for Rational Economics and Education]]
*[[Fusion Energy Foundation]]
*[[General Electric EdgeLab]]
*[[Global Development and Environment Institute]]
*[[Global Financial Integrity]]
*[[Global Trade Watch]]
*[[Goldwater Institute]]
*[[Heartland Institute]]
*[[Henry L. Stimson Center]]
*[[Heritage Foundation]]
*[[Hoover Institution]]
*[[Hudson Institute]]
*[[India, China & America Institute]]
*[[Independence Institute]]
*[[The Independent Institute]]
*[[Information Policy Institute]]
*[[Information Technology and Innovation Foundation]]
*[[Institute for Collaborative Engagement]]
*[[Institute for Policy Studies]]
*[[International Center for Research on Women]]
*[[The James Madison Institute|James Madison Institute]]
*[[The Jamestown Foundation|Jamestown Foundation]]
*[[The John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy|John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy]]
*[[Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies]]
*[[Justice Research Association]]
*[[Keck Institute for Space Studies]]
*[[Ludwig von Mises Institute]]
*[[Mackinac Center for Public Policy]]
*[[Manhattan Institute]]
*[[Mercatus Center]] at George Mason University
*[[Middle East Forum]]
*[[Migration Policy Institute]]
*[[Milken Institute]]
*[[MITRE]]
*[[National Bureau of Asian Research]]
*[[National Bureau of Economic Research]]
*[[National Center for Policy Analysis]]
*[[National Endowment for Democracy]]
*[[New America Foundation]]
*[[New Democrat Network]]
*[[New England Complex Systems Institute]] (NECSI)
*[[New Teacher Center]]
*[[Pacific Institute]]
*[[Pacific Research Institute]]
*[[Peterson Institute]]
*[[Phoenix Group]]
*[[Pioneer Institute]]
*[[Policy Matters Ohio]]
*[[Political and Economic Research Council]] (PERC)
*[[Progress and Freedom Foundation]]
*[[Progressive Policy Institute]]
*[[Project for the New American Century]]
*[[Public Citizen]]
*[[RAND Corporation]]
*[[Reason Foundation]]
*[[Reform Institute]]
*[[Research Triangle Institute]]
*[[Resources for the Future]]
*[[Ripon Society]]
*[[Rockridge Institute]]
*[[Rocky Mountain Institute]]
*[[Roosevelt Institution]]
*[[Santa Fe Institute]]
*[[Show-Me Institute]]
*[[Strategic Studies Institute]]
*[[Tax Foundation]]
*[[Tellus Institute]]
*[[Urban Institute]]
*[[U.S. Institute of Peace]]
*[[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]]
*[[W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research]]
*[[WestEd]]
*[[Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars]]
*[[World Policy Institute]]
*[[Xerox PARC]]

Quote: Nareed

In this case you're saying the owners of the water park conspired to sell their property because....?

Actually a seasonal attraction on the Strip won't make as much money as a perennial one. I do keep forgetting Vegas can be quite cold, too, and thus seasonality applies to some activities. So maybe closing down a water park for 1/3 of the year simply cost too much. In places like Florida, they can be open year round.

Perhaps an indoor water park? But then you'd miss the sun when it's nice out.

Well, other Wet N' Wilds, in parts of the country that have less insane climates, and shorter summers, seem to be doing just fine. Those parks lie idle for many more months than the Vegas park did (although they wouldn't open until the second or third week of May, which I thought was completely nuts, since by then the yearly maximum temperature for OTHER Wet N' Wilds in other cities had already been exceeded).

I also doubt that the vacant lot in that location is making any more money than the Wet N' Wild did, even though the WNW was "seasonal". The rumors I heard was that there was going to be a beeg new "theme" casino built on that site and the site of the old El Ratso, and one idea being tossed about was "San Francisco". Not a bad idea---blow fog in there 24/7 to cool people off, hire lots of gay dealers, serve Rice-a-Roni and sourdough bread in the buffet, have a little cable car running around the perimeter of the property for people to ride...

If The Plan was to build a megacasino there, that would explain WNW's hasty exit, as they would have been "persuaded" to sell one way or the other.

I would think a water park somewhere in the Vegas city limits would still be a good idea if some investors got the inclination to do one. Maybe they don't need to necessarily put it on potentially high value property though.