Vegas Emptied by Greed

A friend of mine spent 3 days in Vegas, saw the Wizard of Oz at the Sphere -which she loved - but said she has no desire to ever go to Vegas again.

I think this video may explain why. Vegas is no longer a party. Vegas is dead. Do you agree?



Major points.

The streets and casinos are empty.

The casinos are gouging their customers with every transaction. Hotel rooms, restaurants, parking.

To financially survive their vacations, people are buying beer and chips at Walgreen's and CVS and staying in their hotel rooms.

Cost cutting has eliminated the major attractions that were destinations on the Strip - the Mirage Volcano, the Treasure Island boat show, the Bellagio fountains and others. The sidewalks are no longer a party.

The middle and lower classes have been priced out of Vegas. The streets and casinos no longer exhibit the pageantry and diversity of the American population. It's now designed for whales and wealthy tourists.

Thanks to ChumpChange for posting this video on his blog.

Indian casinos finally destroyed Vegas. Saw it coming 20 years ago. My local is booming, they are even adding a hotel. Last time I was in Vegas was 2019, knew then I would never go back. Even my wife has no desire to go there.

I agree with the first part Vegas is emptied, but not the second part it is caused by greedy. It’s empty because everything has become too expensive for consumers.

Flying sucks these days. Flyers seem more entitled than ever, and YouTube has taught everyone that asking for a supervisor will solve all their problems. Delays are out of hand, and airlines seem to have cut back on staffing.
It's a strange time. Almost everyone in my social circle is doing well, but hardly any of them are optimistic.
A good friend, who is a retired Operating Engineer, is literally panicking because he recieved a letter informing him that his pension is only guaranteed at the present rate for 35 years and will then be cut by 20%. He's got to be in his 70s and, at worst, has 30-plus years to prepare for it, but he's cutting back on his Christmas spending.

The corporations tried to make Vegas into an exclusive place for the rich, but they forgot an important fact about the rich- they did not get that way by allowing themselves to be taken advantage of! They should have known better. The rich people I know will spend money, but not on something where they don't get their money's worth and they sure are smart enough to tell the difference. I'm talking about rich with several M's and not with a B. Rich with a B is uncommon and usually involves special circumstances where you can't compare them to anything else or even each other, so there is really no way to define a business model with them as customers. But rich with an M you can get just by having good habits.

What it seems like they are getting (and possibly aiming for) is more of the pretend rich who think paying $20 for a bottle of water or paying many hundreds just to walk into a nightclub is a badge of honor. And those are people with bad habits, and are usually a turnoff to be around for the real rich, the middle class, and even solid working stiffs. But they are targets for the criminal class, that doesn't need to be enticed to come to Vegas because they already live here and aren't exposed to the exorbitant prices in the tourist sector. Thus this idea that they will keep undesirables out by raising prices is having the opposite effect. It's like trying to scare away rats by throwing popcorn at them.

It carries over to the gaming too and when you have a stupid product, you need stupid customers and if you want people to play your 6:5 BJ and triple zero roulette, the scammy pricing on everything else can serve as a filter to separate the smarts from the marks and make sure you have only the latter on your gaming floor.

The reality is that Vegas is still a bargain when you compare it to other vacation spots. What does a week in a top NYC hotel run?
Compare the cost of a week for two in Vegas, NYC, Miami, LA, or New Orleans, and Vegas wins hands down. Vegas flights are cheap enough, but too much hassle.

Quote: AutomaticMonkey

The corporations tried to make Vegas into an exclusive place for the rich, but they forgot an important fact about the rich- they did not get that way by allowing themselves to be taken advantage of! They should have known better. The rich people I know will spend money, but not on something where they don't get their money's worth and they sure are smart enough to tell the difference.
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(snip!)

If you're of the personality type that wants to impress others with your lavish conspicuous consumption... there's nobody to flex on in an empty room.

Quote: gordonm888

The middle and lower classes have been priced out of Vegas. The streets and casinos no longer exhibit the pageantry and diversity of the American population. It's now designed for whales and wealthy tourists.

This hypothesis doesn't stand up to any kind of intellectual scrutiny. In 2025 domestic visitors are down 6.9%, almost 3 times less than international tourists which is at 19.6%, who tend to stay longer and spend more. That's inclusive of many who booked before the changes to international travel, it will almost certainly get worse.

This phenomenon is happening across the US in all major tourist areas, inclusive of places where prices have not risen significantly.

Ultimately if you do not treat foreigners with respect and ensure their safety they are not going to come to your country and spend money. People are going to have to accept the US economy is smaller now.

The two numbers, domestic visitors down 6.9% and international tourists down 19.6%, still don’t justify the conclusion you want to draw. What is the ratio of domestic to international visitors to Vegas? I guess Vegas is still patronized dominantly by domestic visitors.

If that domestic figure counts air traffic, then it is ignoring the massive California drive-in traffic, which, by many accounts, is also down quite a bit.

Bear in mind that most international tourists do not gamble heavily in Vegas at all. They probably want to try sinful whores there.

Quote: aceside

The two numbers, domestic visitors down 6.9% and international tourists down 19.6%, still don’t justify the conclusion you want to draw. What is the ratio of domestic to international visitors to Vegas? I guess Vegas is still patronized dominantly by domestic visitors.
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Yes, Vegas is patronized mainly by domestic visitors. However, they don't stay so long and they don't spend so much, and they are not as visible.

INTERNATIONAL DECLINE:
Visitors lost: 1 million
Duration: 5 nights average
Visitor-nights lost: 5 million
Spending per visitor: ~$2,785 average (from $13.2B / 4.74M visitors)
OR per night: $557/night ($2,785 ÷ 5 nights)
Total economic loss:

1M visitors × $2,785 = $2.8 billion
OR: 5M visitor-nights × $557 = $2.8 billion


DOMESTIC DECLINE:
Visitors lost: 1.5 million
Duration: 3 nights average
Visitor-nights lost: 4.5 million
Spending per visitor: ~$600
OR per night: $200/night ($600 ÷ 3 nights)
Total economic loss:

1.5M visitors × $600 = $900 million
OR: 4.5M visitor-nights × $200 = $900 million

This should be obvious. Australians are not going to come to Vegas for the day. They are going to bring more money than people from adjacent states of the union.

The locals tend to be spread downtown, foreigners patronize the strip. So your "Vegas is empty" videos are trading mainly on that, regardless of the underlying reality which is still mainly down as a consequence of reduced international tourism in any case.

All this probably understates the impact of reduced international tourism mainly because of the damage to the very lucrative convention circuit. If mixed nationality conventions cancel, and they are in droves, that often means a lot of Americans don't come in addition to the international losses. Then you have people hosting friends/family (many people never travel to tourist destinations unless they have visitors).

Just a word on the domestic market: there is a big decline because of rising wealth inequality pricing the working and middle-classes out. I don't wish to understate that. However it is not the biggest problem here.

I believe you are right on the lucrative convention circuit. I hate all these zoom meetings. People need to touch each other’s hands to feel the meeting.

I'm reading people are up to their anal grooves in CC debt and are even using CC's to buy groceries. Restaurants are closing nationwide at a steady clip because their overp[riced and low quality.. Nobody has any money to waste in Vegas anymore. My youngest daughter and her spouse make over 200K a year and are drowning in debt from eating out 4 times a week and two teen girls that need almost new cars and everything else possible to keep up with their peers. They are hardly atypical.

Preliminary indications are that tourism is down about 15% in Southern Arizona. Much of it is the lack of Canadians wintering in Arizona.
Flights from Canada are down 10% into Phoenix and 33% into the smaller Tucson International.

I was on the Strip last night. It sure looked busy to me. The rodeo is in town and given the hats I suspect many people were here for that. Of course "busy" to me means "Can I get a seat at a table? How are the table mins?"

When they talk about "Vegas tourism declining" they usually mean Strip room occupancy, but there is a lot more than that in Vegas and the way the Strip resorts treat you seems to be the biggest source of complaints for consumers. So the answer to "Where did all the visitors go?" could be "They're staying at the Palms, Palace Station and Orleans, getting most of their gaming and drinking in there too, and they take an Uber to the Strip to see the fountains blow."

I think these reports of Vegas being empty are exaggerated. Here are hotel occupancy percentages since Covid.

2023: 83.5%
2024: 83.6%
2025 (YTD): 80.8%

The city seemed as busy as usual when I was there in October.

September had 8.8 % less visitors than in 2024, which wasn't a good year either.

Quote: Wizard

I think these reports of Vegas being empty are exaggerated. Here are hotel occupancy percentages since Covid.

2023: 83.5%
2024: 83.6%
2025 (YTD): 80.8%

The city seemed as busy as usual when I was there in October.
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Over that period we lost the Mirage and Tropicana, leaving a couple of big honking holes in the Strip. Some would say that should improve occupancy by lowering the denominator, but the countervailing effect of just giving people fewer things to do when they come here might be the dominant one. The Mirage closure and the construction surrounding it in particular makes the Strip less walkable, and if you are directly across the street from it there isn't anything obvious to entice you to explore the other side.

I think I saw this video on my own a week or two ago. I have no desire to return to Vegas but have been following some of this kind of video.

Part of it IMHO falls under my "Does Vegas Have a Disney Problem" thread of a few years back. The crowds came and came and came so they raised the prices to thin things out and make a few bucks. Now the price increases have had their effect of "driving out the riff raff."

The problem is that the "solution" is some of it's own problem. Part of why I have no desire to return was the crowds and size. I don't want my casino experience to feel like I am making a connection at ATL. I don't want to wait an hour for a buffet. I don't want the bar to feel like I am at a football stadium. You get the point. But neither do I want to pay $300 a night for a room and $15 for drink.

The MBA class that runs things no longer wants they guy who manages a Cinnabon at a mall in Omaha to come visit. They want the whales, the conventions, and the well-heeled Asian tourists. They have now priced and marketed to that market. Times have changed.

The Silver Sevens hotel in Vegas (The former Terrible's and Continental) is offering rooms at $3.62 a night this week. According to Las Vegas Advisor over 20 hotels have room rates of around $20 a night. The time leading up to Christmas is always the cheapest time in Vegas for rooms.

Quote: DRich

The Silver Sevens hotel in Vegas (The former Terrible's and Continental) is offering rooms at $3.62 a night this week. According to Las Vegas Advisor over 20 hotels have room rates of around $20 a night. The time leading up to Christmas is always the cheapest time in Vegas for rooms.
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I have personally fact-checked this and can confirm the $3.62 rate is TRUE!

However, with resort fee and tax, it comes out to $50.10 for one night's stay.

The "resort fees" constitute a cosmic level of BS in my opinion.

Like why do I have to pay extra for amenities like WiFi and shampoo that do not incur a resort fee anywhere else in the country?

It just adds to the perception that all the businesses here in Vegas to scam you out of money.

Yea, this is basically a false narrative. I was in Vegas end of October and it was as busy as ever. Fremont street was packed on the weekend and every bar and late night eatery were at capacity.

The high end casinos like Bellagio, Palazzo, Venetian, Ceasars and Mandalay Bay were all full and everyone was watching the World Series or NFL/NHL games during the week.

Sure the prices are higher every year, but as BillRyan stated above, prices are up EVERYWHERE and Vegas is just following suit.

I debated on going on an "All Inclusive" Cruise or Vegas for my 2 week vacation this year. The cruise was $2000 per person to Greece, Israel, Turkey & Santorini as the final stop. The price was for a Basic Cabin, not including drinks, excursions and fine dining which would have been $500 extra per person. Then they expect gratuity and shopping at local merchant stops in Europe(which are a nightmare for American tourists for numerous reasons!)

So I went to Vegas, spent less than $1200 for two people on Room (After comped rates), Flight, Travel (Rented a car and drove around) , Food , Drinks and Entertainment (went to 7 shows In 9 days!) And had a Blast!

As far as I'm concerned, let people stop overcrowding Vegas, leaves more for the rest of us who enjoy the city for all the hidden gems!

I'd only show up if I needed a bunch of CTRs and to win $40K per session on Black Jack. I would need a $10K table max for that. I'm likely to find $5K table max tables in my region but they are a several hour drive away.

My bro-in-law suddenly proposed a family trip to Las Vegas in February to see Ali Wong (he had me at "Vegas"). It just happened that my mom-in-law has an offer for free nights at Red Rock Casino. Amazingly, the room rates for that final Feb weekend is $270–$340 (plus $45/night resort fee), yet the free offer is still valid—they must have some kind of partnership with Thunder Valley Casino.

We'll probably see the show at the Wynn, but otherwise stay and play off the strip. As luck would have it, the Red Rock Casino-adjacent Las Vegas Ballpark will host a college baseball tournament with my Oregon Ducks! I've been wanting to go see an Aviators game, but never made it out there during the summer months.

In case anyone cares, here's a rundown of Las Vegas offers this low-roller has recently received:
Stations Casinos: 40% off rooms and resort credit
Fontainebleau: up to 30% off stay and no resort fee
Resorts World (Conrad): $200 food & beverage credit
Orleans: Reduced rates ($101 that Feb weekend!)

Quote: harris

The "resort fees" constitute a cosmic level of BS in my opinion.

Like why do I have to pay extra for amenities like WiFi and shampoo that do not incur a resort fee anywhere else in the country?

It just adds to the perception that all the businesses here in Vegas to scam you out of money.
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Good idea. Just the term "resort fee" has become offensive enough that Silver Sevens could say "All rooms $49 plus tax, and no resort fees ever!" and they would have a full hotel, and be blue collar heroes too. I remember playing there when it was Terrible's. Nice and quiet and you could get a good double deck game there.

It's not a bad location, on Flaming O. You can walk to the Strip, or take the buses around. And it's right across the street from a Chick-Fil-A so as long as it's not Sunday, you can get a chicken sandwich. Only thing is it's not a nice Chick-Fil-A, it's like a Third World one where you have to ask for forks, napkins, salt etc. because they're afraid of the bums coming in and taking everything. And you have to ask permission to use the bathroom and get a code (it's *0825) to open the door. That's kind of a turn-off.

I don't know much about Resort Fees except everybody is complaining about them. I think a local hotel, far from Vegas, was forced to charge a room tax on the order of $25/night and that kind of resembles a Resort Fee I guess. The local city gets the money.
Here's an article explaining that Resort Fees are a ruse, but it didn't specify for what. Was it cover for a city tax, or for hotel income, or to dodge booking fee payouts?
Whatever, if I get a mailer that says free hotel room at the casino and I take them up on that, I'll still be billed a Resort Fee.

Holiday Inn Express Charges A Resort Fee That Gives You Nothing—And Says It’s Just To Make The Price Look Lower
https://viewfromthewing.com/holiday-inn-express-charges-a-resort-fee-that-gives-you-nothing-and-says-its-just-to-make-the-price-look-lower/

Quote: Wizard

I think these reports of Vegas being empty are exaggerated. Here are hotel occupancy percentages since Covid.

2023: 83.5%
2024: 83.6%
2025 (YTD): 80.8%

The city seemed as busy as usual when I was there in October.
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2023-24 were significantly down on 2019 at 88%. The 2025 numbers represent a further decline on a historically very weak baseline.

As stated previously in some depth those numbers are catastrophic representing many billions of dollars in lost income.

A one month outlier doesn't mean much statistically.

Vegas is COLLAPSING: 72,000 Jobs GONE & Mass Layoffs, Empty Casinos, Broken Workers - Secret Vegas


76.1% hotel occupancy in July 2025. When your city gets the announcer voice destroying all hope everywhere! Casinos will go dark by 2027 at this rate.

JUST IN: US layoffs set to exceed 2008 financial crisis.

Quote: ChumpChange

I'd only show up if I needed a bunch of CTRs and to win $40K per session on Black Jack. I would need a $10K table max for that. I'm likely to find $5K table max tables in my region but they are a several hour drive away.
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i am confused. Why would anyone need a bunch of CTR's?

Hahaha, as opposed to not wanting any. Yeah, I know, FinCEN gets them, not me.

Quote: ChumpChange

Vegas is COLLAPSING: 72,000 Jobs GONE & Mass Layoffs, Empty Casinos, Broken Workers - Secret Vegas

76.1% hotel occupancy in July 2025. When your city gets the announcer voice destroying all hope everywhere! Casinos will go dark by 2027 at this rate.

JUST IN: US layoffs set to exceed 2008 financial crisis.
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That video is from another crappy AI Channel that's written by AI narrated by AI and just uses stock footage. I don't think I've ever heard that many cliches for doom and gloom all strung together in one video. They even say women children and the elderly hit the hardest, lol. That's classic cliche fear mongering.

BTW, original video "Las Vegas Emptied by Greed" seemed to be focussed on the changes to the Strip, not necessarily to Downtown.

I think almost everyone agrees that the addition of Resort Fees to the advertised hotel rate is deceptive and hardens the heart of visitors to Vegas - and is a deceptive practice largely specific to Vegas hotels. So it's not an "Inflation has raised prices everywhere" situation.

The loss of street anchors on the strip - Mirage Volcano, Treasure Island Pirate ships, Bellagio fountains, Rio - has eliminated the outdoor festival that was once the Strip -and is a change specific to Las Vegas. So, I don't buy arguments that this is a nationwide trend.

The anecdotes of people buying beer and chips at CVS and watching TV in their hotel rooms because of the price gouging on food and drinks in the casinos is chilling. We can "deny, deny, deny" or perhaps we can learn something new about how the world is changing.

I've been asking around and most of my acquaintances seem to have been turned off by Las Vegas. Vegas had a great brand, just as Cadillac did once - and it takes a while for everyone to understand that the brand now sucks.

I was in Vegas for 6 days about a month ago, and I wouldn't say it was quiet. I know the strip crowds outside the Paris were thick, as I had to wait for them to clear the driveway every time I drove back to the hotel!

Quote: gordonm888

I think almost everyone agrees that the addition of Resort Fees to the advertised hotel rate is deceptive and hardens the heart of visitors to Vegas - and is a deceptive practice largely specific to Vegas hotels.
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Oh, if that last part were only true today. Let me know when you find a central FL hotel that doesn't charge a resort fee!

You'll find them scattered among hotels in any big city these days. Back in 2021, I was charged a resort fee by the Marriott in downtown Chicago (which, by no means would ever be considered a 'resort'). In their defense, however, we did get some value from the amenities covered by the fee, which included a $10 credit towards breakfast in their restaurant, free dry cleaning, and a free "El" train pass.

Quote: harris

The "resort fees" constitute a cosmic level of BS in my opinion.

Like why do I have to pay extra for amenities like WiFi and shampoo that do not incur a resort fee anywhere else in the country?

It just adds to the perception that all the businesses here in Vegas to scam you out of money.
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Don't forget you get free local calls, too! ;)

Several hotels in the Choice family now charge resort fees. I recently stayed three nights in Cincinnati, which were comped, but I got a $23.00 bill at checkout. $5.99 a night, plus tax, with included Wi-Fi, pool access, and a free USA Today, which I never picked up from their lobby. Many are now charging $3-$5a a night if you use the in-room safe.

I started a post saying something like,"What REALLY killed Vegas is that Vegas was once the ONLY place in the entire world where you could gamble in a Casino, but now, about 45 states just in the United States alone has at least one Casino and MANY people have at least one Casino within an hour drive of their home or workplace. A Woman told me she literally worked down the street from a local Casino. And a lot of Countries have their own Casinos as well such as Macau, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Vegas is no longer the sole place to gamble in a Casino anymore. 💡 But my original post inexplicably went into the ether before I could finish it and post. 💡

Quote: Nathan

I started a post saying something like,"What REALLY killed Vegas is that Vegas was once the ONLY place in the entire world where you could gamble in a Casino, but now, about 45 states just in the United States alone has at least one Casino and MANY people have at least one Casino within an hour drive of their home or workplace. A Woman told me she literally worked down the street from a local Casino. And a lot of Countries have their own Casinos as well such as Macau, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Vegas is no longer the sole place to gamble in a Casino anymore. 💡 But my original post inexplicably went into the ether before I could finish it and post. 💡
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I agree with you Nathan, and thanks for reminding us that casinos and sports gambling are increasingly available to all of us.- which definitely hurts the business of Las Vegas! So true.

But this video points out that the Vegas strip used to be a good time - a place with cheap buffets and free sidewalk attractions and lower-than-average hotel room rates. The Strip had a feel to it that was only exceeded in America by New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Now, when you go down to the hotel bar and order two drinks and a bottle of water, the bill is $98 (according to the video.) You pay $25/day to park your car and $50/day in unannounced resort fees. In the casino, table minimums are $25 -$50. And the price of shows???

Sure people are still coming to Vegas, many of them with memories of what it once was or with visions of Vegas created by marketing campaigns. But even though hotel occupancy has only gradually declined and hasn't yet plummeted, Vegas has become unattractive to many of the people who are visiting now, or who have visited in the last 5 years. Many are not planning to ever return; they'll go to Nashville or Destin or New Orleans instead. Or stay home and go to their local casino, as you say.

Quote: Nathan

I started a post saying something like,"What REALLY killed Vegas is that Vegas was once the ONLY place in the entire world where you could gamble in a Casino, but now, about 45 states just in the United States alone has at least one Casino and MANY people have at least one Casino within an hour drive of their home or workplace. A Woman told me she literally worked down the street from a local Casino. And a lot of Countries have their own Casinos as well such as Macau, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Vegas is no longer the sole place to gamble in a Casino anymore. 💡 But my original post inexplicably went into the ether before I could finish it and post. 💡
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Las Vegas was never the only place one could gamble in a casino. It was the entire state of Nevada, with Reno being the biggest city. Prior to air conditioning, Las Vegas was just a stop on the railroad passing through southern Nevada. San Francisco was bigger than Los Angeles back then.

In the two casino markets I'm most familiar with, (LV and AC) the problem seems to be centered on labor, and the cause is demographics. Everything is closed, shut down, locked up, roped off, no longer offered etc. because there's no one to work it.

Why not? I think of it in these terms when I'm walking around: suppose I was a young guy who wanted to get into the gaming business, so I go to Las Vegas to be a casino dealer. Where would I live, on what you make as a rookie casino dealer? Or a bellman, or waiter, or line cook? The answer always comes back as "Not anywhere near this city." Dirty, dangerous pestholes full of undesirables are what are affordable for people making entry-level wages. Same for Atlantic City, the only places in town that are cheap are places where you wouldn't even want to drive, let alone live, but they get a little relief from the nearby small towns that still have a native working class population that is employable.

Then I look at it from the perspective of the casino, which is a mirror image of that: suppose I owned a casino here. Where would I find my dealers and other entry-level workers? I'm probably not going to have much luck in the $500K neighborhoods, those people aren't going to take those jobs. I remember when college students would take any job they can just walk in and out of but no more, they're all too [raising pinky] sophisticated now and wouldn't be caught dead doing a service job. So then I go to the part of town where I would think the people would appreciate a solid paycheck but no, all I see is no speaka, no legal, guy looks like he has a criminal record as long as your arm, guy walking around high out of his mind, all unemployables. And if you do take a chance on hiring them, you're going to have to fire half of them and you will spend your life in court being sued when you do. The answer is again "Not anywhere near this city." Can't blame them for shutting things down rather than facing that.

How that translates to the ridiculous prices is they're trying to compensate for the shortfall in what they can provide by nickel-and-diming and chiseling on everything that's left. So you've got no dealers, half your blackjack tables closed on a Saturday night- I know, we'll make it all 6:5 and $100 minimum! They'll never notice the difference. Ain't I brilliant! No cooks or servers, so it's all short hours and limited menu? No problem, we'll just double the prices! Now with the hotel occupancy, what difference does it make when due to staffing you have rooms "on change" (that's Hotelese for "dirty") until evening and sometimes even overnight. And thus the problem accelerates, as fewer people are willing to accept it. They might be trying to downsize to the market that will pay anything and accept anything no matter how dismal, and that's it, that's your customer base and business model.

Attribute it to demographics, where the traditional working class that would normally be doing the customer-facing jobs in casino resorts is squeezed out of the housing market in the large casino markets- by high prices on one end, and by the crime and urban decay, and the WoV-unmentionable problems on the other end. This is happening in almost every city.

Quote: Nathan

I started a post saying something like,"What REALLY killed Vegas is that Vegas was once the ONLY place in the entire world where you could gamble in a Casino

Casinos have existed since the 1800's in large numbers in Europe. The first formally recognized casino was in 1638 in Venice.

Vegas has only ever had a monopoly on gambling within the US, not even America (Argentina's Mar Del Plata opened in the 1880's).

I'd add internationally Vegas was eclipsed by Macau decades ago. Globally speaking it isn't that important.

Quote: DougGander

Quote: Nathan

I started a post saying something like,"What REALLY killed Vegas is that Vegas was once the ONLY place in the entire world where you could gamble in a Casino

Casinos have existed since the 1800's in large numbers in Europe. The first formally recognized casino was in 1638 in Venice.

Vegas has only ever had a monopoly on gambling within the US, not even America (Argentina's Mar Del Plata opened in the 1880's).

I'd add internationally Vegas was eclipsed by Macau decades ago. Globally speaking it isn't that important.
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Okay, thank you for enlightening me. 😀 All my life I thought Vegas was the first place in the world to put Casinos until this very post. 😀

Monte Carlo.

Quote: billryan

Monte Carlo.
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Wasn't the first casino to open in Monte Carlo in the 1850's?

This is a very strange discussion.

No one is going to United States because the United States insulted most other countries rudely, seemed to threaten many countries with invasion, and began imprisoning some tourists. This is bad advertising for your attractions.

I am German, of mixed race. I would not go to Las Vegas right now because I am mixed race and I would worry I would be locked up or deported to somewhere horrible.

Imagine Germany shoots some Americans for some reason. Now we say "come to Berlin, see Bradenburg gate and eat bratwurst, we promise not to shoot you!" Persuasive, yes?

I do not know why Americans are not going to Las Vegas (perhaps scared also) but it seems everyone has less money, so this is probably the reason. I am not sure why people talk about pirate ships closing. Pirate ships closing is not a big concern. I did not know there was a pirate ship in Vegas and I do not care. I do care about going to a jail.

Quote: dankenalta

This is a very strange discussion.

No one is going to United States because the United States insulted most other countries rudely, seemed to threaten many countries with invasion, and began imprisoning some tourists. This is bad advertising for your attractions.

I am German, of mixed race. I would not go to Las Vegas right now because I am mixed race and I would worry I would be locked up or deported to somewhere horrible.

Imagine Germany shoots some Americans for some reason. Now we say "come to Berlin, see Bradenburg gate and eat bratwurst, we promise not to shoot you!" Persuasive, yes?

I do not know why Americans are not going to Las Vegas (perhaps scared also) but it seems everyone has less money, so this is probably the reason. I am not sure why people talk about pirate ships closing. Pirate ships closing is not a big concern. I did not know there was a pirate ship in Vegas and I do not care. I do care about going to a jail.
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If a tourist comes with a passport and if needed a visa then they should have nothing to worry about. As to Americans, the only thing I think people are "scared" of is having to zip their wallet because the fees have gotten to the point that the hotels might soon have the HVAC run on quarters.

Now they are going to demand social media for the past 5 years and all your e-mail accounts for all tourists. That should shut down the USA for sure! Can't have a proper civil war with visitors in the country. Can't imagine TSA reading hundreds of thousands of social media posts from every visitor before leaving the airport for a taxi. The AI must be awesome! BTW, the USA is not getting mail from many countries because of tariffs.

Denmark officially labels the United States as a national security risk.

Quote: dankenalta

This is a very strange discussion.

No one is going to United States because the United States insulted most other countries rudely, seemed to threaten many countries with invasion, and began imprisoning some tourists. This is bad advertising for your attractions.

I am German, of mixed race. I would not go to Las Vegas right now because I am mixed race and I would worry I would be locked up or deported to somewhere horrible.

Imagine Germany shoots some Americans for some reason. Now we say "come to Berlin, see Bradenburg gate and eat bratwurst, we promise not to shoot you!" Persuasive, yes?

I do not know why Americans are not going to Las Vegas (perhaps scared also) but it seems everyone has less money, so this is probably the reason. I am not sure why people talk about pirate ships closing. Pirate ships closing is not a big concern. I did not know there was a pirate ship in Vegas and I do not care. I do care about going to a jail.
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With an attitude like that- yes, please, avoid travel to the United States and particularly Las Vegas.

Quote: AZDuffman

As to Americans, the only thing I think people are "scared" of is having to zip their wallet because the fees have gotten to the point that the hotels might soon have the HVAC run on quarters.

Not sure why people keep going on about that.

Casinos are greedy. They have always been greedy. Nothing has changed there. They have never been philanthropic institutions, they have a fiduciary legal responsibility to create as much shareholder value as possible.

Quote: DougGander

Quote: AZDuffman

As to Americans, the only thing I think people are "scared" of is having to zip their wallet because the fees have gotten to the point that the hotels might soon have the HVAC run on quarters.

Not sure why people keep going on about that.

Casinos are greedy. They have always been greedy. Nothing has changed there. They have never been philanthropic institutions, they have a fiduciary legal responsibility to create as much shareholder value as possible.
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Wanting to make a profit is not greed. But the problem is about how they are doing it. Show a cheap price for a room then add a bunch of junk fees? People do not like that. A $250 a night room charges for WiFi when Motel6 gives if for free? Feels like a ripoff. Limit the free drinks when you play, charge to park, fee here, fee there. People do not like how that feels.

I will keep saying it. Vegas no longer wants the small business owner from Fort Wayne. They no longer want the middle America that built their business in the Mirage era. It is the 80/20 rule where 20% of your customers give 89% or your profit. But you cannot just drive away that 80% or else there is a new 80/20.