Wasnt the point of a casino the make money off the gambling while providing cheap accomodations for visitors so that it would entice them to spend at rhe casino doing actual gambling.
People already waste so much money to set foot there they dont got anything to gamble with
Thats right, they lure you in with cheap booze and food so you would gamble and hopefully lose. I don't know why they strayed from what was working. Maybe people were just taking advantage of the cheap things and not gambling enough.
Unfortunately they forgot that sort of attitude only works on necessities. People can live without Vegas Trips. But communication and food? Well that's the sweet spot to corner markets.
It’s criminal. I got stuck there with my family due to a storm and went to NYNY since the kid liked the theme and it was close to the airport. $25 bucks per person to ride the roller coaster once. The arcade blew through $300 in about an hour in a half with half broken/low payout machines, got yelled at for waiting outside and ice cream joint while my spouse got ice cream and hotel front desk staff that were the rudest people on the planet. O forget what the pizza cost there but it was insane and tasted like ass.
NYC is absolutely cheaper for a similar experience. We had spent time at Disneyland prior to Vegas and Disneyland was cheaper. I get up charging for some things, I get paying for an experience, etc. but for basics it’s shouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg while getting yelled at. I have been to Vegas a bit over the years and had a lull, the place did a 180 and it wasn’t for the best.
$7 for a bottle of water, shit service from front desks, $4 donut, and getting a pit boss called over because I was up after 30 minutes playing blackjack at $15 minimum tables with no one around and I won’t go back.
Exactly, I'll pay 25 for a specialist cocktail made by a talented bartender at somewhere that specialises in cocktails. But I'm not paying that for some basic grade sloppy drink from a hotel.
This right here. It’s not just Vegas. There’s a term for it, enshittification. Home builders have been bought up by private equity, they build the houses shittier and charge more for them. Restaurants across the country make shittier food, and charge more for it. Look at potato chips, the family size used to be 40-50 oz now it’s 11oz, bag is the same size to deceive Jo six pack into thinking he’s still getting 40oz, but again the price doesn’t go down.
This one cookie brand I get recently changed logos and when I bought the new box, there was like 2/3rds of the cookies even though the box was the same size. I’m not in a great fucking mood if I’m about to crush a box of cookies, so this really pissed me off
yeah most of the complaints about Vegas really apply to my local restaurants as well the cost has just gotten too high. Like my local steakhouse used to be close enough to grocery store steak prices to where it was a no brainer to go now its like 4 times as much as the grocery store.
Ultra financialized capitalism will always favor next quarter over next decade over next generation. Therefore capitalism will consume the biosphere in the name of the shareholders. Only accountability to the international masses of working class average people can change that (maybe, not looking particularly good on that front at the moment!)
This is the REAL story that no one is really talking about. This is the reason for the decline in healthcare, retirement, quality of goods and foods. While the media, social media influencers, and politicians concentrate on social issues (which are important) the oligarchs continue to consolidate industries and hoard wealth and control.
It’s not even greed, although I’m not saying that they’re not greedy. It’s the massive debt they’ve all taken on to build new properties. People make fun of Donald Trump for bankrupting casinos. This is EXACTLY how he did it. His casinos were popular. But he took on massive debt, at junk bond rates, and couldn’t pay it back.
This really isn’t talked about enough. You see it with every industry. The erosion of quality, the cost cutting, the general cheapening of everything. But it’s also in healthcare where you see private equity and diminished quality of care.
Add to that the massive (and continuing to increase) reduction of international tourism to the USA in general.
A place that relies on tourism to exist that is also increasing prices and adding random fees is going to be one of the first places to feel the pinch .
It’s hollowing every part of the world. Not just America. All these capitalists are reading the same playbook. Everything has become worse in quality and/or quantity, AND increased in price. The consumers are not purchasing these optional goods and services as much as they used to.
It was a given that you would lose the money you brought gambling, but for that, you would get drunk, eat pretty well, have a clean room and access to a pool.
Now every table limit is high, they track the drinks, food is a bougie 5 star “experience “, it cost to get into the pool, there’s a resort fee, with taxes.
I can go to a all inclusive destination for a week off of what a 3 day trip to Vegas will cost.
I would argue the food costs like a 5 star experience but isn’t actually a five star experience. The food in Vegas is mostly shit now, just a bunch of restaurants slapping some famous chefs name on the wall and rolling out some trash. Wolfgang puck anything is to be avoided at all cost.
As a foodie, I was immensely disappointed in Vegas. The entire city is an abomination but I thought, “at least the food will be good”. It’s not. It’s terribly overpriced and low quality. The best food we ate was off the strip in china town.
13 years ago we went and the food at the Bellagio was absolute garbage. We ended up getting our next meal at a Cuban restaurant somewhere off the strip and it was absolutely fantastic
yeah I always wonder about these guys that say that Vegas is a for foodies when I went around the same time as you I remember being very disappointing anytown america had better food. The strip was also overrun with places like twin peaks and chipotle that literally are everywhere.
Ate there cheaper casinos that are bucking this trend? You would think a lower price point place would still be succesful unless flying sewhere to gamble is just falling out of fashion.
I believe there are , but they are all off the strip
Still have $5 blackjack with good odds, still pouring drinks and serving up food, albeit not as cheap as it once was, but still less than the big boys.
Yeah. Vegas F’d itself hard with this one. Upping their prices on everything, and getting rid of the lower hotel, food and drink prices. All the while, still expecting people to gamble every hard earned dollar away for “fun.” They pretty much got rid of the good part of Vegas, and expected people to come here for a vacay. A vacation for what exactly? It doesn’t seem like a vacay to come here anymore, but a punishment to lose all your money and get no fun in return.
Good luck Vegas. It doesn’t look good.
People are taking care of their money now, and watching where they are spending it. The younger generations learned from their parents, and won’t just give their money away for nothing anymore.
I lived here for 4 years, and I saw the flaws a long time ago…
Throw in the fact that other places are legalizing gambling, at least sports gambling. So, not only is Vegas’ product/service worse and more expensive, there is also more competition which is far more convenient for most people.
This is true. I often hear of many people who are getting into the online gambling scene sadly. This kind of stuff stimulates the brain like drugs, without a person having to travel anywhere.
Unfortunately the last paragraph seems largely untrue. I am regularly shocked by the number of gamblers I know, or second degree separation. But it's mostly sports betting via phone. Others I hear about are at local casinos spending all their money. There's not much reason to go to Vegas when there's so much local gambling to do.
Nothing hopefully about it. You will lose. Even big jackpot winners only walk out with a percentage of the money the casino got from everyone gambling.
Thats why Reno is still pretty unaffected, maybe a small amount. The difference is Reno is still fairly cheap depending and when you come, you can get a decent room for $80 or less. Also the free drinks if you're gambling and the food is still pretty cheap.
Not any more. Everything is built around fleecing average guests unless you're a high roller, in which case you get preferential treatment and "free" stuff. A room in Vegas is not much cheaper than any other hotel now.
All the tables are completely stacked against you too. Used to be you could find 3:2 tables for lower hands. Now they're all 6:5. Kind of crazy the younger generation really won't get to experience what made "Vegas" Vegas. People used to drive there from Socal every weekend before the pandemic. The cheap buffets are gone too
I am sure they have still have high rollers coming in for now, but my assumption is part of being a high roller is getting your ego stroked with private rooms, ushered to the front of lines, VIP booths.
You dont get an ego boost getting escorted to a private room when you are passing empty tables, pools, and bars. So those trips are about to stop as well - probably some interesting data on the drop in PJs landing in Vegas YoY.
I know the answer already, but I hope private equity and business leaders are paying attention to the lessons Vegas should be providing them on how to treat people.
I’ve only gone once when I got a free room offer which was worth like $2000 and $150 in free play. We figured out quickly that we only got free drinks if we sat in the old person keno section otherwise the cocktail waitresses would ignore us. Food was pricey and cocktails were outrageous (20+) for like a vodka soda. We didn’t even bother trying to see any shows. I’d probably go again but I’d have to have enough free cash to blow to make it worth it.
Last time I was in Vegas for a conference, I went to one of the casinos and figured I'd gamble a bit just to say I'd done it. No cash, so I go to an ATM. Withdrawal fee for cash was like $10. I noped out of there and was just weirded out by that as a business concept.
Typically, if you are betting on a ballgame and betting the money line, the house has built a 10% fee (or something like it) into the bet. It's easier to understand in football where you are betting the line. A $100 bet costs $110 to make. The "vigorish." Casinos charge vig the same as bookies and loansharks.
Las Vegas has been attempted to change for a few decades now. All of that cheap stuff became expensive once they aimed to have families and children come to Vegas.
Now nothing is cheap, nobody is going to Vegas without a specific show or event to attend, and the degen gamblers have a lot less casual competition.
Totally get your point but I think the timeline is off. They killed the family marketing in the early aughts and went with “What happens in Vegas” which became a successful campaign. I went a ton in my twenties (late aughts/early teens) and I could still get $5 rooms at Bally’s and eat $3.99 steak and eggs at Bill’s across the street. Granted, the insanely cheap Vegas ended in the ‘90s, but the nosebleed pricing of Vegas is a fairly recent development.
You're looking at two sides of the same coin and saying one caused the other. But what actually happened was corporations coming in and fucking everything up. Corporations say you aren't allowed to have the bar or kitchen run at a loss ever so no more cheap eating or drinks for your gamblers. They also say "kids spend money too" which is why they pushed for families at the same time. They just wanted every aspect of the business to be individually popular just in case they want to sell off parts of the company.
Gambling not as big as it used to be. With online gambling opening up a lot of places gamblers have alternatives to going to Vegas. They shifted their emphasis to coins and premium offerings.
Personally I’m not unhappy to see this. Last time I was there I got sick of being nickled and dimed for everything. I doubt they’ll recover until the culture shifts back
It costs less for me to go overseas and visit my best friend in London for two weeks than it does to spend a week in Vegas, gambling not included. The place is unrealistically expensive.
Yes that was the point. But then they started getting shareholders and everything had to be corporatized.
The first thing corporations do to promote profits and efficiency is do away with any sort of "loss leaders" and guest services. They require every aspect of the business to turn a profit themselves so no more complimentary drink service because they customers can handle a drink service with a profit margin. Standard gambling odds aren't enough in their favor so every year they find new ways to rig it even further in their favor so they can show growth.
Vegas is dying and it's their own fault. It's what they get for running their casino like it's a business on its way to being chopped and sold in parts. That's the secret to why every aspect they can make profitable has to be. At any moment the board could decide the casino is failed and they need to sell it off and that bar is worth more if it looks like it makes a profit on its own.
That used to be the case, but now at the bigger properties up to 75% of total revenue is non-gambling.
>Today, the Strip’s revenue stream has flipped, with nongambling sources accounting for 75%. According to the most recent quarterly earnings reports from its three biggest resort companies, MGM Resorts Las Vegas generated only 23.4% of its $2.037 billion in revenue from gambling. Caesars Las Vegas only earned 27.6% of its $1.142 billion in revenue, and Wynn Las Vegas only had 24.1% of its $561 million in revenue from gaming operations.
People don’t go to Vegas to gamble anymore. That was their parents’ Vegas. Today’s Vegas is a curated escape more about experiences than slots. Gambling is just background noise for the main event, the concerts, the DJs, the food, the scene etc
Yep. Most occasional frequent visitors could stay for free by signing up to the various casino perks programs. Not so sure its possible now except for true part time gamblers
People making a big deal about this, but just like they added all the extra fee's to milk visitors when they were in abundance, they will simply get rid of a lot of the fee's now that it's a "ghost town". It might take a few quarters before they decide to do it, but it can, and likely will, be done.
I worked in Casinos in Las Vegas for over 20 years. About 14 years ago I was sitting in a meeting where we were presented with an analysis that stated that people come to Vegas with a set budget and no matter how expensive the room is that budget doesn't change. So the focus shifted from making things affordable to getting as much cash up front because you don't want them spending the money next door.
It is such a narrow-minded view of how to run any business.
$25 to park at a casino. $62.36 daily 'resort' fees (Aria, Cosmo, Four Seasons, Vdara, etc.). $9 for coffee. $87 buffets. 3x hotel rates on weekends. Roulette with 3 green spaces ("Triple Zero") and 6:5 blackjack payouts. $25 minimum hands and the drinks come around every 45 minutes. Vegas airport mixed drinks are $14 and only 1 oz pours. Tips, tips, tips, tips - slow service, get your order wrong, food is cold, suggested tips 25%, 27% or 30%.
The part of the city feeding off tourists has lost its friggen mind.
It's scummier than you think. The 0 and 00 are where you'd expect, but the 000 in may places is a casino logo in a triangle above them. So someone who isn't paying too close attention might not even realize that logo representing 000 is on the wheel.
Wouldn’t people see the third green slot on the roulette wheel and figure out that there are three 0 spaces?
Or does it fly under the radar because most of the gamblers are completely plastered? But then, why would they be plastered at all if the casino is overcharging them for drinks?
Most people don't understand how the game actually works. Like a giant percentage of gamblers don't understand that if there is another number in the table you lose more.
Having both a 0 and a 00 already skewed the odds in favor of the house. Having a third zero slot just gives the house more of the edge they already have.
The “gamblers for fun” probably wouldn’t care, and the “degenerate gamblers” would probably try to beat the odds regardless.
I don’t have personal experience with roulette, but from what I understand, the payout changes based on the type of bet. Betting on just a color has the lowest payout, and betting on a specific number has the highest.
I’m surprised it’s 35:1! That’s much better than I expected for a number bet.
Likely still 35:1, but the odds of hitting a single number dropped to 38:1. Over time it provides the excitement of 35-1 wins, but decreases the statistical payout.
Let’s say you bet $10 on one number for 100 spins (if you could find a $10 table). Each win pays out $360 (35:1 payout plus $10 original bet back).
1 in 37 odds of hitting your number: %2.70 × 360 = $972
1 in 38 odds of hitting your number: %2.63 × 360 = $946.80
In theory, you can get the excitement of playing roulette for a couple hours with a free drink or two for $28 with two green spots. It costs you another $28 with an added spot.
It's the payoff ratio, for the 1st, if you bet $2, you get 3 back. Betting 5 gets you only $6 back for the second.
So if you bet $10 with the first ratio you'd win $15, whereas for the second you'd only get $12. Basically the house is shaving 20% off your payout.
Ya per the article the house edges as they’re called go from 5.26% for 0, 00 to 7.69% for 0, 00, 000. A relatively large increase when it comes to the frequency of betting happening on a Vegas roulette table.
It’s less that they see or don’t see the 000 slot and betting space, and more that the average person is terrible at probability maths and doesn’t know how much more it affects their odds of winning.
Oh, shit, I just looked up an image of a roulette table and realized that there are only 36 red/black slots! For some reason I thought it was 100!
Lol, in a way I guess it’s all gambling anyway, but going from 38 to 39 slots is way worse than 102 to 103.
I guess Blackjack is still the only fun game with slightly less dogshit odds. But apparently they’ve decreased the payout multiplier for Blackjack wins too.
6:5 black Jack and 000 has become popular because they were getting just as many bets putting them in the front of casinos to catch casuals and fleece them.
Damn I’ve never played roulette but I would honestly assume if I landed on the one space with the casino logo, that it would be a bonus space or something
As someone who’s never been to Vegas, but been inside gambling places in other parts of the world and the USA… holy shit. Triple zero on a roulette table is laughable. It’s a perfect metaphor for their business strategy: Unabashed, naked greed. Edit: I just want to clarify - merely double zeros is greedy. People have gotten used to that. The standard used to be a single zero.
I don’t understand. Roulette is like the most steady “business” you can run. How was it concluded that the game needs to make more money? Ie how have the economics changed?
It is like tips. Back in the day a standard tip was 10%, then 15, now 20 and places are pushing for 22 or 25. The price of the food increases with inflation, so why does the percentage have to go up too? For me, I'm staying at 15%. Less for counter service, sometimes nothing.
Making a billion dollars in profit is shit if you also made a billion last year. That is merely 'meeting expectations'. It's all about increased profits. Steady is not good enough. In fact, it's especially bad if your competition is seeing increases. Now 'steady' is seen as losing. Steady becomes something that needs to be fixed.
And the greed works in the short term. Because people still go/buy the thing because they are already on vacation. They just don't come back next time when it was too expensive. So the response to that greed is delayed.
CEOs are rewarded based on short term results. This quarter, this year. So they only care about short term. This is the long term result of short term thinking.
One thing that has changed, specifically for Vegas, is more casinos have opened around the US. Vegas is no longer the casino destinations, they are merely the top tier casino destination.
What happened is some MBA thought "wouldn't it be cool if we threw an extra zero on the wheel, let's call it triple zero, and see if the suckers keep playing? We'll make an extra 2.5% on this game!"
And they did, so it stayed. That person also got their bonus for the year. The casual gamblers kind of noticed something wasn't right so they replaced the 000 with a pretty logo instead and most of them stopped noticing. That's how the MBA got their bonus the following year for stopping the majority of the complaints.
Same with 6:5 blackjack. People just keep playing it. If you want casinos to stop offering it, people got to stop playing it, but most people who play don't know the difference and just think it's "totally awesome" when their $25 blackjack pays them $30.
easy, they are corporations. if they see 000 makes them 4% more because it doesn't dip spend at the front tables, they put more 000 in.
when people stop coming because they don't win as much, and everything's expensive, and all the real gamblers move to fair tables, then they wonder what happened in corporate speak and eventually drop prices, go bankrupt, or replace the tables when there's a new CEO there.and the last one took a payout to leave.
This is a silly answer but probably a realistic one.
Because it can make more money. It's little different than banking fees. Opportunity to make more money exists, they don't think it'll have so much of a negative impact that it'll decrease use, so it is implemented.
Although this will bite 'em in the ass eventually... maybe.
Businesses have to show growth/make more money every year. Investors don’t want a steady business. They want higher returns on their investments.
It’s a sick system we designed and it will end our civilisation eventually.
The gaming board that was created by the casinos to “prove they were being fair”? The laws were written by the casinos. It’s why they can claim errors on jackpots and kick out successful gamblers.
If the casinos failed, there goes the gaming board. Don’t you want to keep your job?
I just found this out last night and it made my mouth drop. How is that blatant act of cheating allowed? There is no more oversight. Games are now rigged to ONLY favor the house.
This is why I will never gamble. The moment you walk into a casino, or open Draft Kings, or put money down with a bookie, they’ve already stacked the deck against you. Poker night with your friends is more legitimate than those thieves, at least the odds are fair.
And I’ve heard too many stories of casinos finding excuses to deny your winnings and betting apps shadow banning or invalidating the bets of people who win too much.
People say they like the thrill of gambling. I just feel like I’m getting scammed the whole time.
I used to work with a vice president of a company that was a degen gambler, thing is he was actually pretty good. He had multiple screens in his office and was constantly watching ESPN and ESPN2 on different screens and doing online sports betting. As tech support for the company, we had to try different VPNs for him every so often. He would make so much money off these offshore sports betting sites they would catch onto who he was and ban him.
Same here. I’ve never gambled other than getting scratch offs for Christmas a few times.
The thing with winnings being denied is what keeps me away. If I were in a situation where I thought my life just changed and I’d be able to fix all of my problems, and then it was technical-errored away from me, I’d fucking end myself, no second thought. Off the roof of that casino I go.
There should be no “mistake” that can legally rob a person of winnings when a chain of events occurs where a reasonable person would believe they had won a jackpot.
Actually happened to me on my last trip to Vegas. Had a split bet on 0 and 00, and it hit the triple 0 I didn't know existed. I stopped playing roulette after that
Last time i went i couldn't find any tables with mins under 20/25. My wife and i do really well....just not big gamblers. Hoping 3-400$ would be enough to have fun for a 2 nights. Bad run at blackjack cleared us half out. Def priced us out. We just went out and walked around. Otherwise would have stayed in venitian for more food, drinks and gambling. Give me a 5/10$ real roulette table and we'll stay there for hours just having fun. Venitian was insane exp as well as sphere dead and co shows. 60$ shirts. $200 poster. One nice dinner was $500. Found a few decent restaurants for normal prices. Just as upper middle class im feeling priced out. Im not a big vegas person anyway. But def got way too greedy for me. Prob won't ever go back except to go to nearby national parks like Zion.
Used to be, they understood that people would pay through the nose to give Vegas their money, and all the casinos had to do was comp some cheap food and drink. But, no, they just had to get short term Greedy.
I just got back from a Vegas wedding and I’m convinced it was better when the mob was in charge. Seriously. It’s so much easier to launder money/skim through gambling, so making everything cheap was the point of Vegas. Hook people with cheap hotels, buffets, and strong drinks and watch them lose to the house all night long. Then the property management companies and MBAs got involved and realized they could charge $67 dollars for a buffet because just enough of the retired boomers have no idea the value of a dollar and just mindlessly throw money away. Well now we’re seeing them pricing out the middle and lower class in favor of the big easy monies, and it’s biting them. There are 15,000 rooms on the strip. The top 10% can’t be everywhere at once.
Oh and now you can gamble on your phone via sports betting. So there’s that.
That’s because the mob wouldn’t put up with that shit. And they wanted everyone to have a good time so they’d come back for more. They could live off of high volume, low margin profits, and us the casino to launder money from their other rackets. Goods old days in Vegas.
Ah yes, the word is cooked… everything that was once great has turned the corner down hill it seams, every business is forcing their subscription model even applianceszzz! Vegas was at a time a right of passage and now not sure what it is, other than a predatory cash grab. ♾️🏴☠️🤙
Which, a lot of casinos being run by publicly-traded companies now, they are not keen on doing. Like in a lot of other industries, chasing short-term profit growth and ignoring actual customer experience to provide that sweet “shareholder value” ends up detrimental to the business in the long-term.
It’s truly the downfall of the world. Consolidation of power and predatory control of supply chains has eliminated competition leaving us, the consumers, with low quality/ high priced products.
That's not unusual at all. Wander into the wrong/right neighborhood in the "bad" part of Newark and you could suddenly find yourself on a street with pristine homes where nobody would dare drop a piece of litter.
organized crime is always better for the average joe than disorganized crime. I rented a house in a neighborhood run by a single criminal gang. They did not allow any petty crimes or mugging/burglary in their territory and everything was fine. The cops finally busted the leaders and the neighborhood went into the toilet as petty thugs fought each other and started breaking into cars and houses so we had to move.
Missing in your analysis is that folks are less interested in gambling now. At least this type of casino gambling. They can't make up for losses on food and drink with gambling as they used to
It was still good (or at least reasonable) right up until they started pulling in sports teams. This kind of triggered everything going down hill with every casino switching to a paid parking model and making valet insanely expensive. They also changed the way they did accounting within their businesses which hugely contributed to it. I go to Las Vegas a lot for work (various conferences) and if my company wasn't paying for it, I wouldn't be spending a dime there. They had to double our already generous per diem for trips here because of how expensive it's become.
Enshitifacation is coming for *everything*. Just like Washington D.C., there is a vibe in the air as though this is the last days of America and you have to squeeze it for all it's got.
Ding ding ding. America also filled up a lot. There used to be a bunch of new-ish cities where you could find cheap land, start businesses with low entry cost, and build from there. Now just to open a fast food joint is a 7 figure undertaking, and the only real estate that’s remotely affordable is fucking soulless offices that aren’t needed anymore.
Not exactly capitalism but unregulated or barely regulated capitalism and specifically, the mindset that the sole responsibility of a company is to maximize shareholder profits, to the exclusion of any responsibility towards workers or the community. There is no law that says this must be the case, but it’s what we’ve decided to believe in. And it’s unbelievably destructive and immoral.
Capitalism doesn’t have to be this way. But we’ve decided to let it be this way.
Congress defends this stuff so strongly, it genuinely feels like it is the law.
Seeing the one Congressman a few days ago openly argue in favor of insider trading for members of Congress really laid it all on the table, no pun intended.
> Not exactly capitalism but unregulated or barely regulated capitalism
all capitalism is barely regulated. the point of capitalism is to accrue enough wealth to capture regulatory bodies to corrupt public institutions into an instrument of your own profit-seeking
Perhaps - I really don't have enough perspective to know. But if you are right, this kind of behavior means that the world knows it's in for a hard reset. Most likely - violent.
I’m very sympathetic to your point. Its inflation.
Govt numbers are lying and even though the speed at which things is not going up as quickly, the prices are far more elevated than 5 years ago. It’s not like we had deflation with prices going down.
I make probably 30% more now than in 2022. Yet, it doesn’t stretch as far. I was able to build up more effective savings in 2010 than now.
Of course, all the internet economists will rush to say I’m wrong and stupid, but I know my numbers. I’m making far more now than ever before, but I’m barely treading water. By no means struggling, but not stacking cash.
But also the service was awful. I've been to vegas twice recently for wedding and a jump off for vacation in a few national parks. The check-in line both times was at least an hour way if you wanted a person so i used a kiosk which still took half an hour.
Yeah, upper midwest here. One of the few places we have direct flights to and it's warmer there in the winter. After a couple times of doing that though, I was done. It's not THAT warm and for the expense I'll just go to Mexico.
Yep it’s one of those places now where if you calculate the cost for it you can literally go “well maybe instead I’ll do an international trip.” And if you just want to gamble then most people have a reservation nearby that they could go to or sports gamble online
Can you get away from the fridge fee by saying you need to keep medication refrigerated? I actually do have eye drops that need to be kept in a fridge. Worst case, throw it in an ice bucket, has hotels started charging for ice too?
I was reading about how the taxi lobby lobbied against having a metro from the airport and thought Vegas is screwed. How can any major city not have some kind of mass transport from its airport.
Cliff Moore and Bob Millard killed the rail plan to LAX in the 90s. Brain dead long term planning.
These guys weren’t the taxi lobby, these were the airport directors who felt rail would threaten their parking lot revenues. The parking lots are now so old, undersized and outdated /corroded from the sea that you’ll chunks of concrete fall.
The vegas airport is basically a scam. Take a long ass route around the airport to get to the strip or downtown. Meanwhile the strip is on the other side of the fence. Total insanity.
It's a city of 2.4m people. There is plenty of life outside the Strip. Lots of good taco joints and dive bars in the 'burbs (service workers gotta eat/drink somewhere). Catch an MLS game. Buy some legal weed and go hiking. Play cheap pinball at the Pinball Hall of Fame. Lots to do if you look for it.
edit: not sure why so many people are getting uppity in the replies. OP asked if there were other economies in Las Vegas, there quite obviously is. I was making no assertions about tourism or allure.
I'm from Brisbane, I'm not defending LV. I have been there and sought life outside the Strip tho, and had a great time!
Yes but is it a reason for someone out of state to come? No. The outdoors/hiking aspect absolutely though. Thing is, everything you listed can also be found in other states/cities. The casinos have always been the main reason anyone out of state goes to Vegas.
Also, the vast majority of people flying into Vegas for hiking aren't staying in Vegas. People hike at Valley of Fire or whatever as something to do as either a break from gambling or because they don't like to gamble and want to do something else while they're in Vegas for a show or a conference.
Vegas is only a destination for outdoors enthusiasts in the sense people fly into Vegas because it's a cheap flight and quick drive to Zion, Bryce, or the Grand Canyon.
Yeah, for mountain bikers, Vegas is becoming a popular winter destination because the winter riding is fantastic and the trail systems have exploded in length and number. The trail systems are close to the city.
There’s hockey. The Vegas team is pretty good. I think if I were in Vegas - I would see a hockey game ( price?), see Hoover dam and perhaps do a Grand Canyon hike. Maybe walk the strip. Not actually “Vegas”. Truthfully the gambling scares me. Just the sound of it eek.
Everything has turned to shit in regards to customer service and they hike prices. We consumers need to seriously stop paying for all this trash. Get groceries, eat at home. Yeah it isn’t fun or great, but everything is getting worse. Time to put a stop to it. Now THAT’S capitalism.
I was out of work for two years, trying to start my own SaaS. In that time, we were living on one income, and then there was an addition of TWO kids. Just started a new job, and it's a good thing I had a very good practice run and frugality. I am actually saving again, I can see right through any attempts to fleece me.
Yeah, people gotta remember voting with your wallet, things like boycotts too. Businesses aren't entitled to customers. Monopolies are bad for customers, bad for the economy, bad for society. IF we can't say no to a company, then they have no business existing in a free society.
Even when I travel on my corp card for conferences, my company would give me a pretty stern talking to if I ever tried to put resort fees on it. For a conference in Vegas, I'd be allowed to pay a maximum of $126 per night for a hotel and $86 total for all three meals. I'm currently on business travel and I have yet to meet anyone who flies "business class" for work haha. I sat crammed into a middle seat in economy with the unwashed masses.
My company is also trying to make their stock price go up- letting employees spend lavish amounts on business travel doesn't help with that.
People are being boiled slowly. They’ve been slowly adding this crap for years but as long as the economy and foreign tourism was strong it didn’t matter.
Trump gets elected, foreign tourism drops off a cliff, and Republicans tank the economy, as is tradition.
The problem is turning up the heat on the millennials just as the boomers have aged out of Vegas. And the real rich don't go to Vegas anymore unless it's a big event, which is why LV spent so much to get the race cars. The very rich like a dumb novelty, or a last-chance show with a name act who has long peaked but still has nostalgia value.
Vegas was doing quite well during Trump's first term, and Covid is what upset that apple cart, forever. Since the lockdowns, and regardless of whether Biden (past four years) or Trump (half of this year) is president, Las Vegas chose to squeeze blood from a turnip rather than build a sustainable business model for the very different demographics of the next couple of decades, in an era when gambling is a shameful vice on your cell phone, not a glamorous Brad Pitt & Julia Roberts caper.
51st state bullshit aside, it’s not even safe to visit the entire country. It wasn’t great before. Getting gunned down is a possibility. Now it’s also ICE running wild. Nobody in their right mind would go there. I used to visit the US a few times a year, but I don’t know if I’ll ever go back. Trump is a symptom. The electorate is the disease. They’re going nowhere.
> like every other corporations [...] so what do you do when turnout is down
As anyone in this subreddit should understand, when revenue drops expenses don't automatically drop. If just go layoff a bunch of people then 1) people get pissed at you, 2) moral CEO's feel awful, and 3) you lose a lot of skilled workers.
So you delay layoffs and try to stop the bleeding the best you can, hoping things recover before you have to take drastic negative actions.
I'm not saying raising the prices should be the automatic go to, but people in this subreddit should at least understand the basic mechanisms at issue here.
I went on a European vacation for half the price of a Disney trip. I'd probably take my kids a 2nd time to Disney if it wasnt so incredibly expensive. But its a constant drip of 25 dollar fees
They'd probably rather go to Amsterdam, and it's by far cheaper to spend a week there.
Same with Vegas. Vegas used to be affordable, but I can do Europe or fly out to Grand Cayman for cheaper.
Ding, ding, ding! Winner, winner, line away
Private Equity taking a cut - the house always wins. Cool $18M/month 'rent'. Sigh.
"LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — MGM Resorts International has agreed to sell Aria Resort Casino and Vdara Hotel and Spa to a private equity firm for $3.89 billion in cash, the company announced today.
But first, MGM is buying out CityCenter partner Infinity World, which owns a 50% stake in CityCenter. That buyout will cost MGM $2.1 billion. When that deal is complete, MGM will sell the properties to Blackstone, the private equity firm.
The Blackstone deal will then allow MGM to lease back the hotels and continue operating them. Rent will cost MGM $215 million a year...."
Why do they do this? They owned their properties via MGP (MGM Growth Properties). It's like selling your house to Blackstone so they can charge you rent. Sure, you get a nice check, but what happens when your lease is up & someone else is willing to pay more to live there?
Caesars/Harrahs was the owner of lots of casinos, went bankrupt, and spun off the land holdings from underneath the buildings as part of the Chapter 11 process. It truly looks like a scumbag maneuver to pluck out the best assets and abandon the debt obligations.
The real estate company owns the property and not the casinos that lease the property. its like a mall operator doesn't own Macys, Nordstrom, or Bloomingdale's. The casinos just pay rent to lease the space.
The reason why isn’t private equity, it’s REIT laws. Even if you have no new investors or investments, for large land owning businesses it often makes sense to sell the land to a REIT, even if the REIT is a spinoff owned by your same shareholders. That’s because the REIT gets favorable tax treatment as long as it pays out 90%+ of its net income to shareholders. The operating business gets a long term lease and a business expense for the lease payment it previously didn’t have, reducing its profits. But the overall effect is to improve the tax efficiency of the business.
For casinos, their business is quite volatile and they often have lots of debt, so sometimes they want or need the cash from investors in a REIT deal. But it quite often makes sense without the outside funding need.
My theory is that in the ever need for expanding profits, most corporations have run out of ideas like shipping jobs overseas, breaking unions, and cheaper parts. Now to keep the line going up and to the right they really have to get creative. So now we get disposable cars, subscription everything, price increases that feel like collusion and the rest. The market is maxed. It is getting harder to increase profits, but you can't just run a profitable business, because that is terrible. It must constantly grow, which is simply impossible, mostly with the declining birth rate in developed countries. I think we are in for a very long recession period as this all normalizes and stockholders realize they have to start taking the cuts that they have forced on customers and employees for decades.
I would say it's a combination of that but between a small pool of consolidated gaming conglomerates: Caesars, MGM,, Wynn, Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming.
Heck, MGM and Caesars control over half the strip now.
Honestly, this is just another symptom of unchecked consumerism in America. It’s this strange collective mindset where even with the cost of living skyrocketing and wages stagnating, people continue to spend more than ever before. Lifestyle inflation has somehow become the norm, not the exception.
In a weird way, Vegas might be one of the best barometers of this phenomenon. Prices keep climbing not because the value improves, but simply because people are still willing to pay. The entire ecosystem is designed to push the envelope until consumers finally say, “Alright, that’s too much.” But that breaking point keeps shifting higher, because we’ve normalized excess.
Furthermore, why would Epstein commit suicide if all these charges are a “fake hoax” as tRump says? Why should we stop “talking about Epstein”. Just amazing Maxwell has been moved to a low security federal prison and GOP want to depose this sex offender. Why are these pedophile protecting GOP people and not talking to the “real” victims? Just amazing … pedophiles protecting pedophiles. It never was “protect the children”! MAGA needs to own up to their support of pedophiles!
I worked in Vegas for years. Vegas has long since abandoned being a place for individuals to visit, it only caters to businesses.
Touring Performers used to regularly complain about the apathy of Vegas crowds. A lot of the best tickets are the results of comps and company give aways almost no one is a true fan in the front rows of the audience.
Big name DJs hardly play their own music in Vegas, it’s just a “Club DJ” set of whatever is hot on the radio. I went to see Yellow Claw after they dropped a large album, and they maybe played 2 songs from it and the rest was just Drake & Lil Yachty or whatever was popular then.
Twenty years ago, I went to see The Crystal Method in Vegas. The show started at ten, but they didn't show up until 3 a.m., played for 15 minutes, and left.
That's weird, what a disappointment. I've seen a lot of DJs in Vegas and experienced something similar one time with Louis The Child. They didn't play one of their songs the entire set, just repetitive house music.
I wanted to visit but it's unfortunate I would need to pay resort fees, parking fees and a 250 USD visa integrity fee ( that is plus the 180 USD regular price of the American visa) just to have the pleasure to set a foot in the city. I'll pass thanks
A guy from Europe somewhere (Ireland maybe) flew to the states to meet up with his mom and brother. He was planning on being here 6 weeks and had a road trip planned with his brother. When he landed in the US, he was pulled aside and then denied entry because they found 2 memes of JD Vance during a search of his phone.
They said they will eventually give the details of how to get the Integrity fee back but I don't really trust this government will keep their word so I'll go elsewhere , I really love Vegas this is sad
One of the articles i read was that you get it back at the end of your visa assuming you havent broken any of the rules etc.
Correct me if im wrong but even for my third world self US gives out 10 year visa when you apply. So my understanding is you get your $250 back 10 years later minus inflation...
Can think of it as a renters deposit, if you follow the conditions of whatever visa you have then you can get a refund.
In theory its actually a decent plan, keep the money if the visa holder breaks any laws while visiting for example.
Problem here is the refund process have not been established so currently its just a extra fee you have to pay for a visa and some suspect it wont come and was just a way to justify collecting money.
I use to go once every year or 2. No desire now. 10-15 years ago it was an affordable weekend. It then became 45 dollar parking, 10 dollar coffee and pizza slices,and 50 additional resort fees. 2-1 blackjack was dead unless you were playing over 25 dollar hands.
Why? I've been to America once (NYC) and there's a large supply of places that are more attractive, e.g. national parks, nicer cities, etc. The vibe and architecture of Las Vegas seems very unappealing to me, and I even like poker.
It’s a spectacle. Vegas is shiny, loud, and flashy. A few days of it can be fun. When it’s a cheap place to throw back a few drinks, eat some food, catch a show, and maybe play a few hands of something, it’s a really good time. Like a big party.
I enjoy the national parks and such too (quite a bit, in fact), but most years when I went to Vegas for an annual conference I would extend my stay and have a mini-vacation afterwards.
Last year, the conference was exactly as described - no coffee in the room, $60/day ‘resort fee’, no place to eat (even a burger or slice of pizza) under $30, and so on.
This year my conference moved to Orlando. Another conference that a coworker attends moved to San Diego.
When I was there it felt very post apocalyptic. It's too hot above ground so most stuff is underneath and we've built all these miniature versions of the great monuments of the past to remind us of how it used to be. Everyone is inside in these windowless casinos mindlessly gambling. I walked past one man who had hit the jackpot on a slot machine and won 3k. He saw me notice and I gave him a little congratulatory thumbs up and he smiled and then turned around and literally gambled it all away in less than 30 seconds. It was definitely worth a visit but very dystopian.
It used to be a cheap, wild, good time. If you were gambling, you'd get comps left and right. But, even without comps, you could get a room for under $100/night. Buffets were $15 or $20. Shows could be a little pricey, but it was like $100, and if the show was at your hotel, you could get a steep discount. Also, it had really over-the-top clubs for young people, and it was known as a place where everybody was looking to hook up and fuck off. 10 years ago, you and a friend could spend a weekend there and have a good time for $500 total.
If you’re a global tourist not from the US and visiting you’re probably looking more for authentic, not the cheap rowdy 21+ weekend city…. It’s kind of like why I wouldn’t visit Europe for Ibiza
I enjoyed the over the top-ness of Vegas, the bonkers style, the ludicrous costs (not personal costs, the money put into the place), the random lunacy and in your face debauchery. It was fun to live like that for a bit...but I could only handle a weekend of it before getting burned out.
I enjoy going backpacking. Being in 100% nature, no cell phones or computers, no human made things for miles, the only sounds, sights, and smells are nature.
Vegas literally got big because of organized crime and lobbying for local laws that basically allowed them to make a mecca for legalized gambling.
Lets be honest: Vegas was bolstered after WWII by locals, such as those who built the Hoover dam, and military bases, but it was Bugsy Siegel who set the stage for the push for gambling to be made legal, and after that succeeded, adding on an entertainment component to lure people (tourists) in.
The money-maker wasn't the entertainment; it was the gambling. It was, and still is, the gambling. If you wanted legitimate professional games without the risk of being busted, Vegas was totally legal. And for casinos, it was almost practically free money, since of course, the odds were always in the casino's favor. Cue build great venues for entertainers, and attracting entertainers at that, and you have a tourist haven.
So let's stop pretending like Vegas has 'customers' - it has prey. You can go see shows in any big city, and Vegas is a city that has no business existing in the region it's in; it steals water from the reservoir/dam it's near for vanity crap. Vegas doesn't deserve to die because it betrayed it's customers - it deserves to die because it's a capitalistic enterprise that feeds on people's inability to realize 'one more bet and I'll win big' in the way of a mentality as 'one more hit and I'll be good'.
Also keep in mind a “side effect” of glp1 medications is that they reduce other addictive habits like gambling. The first group of people to take these drugs is the very wealthy so even without a visible reduction in tourists you would have had a significant reduction in revenue.
I believe they have those “resort fees” at a few of the Niagara Falls US hotels. My son was going to a hockey game in Bufflo last year and was complaining about them. Said they were more than the hotel$$ in some cases.
You've been able to gamble at other places for decades, though. There are plenty of smaller and large casinos around me that are on tribal land that have been there for decades. It's true in other states as well. It's been more than Vegas, Reno and Atlantic City for awhile.
Vegas used to be a vacation that was affordable. It's absolutely not anymore. Everyone in the world hates us because of the orange blob, so foreigners aren't coming here anymore.
While this is true those places have also leveled up the indian reservation near me has always been kinda a joke but my understanding is they have leveled up and there is basically nothing you can't get there now they have in Vegas.
There are so many casinos. It's partly why Atlantic City died. Now old people go play the slots at the casino in Springfield, MA instead of traveling all the way to Mohegan Sun in CT.
The rows of slot machines at a casino are one of the most depressing places in the world. Just sad old people sitting silently feeding coins into a machine for hours, not speaking, not winning, begging for the dopamine hit of a minor jackpot to win back 10% of what they lost.
I am a middle of the pack millennial and I don’t think gambling is as popular as it was for older generations. All my peers go to Vegas for either a business conference or a weekend away to see some shows. The conference people only do what is paid for by work, and the people going to shows try to do it as cheap as possible. Never met anyone who splurged on a suite in a big casino on the strip or anything like that, I think those days are running thin with the boomers.
This is statistically true; casinos and businesses in Vegas make a larger percentage of their revenue in shows, food and clubs than ever before and it is only growing while non sports gambling is in a decline.
I was incredibly disappointed by the food in the casinos. It felt like being on a cruise ship. We ate at very high end, medium, and fast casual and it was all not a great version of the meal. And moreso, it was all 2 to 4 times what you would pay for the meal in any other city.
Not just the technology but the fact that app-based sports betting got legalized basically everywhere. Vegas’s advantage was it had a near monopoly on legal gambling for decades and decades.
Now that they don’t, why does anybody who likes gambling really need to jet across the country to spend a lot of extra money to do it
That's a good point. I'm probably your same age, and I can hardly think of anyone else our age that enjoys gambling money. If Vegas isn't getting as much $$$ from the slot machines, it needs to pull it in from other places.
I'm an older millennial and go to local casino once a year with the guy friends. I know one or two people that actually like to gamble and are willing to loose a decent amount per trip. But for the most of the people I know, they are not willing to lose more than $200-300. Some will be 100 or less. Doesn't go far at $25 table minimums.
It won't be too long before Vegas is nothing more than Harrison Ford sitting alone in a palatial suite overlooking the billowing orange dust storms running along the strip below. .
Blame former big boss Jim Murren, formerly from MGM, who introduced paid parking knowing almost everyone would follow. He's the piece of shit that started the downfall. I was at MGM grand when.he started it. I knew it was the beginning of the end.
It was around the time T-Mobile Arena was built, so probably 10 years ago or so. It was kind of like "well, people will just use free parking for games and keep people from being able to go gamble", but they never really gave free parking to people who were staying at the hotel, so it was just a money grab. Then casinos that aren't really near the stadiums started doing it as well because "well they may take the monorail from our hotel", and at that point it just became a money grab and casinos not really convenient to the monorail or close to the stadiums started charging as well.
Vegas used to be a fun place to visit because it was cheap and had gambling and not too far away from major cities.
Then prices start picking up and hotels are not as cheap, buffets are not included or more expensive, and every side attraction becomes too expensive to do so the main parts (walking around, clubbing, or gambling) become a bit boring and repetitive.
With life in general being more expensive and economic uncertainty in the air, something like Vegas becomes the first place to be cut out because most of the stuff you do there can be done cheaper in other places.
Above point coupled with more corporate interests being involved in every step just means more and more need to reach those profit margins that they used to have in an ever changing landscape that leads to more cost cutting and shittier experiences which end up worsening the problem.
In 2008, went to Vegas for a poker tournament. Parked for free at Caesar's, paid $8 each meal, and stayed off Strip for $45. That's unthinkable now. Thought about doing the $10000 WSOP Main Event one of these days, but I'll pass.
That’s 08-12 though. They couldn’t even give rooms away during that recession. I was getting comped 1 bedroom suites at Cosmo every month at that time. The moment ~2015 rolled around they stopped comping me entirely since I had quit gambling around 2013.
Also during those years Cosmo was owned by Deutsche Bank, who only owned it because the original builder defaulted on the loan during the recession. They finally managed to sell it sometime late 2014. The new ownership actually wanted to run it like a business, compared to DB where it was just a random asset on their balance sheet that they didn't care about or even want to begin with lol
I’ve been three times this year. Prices have gone crazy. Customer service and even food quality have really taken a hit at many of the places I’m familiar with. There’re still cool live shows to see, but with the poor service and constant nickel and dime-ing, the vibe is bad.
Many of us have to go for work. I’ve been there twice this year and am going again this month . Honestly I love Vegas but only on the company dime. I went solo last year for Dead&Co and still have shell shock over the cost - a $25 drink hits different when the sales guy isn’t buying it for you
First time I paid to go to a show I wanted to see and had a great time. Second time I went because I got comp’d a room and some other things. Had an okay time. Third time I went for a conference, but didn’t have a great time and likely won’t go back for a while. I wasn’t feeling great with myself or life for the first few months of the year, so I was admittedly looking for ways to treat and distract myself, so I traveled a lot. I like Vegas and hope it makes a comeback.
There's A LOT to do in Vegas. You can go back 3 times a year and stay at different hotels, try different restaurants, see different shows, etc. each time. And that's just on the Strip and Fremont Street; there are plenty of places outside of that that cater more to locals, but are just as good or even better (maybe even cheaper).
My parents and brother live in Vegas so I visit a handful of times a year. Though I generally avoid the touristy parts of town.
Though if someone keeps going back to the same casino and other entertainment and the experiences gets get worse and worse, that is just silly.
As humans (myself very much included), we seem to fall prey to this, far too often. I don't know how many times in my younger years, I said about some event or destination, "Now, why do I keep doing this again?"
Thankfully I've gotten (marginally) wiser in my later years lol.
When the resort wanted $35 for a small ass margarita. Last time I went. If I go for a show, I’ll stay at Fremont street or off the strip. The casinos on the strip are ridiculous.
Just so you guys know as it seems to be a common misconception, Canadians aren't boycotting the US because of tariffs, more it's because of the 29 times the American COC has threatened to annex our country.
I've been seeing articles etc start to come out, as they've realized how we can hit them, if we wish. And, yeah, they keep on about tariffs. No. We're just pissed off about threatening our sovereignty.
Having said this, I also see that Americans don't give us any thought. They just don't think about us as being something to consider. Until their bottom line gets hit, and they genuinely wonder WTF is the problem.
Its sad that not one comment in this thread points to the lack of Canadians. The article even mentions that the majority of the missing people are Canadians.
I canvassed Las Vegas for Harris the week before the election. A few people told me they were voting for Trump because "something needed to change". Here's their change.
No tax on tips amirite? There's also no tax on tips that don't exist from customers that don't exist. Despite the warnings, this is what they voted for.
International tourists used to happily pay vegas prices. We lost a lot of those customers.
Now I expect a slight (still greedy) price correction as they shift focus to the domestic market. layoffs will pass through hospitality to the rest of the local economy.
We were planning on going this summer from the EU but we have an italian friend who under the right lighting kinda looks mexican so you know... we ICEd those plans and go to Ibiza instead.
How big of a decline in the number of tourists?
How big of a decline in the number of Canadian tourists?
How big of a decline in money spent per tourist?
WHERE IS THE DATA?!
Lots and lots of completely empty words with not a single bit of actual data to back up their claims.
> According to a Wall Street Journal report, published July 26, workers in Las Vegas have seen their tips go down by as much as 50%, thanks to declining tourism.
> Mungo said that Canadians used to make up 30% of his clientele. They have now vanished.
I recently went to Vegas on a holiday weekend, which should’ve been packed, and asked a taxi driver about how dead it’s been. He said “this weekends a little better, I’m waiting maybe an hour outside the hotel to get 1 ride.”
I said that sounds insanely low for a holiday weekend on a Saturday night. He said “Yeah it is but before this I’ve been waiting maybe 2-3 hours for a single ride. ”
I also would love to see more overall data on things like this
Easily available. Right in the June 2025 executive summary... lot's of red arrows pointing down for all the declines in all the categories. Double digit drop in total visitors y/y... ouch! That certainly isn't sustainable!
This is summer in Canada. It is a very dry one and the temperatures have been good for the most part. No need to go anywhere- we have the best at home.
It’s hilarious seeing all these posts and seeing everyone blaming the prices. Are the prices ridiculous? Sure, but they have been for a minute. What’s different now is hostile traveler/immigration policies, foreign travel advisories, and Americans buckling down due to inflation and shaky market conditions. So yes, outrageously expensive vacations are going to be the first to go lol. People want to cherry pick objective reality…
Paying a fortune to travel to Vegas to end up paying a fortune on every little thing such as tax, parking, service, tips and lose my hard earned money to the casino billionaires? Seems fun
I went for the shows. Which made a couple of trips worth it. I also go to the occasional convention/event in Vegas. But the hotel costs are almost 2x-2.5x during those. I wish they weren't being held in Vegas.
Well, there’s also the sights to see around Vegas, such as Hoover Dam, … uh… etc. Oh, and the strip clubs.
I personally wanted to visit it to do the Fallout New Vegas tour, but my circle of IRL friends contains zero people who know about it. Fact is, most of what I know about Vegas comes from the game, to the extent that I mentally call it “New Vegas” and have to consciously stop myself from saying it out loud when talking about the city.
Never understood how anyone could enjoy being at the casino period. They just overload every single sense you have, distort your sense of time so you can’t figure out when your need to leave, lay out the floor so you are easily lost, and need to pass by all the shops in order to find your way. All of which would be bearable, if they didn’t kick you off the blackjack after 12 only minutes of winning.
Well yeah, it's a trashy garbage dump masquerading as luxury with the prices to match. Especially withhow accessible gambling is now, vegas is just no longer special or even a tourist destination anymore.
I last went to Vegas in 2023 to be at the opening of the Sphere. It was a big event. I hadn't been since 2011, so I thought it'd be fun to go back. The opening was certainly memorable, but the $20 drinks were off putting.
Nothing was inexpensive, yet I felt the Strip was in worse shape than 12 years prior. With where things have gone since, 2023, I don't feel the need to go back. Add on President Asshat's threats to annex my country, and there is just no reason to ever return.
The global market overall seems to be in a downward trend, hence people don't have that much disposable income to spare toward tourism let alone gambling. Even the domestic situation for the US doesn't seem gleeful at the moment. Like, of course, tourism gets hit first. What would people cut spending on next I wonder? Maybe entertainment?
I guess the US's reputation is not like it was just a year ago yeah? Foreigners searching for a less expensive country could be one of the reasons too.
It's due to increasing wealth concentration in the handful of billionaires. Demand is decreasing across the world because capitalism has robbed most countries of affordable living.
Don't confuse the west with the world. Most of the world's population is actually elevating upwards in terms of disposable income. That's what happens when China and India, two nations with multiple times more population than the next two countries combined, both see economic gains in their citizens.
Yeah. I was scrolling for this. We see the same in LA. The energy over past few years has completely dropped out. It’s the pricing. Rent is high, buying a home would be a miracle for most, and going out went from 60-80 bucks to 150 bucks (this is for a low end good time)…now it costs several hundred for people to go have a solid fun nite out. So many people have simply stopped showing up.
The number of Canadians who visited Vegas was way more than you’d expect. The US travel and product boycott that was caused by the president saying he wants to annex us as a 51st state is in full force, and you’re seeing cause and effect.
Vegas has three types of tourists: domestic (typically spontaneous visits and bachelor/ette parties), corporate visits (conferences), and international tourists. We have a tanking economy and any international tourists wanting to go risk being kidnapped by our government. All demographics for tourism have been effectively killed by this administration.
Only time I went there was about 9 years ago. It was the city of hidden fees. Want to go on the roller coaster sure come in that's $20, oh no that was just the fee to get into the gift shop, it's $20 to go on to the coaster, yeah that was the fee to see the coaster, it's $20 to get on the coaster. Every single experience was like that, the restaurant, the cab, the strip club, the shows, the dance club, the bars, the atm. I'm never going back, I don't care if flight and hotel was about 50-75% of what it would've cost to go somewhere else. I wouldn't go if it was a free trip.
- I'm pretty sure every resort on the Strip has "resort fees", which are now $55/day at most places. And that's a taxable $55/day.
- Every resort on the Strip has gotten rid of free parking, which is now $25-$50/day.
- AFAIK, many casinos have gotten rid of "on demand" free drinks in favor of coupons that spit out of slot machines after spending x amount of money.
- MGM properties now charge $26 for the in-room bottled water.
- On top of charging $56 for a crappy room service cheeseburger, MGM properties are now charging $25 if you want it on actual ceramic plates. But hey, if you're OK eating it out of a cardboard to-go box it's only a $10 fee!
- Well-known gambler Cody Burnett was recently denied a comped drink at Resorts World, despite playing $25,000 a hand blackjack, because he wasn't staying at the hotel.
This is just scratching the surface of all the nonsense Vegas is up to these days. If I want to gamble, I have many other options these days, most of which don't involve flying halfway across the country.
The sad thing is, on paper, a week in Vegas is a fraction of the cost of a week in Paris. But by the time you add in all the goddamn fees (and Vegas' high prices in general) Paris somehow ends up being a bargain in comparison!
canadians are not boycotting US travel and products because of tariffs. they're boycotting USA because of the threats against their sovereignty by one man who cannot keep his mouth shut
Look, prices have been high for a long time in Vegas and people still came. This decline in business is due to Trump threatening to invade Canada, locking up brown skinned people for no reason, and businesses being paralyzed by the ever changing and absolutely insane new tariff regime. If you think this sudden dramatic decline in tourism is due to high prices, you have your head in the sand.
You’re seeing multiple factors combine. Vegas has been pushing prices up for years but people still went for the turn of the century cool reputation and celebrity vibes. The market was getting weaker, though, as prices went up, competition internationally was growing, and sports betting was legalized for much of the domestic population.
Then the pandemic nuked a lot of habits: people who’d been going annually stopped and had the chance to reconsider whether it was worth it, a lot of older people died or retired, and young people weren’t pulled along by their friends for a couple years to make it a tradition.
Then businesses and landlords kept prices rising, and the tone of big companies changed from celebrating huge profits to layoffs and telling everyone that AI was coming for their jobs, followed by Trump creating enormous uncertainty along with cancelling hundreds of billions in economic activity while declaring a trade war with the entire world and antagonizing key markets.
That is a lot and much of it is overlapping. Once you get shocks like that people are going to reconsider their spending habits and consider changing even stable ones. A weekend in Vegas is about as discretionary as it gets so demand is unusually fragile and the negatives amplify each other: Canadians and Europeans staying away is going to mean more stories about it being a ghost town and even if the casinos temporarily pause some of the gratuitous fees things like airfare are still expensive.
These corporations have been making money on tourists “hand over fist” and they are missing the big picture! At this rate Vegas will not survive, at this rate of greed Vegas will die as a destination!!
My wife and I used to go to Vegas annually for a 4 day trip. She’d hit up a convention for a day. I’d linger at a cigar lounge for a day. We’d get a good steak off the strip one night.
Haven’t been in 4 years now because it went from being an all inclusive $1500 trip to being $4k minimum now.
You know I keep seeing articles about this, but when I was passing through there and stayed the night last month it felt pretty packed to me. I'm not expert on the place but trying to walk down the street was a nightmare
I remember when Vegas was a relatively cheap vacation if you didn’t intend to gamble. I’d go there with my family and while grandma played the nickel slots and gramps played poker, my cousins and I would run amuck in the kids arcade winning garbage bags filled with cheap stuffed animals or playing unlimited laser tag with my dad, then go to a cheap buffet dinner.
Everything AROUND the gambling was cheap, to encourage you to stay and gamble. Again, it was a fun affordable vacation if you weren’t betting your rent money at the roulette wheel.
Growing up in the 90s and early 2000s Vegas was always looked at as having the cheapest hotels and buffets and stuff. As well as obvious high roller stuff but it always looked like an interesting and stark dichotomy. Now it just seems like it’s Miami in the desert, clubs and expenses for no reason aside from vanity.
I just went there with the wife a few months ago as a needed long weekend getaway.
Even though we booked the flight and hotel on points, we still ended up spending almost $1500 for 3 days and 2 nights, and neither of us are big gamblers and she doesn't drink. Each had a couple hundred to throw in some slots or play a spin or two of roulette and both of us came out break even or ahead.
It was just insane that every time we ate it was $50, if we went to a sit down restaurant it was probably north of $100/meal. Two coffees and a breakfast sandwich at Starbucks was $basically $30. We did a comedy show and Cirque show and that was it. Wanted to check out the sphere but everything there was a couple hundred, and the Eagles were playing for like $800-2500 a ticket.
I remember in late 2000's in college we'd get 5-6 friends to crash in a room, find Spirit airlines round trip tickets for like $79 from the PNW, then basically go down for a 48 hour rager. We could go down there, enjoy drinks and food for cheap and maybe gamble a bit.
Its sad I could have a better time when I was a broke college kid working nights in a warehouse than I can as a white collar professional making 5-6x what I did.
Shame on you Vegas and your enshittification. The mobsters left and something worse took its place.... Private Equity.
I live in Vegas and it's not a ghost town. Visits are down and it's a popular alarm to sound because it highlights how Trump's policies are harming tourism and travel in the US, but it's not a ghost town.
It should be because it's so insanely expensive to do anything on the strip, but there are a lot of idiots who will just pay what it costs because it's Vegas and it's important to them that people think they're rich.
Vegas trips in the socil media age are conspicuous consumption, it's a Veblen good.
I was going to go see the Eagles at the dome and it was gonna be around $1500 all in. I simply don’t have that kind of money for a single ticket to anything.
I'm done with Vegas. They went down the road of resort fees, convenience fees, service fees, tracking them on everywhere, because fuck you. Then to add insult to injury they changed the odds on the games making them even worse than they already are. Yeah, nope. I'm voting with my money. Bulldoze the entire strip.
$35 for a cheeseburger meal (at a food court) at any hotel on the strip. $20 for a pizza slice after tax and fees. Why aren’t people flocking to these amazing deals?
Not surprising. The whole experience and hustle is a no from me. One and done. Many Canadians with money refuse to travel to the U.S. now too which is taking away tourists too. Being so close I’m sure is having an impact. Recession on the horizon too
Resort fees left a bad taste in my mouth last time. If they want to sell the illusion of winning, it seems a bit silly to make everyone feel like they are in a big hole from the start.
>Passenger traffic through Harry Reid International Airport also declined, with domestic travel in the first half of 2025 down 4% compared to the same period last year.
So nobody actually reports on tourism volumes in Vegas? We get anecdotes and theoretically correlated airport data? That doesn’t tell us much.
I went a couple of years ago and the experience had shifted so drastically that I couldn’t ever imagine going back. Food was so expensive, we’re talking hundreds of dollars for food you can get a Cracker Barrel, drinks were insane, we didn’t experience the free drinks while gambling nor did we get any cheap buffets. The great part of Vegas used to be its level of fun for the amount you spend but it’s completely different now.
This is the new Big Beautiful Economy.Get used to it. Foreign Tourism is way down because people from other countries are either afraid to come here or strongly dislike us. It will be happening in many other places in the country.
A lot of younger people are barely keeping up with rent. Gambling, liquor, and glamor don't really appeal much to gen z and millennials. It's pretty much exclusively for wealthy folks these days. Las Vegas flew too close to the sun.
Canary in the coal mine. The economy is in free fall thanks to republicans intentionally dismantling it. Other indicators are lagging but will soon catch up. The false data Trump wants to report will still be shown at places like Vegas and on Supermarket shelves.
Vegas was the crown jewel of our tourism? Fuck that, uninhabitable cess pool. Gaudy and gauche testament to a complete and total lack of culture or good taste. Hope the desert reclaims that place.
I used to go to Vegas with my parents for the Mint 400 Desert Race in the late 1970s. Then, when I was old enough to drink and gamble in the mid-80s, I used to drive up with friends for the weekend. $.25 beers, $.50 drinks, $2.99 all you could eat buffets, and $15 rooms. Free drinks were handed out faster than you could finish the one you already had. I also won on slots regularly enough that it usually paid for the trip. And many times rooms were comped just for gambling.
It all started going downhill when they covered Fremont Street.
ill never forget my friends and i going in january 2024 for her 21st and 3 drinks and 3 shots (1 for each of us) cost 99 dollars. we looked at each other and said never again
i am still perplexed that people (americans) went to LV for holiday as a "typical" holiday.
As an outsider, LV is like the 2-3 day extension when you visited LA. And you are doing it just once because then you've seen anything and have the 'i was there' batch
It isn't a typical holiday, in my experience. It is where people go when they want to do it up royal before they get married or when they are turning 50 or when they are doing a once in a lifetime "bros" or "girls" trip.
Also, a lot of people do a visit there before or after checking out the Grand Canyon, fwiw.
Americans have less disposable income with higher prices, more tarrifs and cuts in services.
Canadians don't want to visit a country raising tarrifs massively on them and threatening to annex them.
Europeans don't want to visit a country raising tarrifs on them and randomly turning people away at the border for having political opinions, or locking us up in holding cells for weeks without due process.
And that's not even going into how stupid a queer person would have to be to set foot on US soil these days.
America has told us extremely loudly and very clearly that visitors are no longer welcome or wanted.
Message received.
Edit. interesting how this reply got a few initial upvotes ticking for the first few minutes, then suddenly a block of downvotes at the same time. Weird how that happens sometimes on here.
ABSOLUTELY bonkers hearing so much rhetoric about “how the economy is in shambles” which YES YEAH but a tourism city like Las Vegas is empty because tourists are NOT traveling to the US, because people are being detained at the fucking border because of their social media posts.
you can not have the leader of the entire country arresting the citizens of your closest country neighbors without consequences, and this is one of them. People pointing to “Vegas is too expensive” sound like they’re complete unfamiliar with the reasons at large and I suspect a lot of “I don’t pay attention to politics” is at play here
hey do yall know the Grand Canyon is currently on fire? hey, remember when this administration fired tons and tons of parks and rec staff? hey, remember all those tarrifs that the consumer currently is paying for, thatre about to go into serious effect as companies start running out of their backlogs of older goods? remember when this administration made the Smithsonian take down any mentions of “women in leadership” from their website? Hey remember when our president threatened to annex Canada about 49 fucking times? hey,
Weird, I see lots of 'nobody wants to pay $25 to park', but that's been around. Vegas has always been pricey and it doesn't seem like there was a recent tripwire. Why isn't anyone talking about the foreign travelers who populated a good percentage of the tourist traffic, who don't want to come here now? I know a bunch of Aussies and Europeans who would have come here around this time, but aren't because this government is trying to do messed up shit to people who are not citizens. How is this not recognized as a large part of this issue?
Parking is parking. One would expect tourists are fine to pay that. The other excessive charges add up, but for our family it’s the deliberate unfriendly border policy for visitors that has ruled out any visit in the immediate future. There are plenty of other destinations for us which do not have the risk of privacy invasion and detention for arbitrary reasons and no legal rights - just why bother with that?
Right? It would be cool if they would get back to all the perks and cheap buffets and everything they had 30 years ago to entice people to come and get drunk and blow all their money.
It's a pipe dream I know but it would still be nice.
Something people are missing is that with more and more states allowing gambling and online gambling like Draftkings it’s removing the main reason some people went.
Las Vegas largely relies on foreign tourism. No one wants to come here right now. And now they wanna charge people $250 to come here. All his talk about making Canada a 51st state has crushed Canadian tourism to the US.
Who would have thought that giving everyone's expendable income to the billionaires and rolling out the red carpet for puritanical weirdos would negatively impact "sin city"?
Whats hilarious is this post is just above a news story about the first time in history that every casino in Vegas being Unionized
Not that that has anything to do with this, its just a serendipitous alingment of posts....this is entirely do to our fucking Moron in Chief fucking up the economy...Vegas is seeing a major decline in tourisim because people are scared about spending money and just have less of it....its very simple, travel is a totally unnecessary expense and one of the first to get cut
I said in the beginning of his presidency that things would begin to start going off the rails in the summer with his absolutely batshit economic policies and the cracks are starting to let light in....you cant have this whipsaw crazy tariff policy with absolutely shit/nonexistent industrial policy, firing all these government workers, canceling 100s of billions in grants and programs and suck 200B out of consumers pockets with tariffs and not start to have problems economically
Dont worry guys, Trump will right the ship, hes a well know super successful businessman...... 🤣
I don't know what it is about this story, but it's very purposefully being spread, despite seeming to not be the case. I was in Vegas in May, and it was packed. I was there last weekend, it was packed. Shows sold out, lines for food, traffic everywhere.
This started 25 years ago when Las Vegas attempted to rebrand. It went from Sin City to trying to be a destination for everyone. Those cheap buffets and accommodations stopped being just for degenerate gamblers and now kids and non-gambling adults were coming in. But if you cannot make up the loss leaders via gambling, the price of those items had to increase.
Now hotels are expensive, food is expensive, shows are expensive.
That isn’t to say Vegas is failing, occupancy is still around 70-80% and anytime there is a large event it goes up to 100% quickly. It’s just that Vegas is now back to being more for the degen gambler who doesn’t have to worry about costs or for those with big budgets going for a specific show/event.
I think a lot of people are missing the bigger shift here which is, Vegas is now catering to business travelers over the weekend Joe who wants to come gamble.
Can every hotel be sustained with this? Absolutely not. But, the larger conference center style casinos are not dead.
I travel for work and I personally have five conventions in Las Vegas in the next 6 months.
Vegas is not dead, it's just now a business traveler destination.
Vegas used to be the only game in town when it came to betting on sports. It is no longer that way with a number of states passing legal sports book. If I want to drop a bet on my team to win the superbowl I no longer need to hop on a plane to go to Vegas. I can do it from an app on my phone. Combine that with the price of airfare, hotels and food going up and people no longer look at Vegas as worth the money. They did this to themselves by jacking up the prices of everything.
Vegas was always a young person destination city and young people no longer have the kind of disposable income they used to because of higher prices of rent, higher food costs and higher school loans. You are seeing this across the service industry in bars and restaurants across this country.
I’ll never go again after my last visit. Used to love it. A drink by the pool is 25 bucks. I’ve got cash and I like to spend it but that’s just a giant fuck you. Pass.
Tourism is definitely down big time, but a lot of that is the casinos' fault. Luxury properties don't nickel and dime. Nickel and diming is really considered low rent. The whole point of Vegas was the experience. Unfortunately, that experience can be duplicated in just about every major US city for a fraction of the cost. While not every major US city has gambling, prostitution, and drinking within the city limits like Vegas, it's still pretty damn close. Like at least within an hour of a major city, you can still obtain all 3
I'm curious if this gets Steve Wynn to push back on Trump's policies at all, as Wynn... is gonna hurt from this, and was the finance chair of the RNC for a bit.
Was down there for a conference 2 months ago…. Zero lineups for anything as the crowds were very very thin, but the prices were still high with very few deals….They are hurting but unwilling to adjust their prices so too bad.
In 2023, about 11.5% of Vegas tourists were foreigners, with half of that number from Canada and Mexico. Guess who has decided not to come to Vegas in 2025?
Does this have anything to do with international tourists avoiding the US? I agree Vegas is overpriced but I'm curious to know if this is causing a big impact.
When you run a casino to launder money you need volume of guests and money to be as large as possible.
Whatever that costs to make in to reality, you pay it. The skim is what made that model a success. Give shit away it doesn’t matter get them in the door and spending and no matter what keep the volume of guests high. You would never enshittify your laundering mechanism.
Now it’s just quarterly statements. If guest numbers drop for whatever reason, they have to raise prices or if they report quarter to quarter losses the shareholders vanish overnight.
Even if guest numbers stay high and steady, the shareholders want rising profit margins quarter to quarter and the CEO gets bonused if he does that. He don’t give a flying fuck if that place goes under the day after he leaves. He got his, fuck the guy behind him, the customer doesn’t mean shit and priority is to make those statements look a certain way, future be damned.
The modern business model is anything but smart and future facing. People just don’t want to admit that we have transitioned from short term gain to long term pain. The “oh that won’t happen until years from now” crowd is still in denial but the whole damn country is showing signs of enshittification, we even had to invent a word to describe it it’s so prevalent.
Tons of other business all show the negative signs of enshittification. Casinos it just shows up different, especially in Vegas, as the whole freakin town was literally built around their success.
HA HAAA. I feel bad for the workers as they're prolly just people trying to make ends meet, but for the owners themselves? We know most of them voted for this.
We're not vegas people but we ended up going for a variety of somewhat random reasons when we were living in Phoenix. Our hotel had a refrigerator full of very expensive for-pay items with zero space for anything of our own and a sign telling us we'd be charged if we even moved any of the paid items. With that kind of fuck-you-want-money energy, why would we go back? The crowd largely seemed to be various forms of mafia and other people that somehow have a good amount of money without having had to learn anything or participate in any form of education or self-improvement.
I liked Macao much better even though a restaurant there served us tap water and we were stuck stuck in our room for 3 days being sick.
Vegas is the only place I’ve visited that did not offer a refrigerator in the room. I was there for a conference, not a vacation. Give me a place to keep some fruit and other snacks. They offered to bring us one for an extra charge. It’s also a city design to prey upon people. It’s entirely sustained by predatory businesses and conferences. As a millennial I found it to just feel sad and dirty. I had more fun when we rented a car and got out of Vegas for a day. It’s unsurprising their tourism is shrinking as fewer people have gainful employment.
As a former long-time resident and even longer visitor. The city itself has changed over the years. Vegas has always been a city about reinventing itself and overcoming economic despair. The pandemic put the hurt on Vegas in ways that only that city can experience and know. Coming out of the pandemic, the city never has fully recovered. Casino execs, who are still making millions aren't make as much as they were before. Tourism has waned and many people are finding that the Vegas "Experience" can be had much closer to home and at a fraction of the cost. The entire economic landscape has shifted and I believe that these same casino execs have no interest in putting in the work to make things better. So they just price gouge and cash grab what they can until the market itself bottoms out and with that, those execs run off with their profits. Leaving the city to crumble and fall under the weight of its own identity.
Just to correct one misconception in the article: Canadians are not avoiding the US because of Tarriffs, we are avoiding because of Presudents Trumps statements around making Canada the 51st state. Economic policy is one thing, threatening the sovereignty of the best friend that the US has in this world, is a betrayal and way over the line.
As a US citizen, I’m so embarrassed and I apologize for our president. Your boy caught of American tourism is having a huge effect, but no one seems to be crunching those numbers for the public right now. Keep up the good work Canada, someday we will be friends again.
These morons writing that article, as well as the morons in America, just don't freaking get it. We don't care about the stupid tariffs, everyone knows they will just change in five minutes anyways.
It's the sovereignty thing, your leader has repeatedly threatened to ENSLAVE OUR FUCKING COUNTRY. That's why I and many others are never coming back, and why I will teach my step children to hate America.
Modern big business has killed everything that drew in the crowds. The Mob knew the secret, low costs and comped drinks kept asses in the seats gambling, which is where you make your money.
Now, as others have pointed out, everything costs through the roof. Pair that with social media stories of casinos balking on paying slot winnings citing machine error, and why bother. If I want all that, I can get the same at the closest Indian casino.
This is the natural consequence of destroying the middle class; businesses have to chase the money up the ladder by charging more to a smaller number of customers, which drives off even more people, which drives prices even higher, and on and on it goes. Disneyworld and Disneyland are in the same boat.
Soon travel and leisure will be niche industries serving the wealthy only.
Once again, they got it wrong. Canadians aren't boycotting travelling to (and buying products from) the USA because of tariffs. We're doing so because of being threatened with annexation, the threat of being detained/deported/disappeared if they don't like our Facebook history, and general disgust with fascism.
jennysonson | 5 months ago
Wasnt the point of a casino the make money off the gambling while providing cheap accomodations for visitors so that it would entice them to spend at rhe casino doing actual gambling.
People already waste so much money to set foot there they dont got anything to gamble with
adamsaidnooooo | 5 months ago
Thats right, they lure you in with cheap booze and food so you would gamble and hopefully lose. I don't know why they strayed from what was working. Maybe people were just taking advantage of the cheap things and not gambling enough.
gradi3nt | 5 months ago
Greed. Shareholders. Private Equity.
Same storyline is hollowing out every part of America.
Anteater-Charming | 5 months ago
Like every other business, also lack of competition. If 2 companies own most of the casinos, there's no need to stay cheaper to compete.
Machinimix | 5 months ago
Unfortunately they forgot that sort of attitude only works on necessities. People can live without Vegas Trips. But communication and food? Well that's the sweet spot to corner markets.
skoalbrother | 5 months ago
Ohh nice, show them what they won....
wisdom_seek3r | 5 months ago
Exactly. When I got charged $25 for one margarita that was it for me. Vegas can die for all I care.
Business model..if we do great business let's screw everybody by raising prices until we piss them off.
Dynamic pricing can eat a dick.
Setting-Conscious | 5 months ago
I paid about $20 for a slice of pepperoni pizza in Vegas. It was ok pizza.
grandmawaffles | 5 months ago
It’s criminal. I got stuck there with my family due to a storm and went to NYNY since the kid liked the theme and it was close to the airport. $25 bucks per person to ride the roller coaster once. The arcade blew through $300 in about an hour in a half with half broken/low payout machines, got yelled at for waiting outside and ice cream joint while my spouse got ice cream and hotel front desk staff that were the rudest people on the planet. O forget what the pizza cost there but it was insane and tasted like ass.
diurnal_emissions | 5 months ago
It's like a very expensive simulation of a good time. NYC would be cheaper and far more interesting.
grandmawaffles | 5 months ago
NYC is absolutely cheaper for a similar experience. We had spent time at Disneyland prior to Vegas and Disneyland was cheaper. I get up charging for some things, I get paying for an experience, etc. but for basics it’s shouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg while getting yelled at. I have been to Vegas a bit over the years and had a lull, the place did a 180 and it wasn’t for the best.
grandmawaffles | 5 months ago
$7 for a bottle of water, shit service from front desks, $4 donut, and getting a pit boss called over because I was up after 30 minutes playing blackjack at $15 minimum tables with no one around and I won’t go back.
Wind_Yer_Neck_In | 5 months ago
Exactly, I'll pay 25 for a specialist cocktail made by a talented bartender at somewhere that specialises in cocktails. But I'm not paying that for some basic grade sloppy drink from a hotel.
the_millenial_falcon | 5 months ago
Private equity is a cancer that infects capitalist societies. They need to be severely curtailed because they eat everything alive.
gradi3nt | 5 months ago
Public equity (stock market, the shareholders) has many of the same problems but at least some subset of those problems are regulated.
Commercial_Blood2330 | 5 months ago
This right here. It’s not just Vegas. There’s a term for it, enshittification. Home builders have been bought up by private equity, they build the houses shittier and charge more for them. Restaurants across the country make shittier food, and charge more for it. Look at potato chips, the family size used to be 40-50 oz now it’s 11oz, bag is the same size to deceive Jo six pack into thinking he’s still getting 40oz, but again the price doesn’t go down.
Okay_Ocean_Flower | 5 months ago
Chips now cost more per pound than beef
icanhascheeseberder | 5 months ago
A pack of mm's was 3.50 last time I didn't buy them at the convenience store. A cheap steak is like 2.50
piyob | 5 months ago
This one cookie brand I get recently changed logos and when I bought the new box, there was like 2/3rds of the cookies even though the box was the same size. I’m not in a great fucking mood if I’m about to crush a box of cookies, so this really pissed me off
Machinimix | 5 months ago
And you gotta crush those boxes of cookies because they go stale three times as fast as they did in the 90s and 00s.
[Deleted] | 5 months ago
yeah most of the complaints about Vegas really apply to my local restaurants as well the cost has just gotten too high. Like my local steakhouse used to be close enough to grocery store steak prices to where it was a no brainer to go now its like 4 times as much as the grocery store.
the_river_erinin | 5 months ago
Your last example of potato chips is called shrinkflation
PenjaminJBlinkerton | 5 months ago
The term is enshittification
Ewoksintheoutfield | 5 months ago
Yup. And burning down the planet so that one generation of old boomers can live in luxury at the expense of all future generations.
gradi3nt | 5 months ago
Ultra financialized capitalism will always favor next quarter over next decade over next generation. Therefore capitalism will consume the biosphere in the name of the shareholders. Only accountability to the international masses of working class average people can change that (maybe, not looking particularly good on that front at the moment!)
Jonesbro | 5 months ago
Please someone think of the casinos
nekomancer71 | 5 months ago
Not sure if Vegas no longer using predatory lures to keep people gambling is a great American tragedy tbh.
ElwoodBrew | 5 months ago
This is the REAL story that no one is really talking about. This is the reason for the decline in healthcare, retirement, quality of goods and foods. While the media, social media influencers, and politicians concentrate on social issues (which are important) the oligarchs continue to consolidate industries and hoard wealth and control.
liquidgrill | 5 months ago
It’s not even greed, although I’m not saying that they’re not greedy. It’s the massive debt they’ve all taken on to build new properties. People make fun of Donald Trump for bankrupting casinos. This is EXACTLY how he did it. His casinos were popular. But he took on massive debt, at junk bond rates, and couldn’t pay it back.
jst4wrk7617 | 5 months ago
This really isn’t talked about enough. You see it with every industry. The erosion of quality, the cost cutting, the general cheapening of everything. But it’s also in healthcare where you see private equity and diminished quality of care.
SpotResident6135 | 5 months ago
In short: capitalists.
Tangochief | 5 months ago
Replace America with the west.
kent_eh | 5 months ago
Add to that the massive (and continuing to increase) reduction of international tourism to the USA in general.
A place that relies on tourism to exist that is also increasing prices and adding random fees is going to be one of the first places to feel the pinch .
TravelingPoodle | 5 months ago
It’s hollowing every part of the world. Not just America. All these capitalists are reading the same playbook. Everything has become worse in quality and/or quantity, AND increased in price. The consumers are not purchasing these optional goods and services as much as they used to.
Billsolson | 5 months ago
They broke the compact with the common man.
It was a given that you would lose the money you brought gambling, but for that, you would get drunk, eat pretty well, have a clean room and access to a pool.
Now every table limit is high, they track the drinks, food is a bougie 5 star “experience “, it cost to get into the pool, there’s a resort fee, with taxes.
I can go to a all inclusive destination for a week off of what a 3 day trip to Vegas will cost.
Commercial_Blood2330 | 5 months ago
I would argue the food costs like a 5 star experience but isn’t actually a five star experience. The food in Vegas is mostly shit now, just a bunch of restaurants slapping some famous chefs name on the wall and rolling out some trash. Wolfgang puck anything is to be avoided at all cost.
BuzzNitro | 5 months ago
As a foodie, I was immensely disappointed in Vegas. The entire city is an abomination but I thought, “at least the food will be good”. It’s not. It’s terribly overpriced and low quality. The best food we ate was off the strip in china town.
PandaCat22 | 5 months ago
13 years ago we went and the food at the Bellagio was absolute garbage. We ended up getting our next meal at a Cuban restaurant somewhere off the strip and it was absolutely fantastic
[Deleted] | 5 months ago
yeah I always wonder about these guys that say that Vegas is a for foodies when I went around the same time as you I remember being very disappointing anytown america had better food. The strip was also overrun with places like twin peaks and chipotle that literally are everywhere.
ThrowCarp | 5 months ago
> They broke the compact with the common man.
aka. Social Contract. And yes, I agree with you.
Earthwarm_Revolt | 5 months ago
Ate there cheaper casinos that are bucking this trend? You would think a lower price point place would still be succesful unless flying sewhere to gamble is just falling out of fashion.
Billsolson | 5 months ago
I believe there are , but they are all off the strip
Still have $5 blackjack with good odds, still pouring drinks and serving up food, albeit not as cheap as it once was, but still less than the big boys.
But again, you have to stay off the strip.
Either_Reflection_78 | 5 months ago
Yeah. Vegas F’d itself hard with this one. Upping their prices on everything, and getting rid of the lower hotel, food and drink prices. All the while, still expecting people to gamble every hard earned dollar away for “fun.” They pretty much got rid of the good part of Vegas, and expected people to come here for a vacay. A vacation for what exactly? It doesn’t seem like a vacay to come here anymore, but a punishment to lose all your money and get no fun in return.
Good luck Vegas. It doesn’t look good. People are taking care of their money now, and watching where they are spending it. The younger generations learned from their parents, and won’t just give their money away for nothing anymore.
I lived here for 4 years, and I saw the flaws a long time ago…
ChicagoDash | 5 months ago
Throw in the fact that other places are legalizing gambling, at least sports gambling. So, not only is Vegas’ product/service worse and more expensive, there is also more competition which is far more convenient for most people.
Either_Reflection_78 | 5 months ago
This is true. I often hear of many people who are getting into the online gambling scene sadly. This kind of stuff stimulates the brain like drugs, without a person having to travel anywhere.
keegums | 5 months ago
Unfortunately the last paragraph seems largely untrue. I am regularly shocked by the number of gamblers I know, or second degree separation. But it's mostly sports betting via phone. Others I hear about are at local casinos spending all their money. There's not much reason to go to Vegas when there's so much local gambling to do.
Porkamiso | 5 months ago
sadly this generation lost their money on gacha and student loan bills already and the rent too damn high.
Stop eating crap overpriced food out period and you could afford a real vacation
DuntadaMan | 5 months ago
Nothing hopefully about it. You will lose. Even big jackpot winners only walk out with a percentage of the money the casino got from everyone gambling.
marielalm27 | 5 months ago
Thats why Reno is still pretty unaffected, maybe a small amount. The difference is Reno is still fairly cheap depending and when you come, you can get a decent room for $80 or less. Also the free drinks if you're gambling and the food is still pretty cheap.
Brave_Ad_510 | 5 months ago
Not any more. Everything is built around fleecing average guests unless you're a high roller, in which case you get preferential treatment and "free" stuff. A room in Vegas is not much cheaper than any other hotel now.
davehoff94 | 5 months ago
All the tables are completely stacked against you too. Used to be you could find 3:2 tables for lower hands. Now they're all 6:5. Kind of crazy the younger generation really won't get to experience what made "Vegas" Vegas. People used to drive there from Socal every weekend before the pandemic. The cheap buffets are gone too
Witherino | 5 months ago
>Kind of crazy the younger generation really won't get to experience what made "Vegas" Vegas
You can replace "Vegas" with FAR too many attractions, both natural and man-made
FlaniganWackerMan | 5 months ago
I am sure they have still have high rollers coming in for now, but my assumption is part of being a high roller is getting your ego stroked with private rooms, ushered to the front of lines, VIP booths.
You dont get an ego boost getting escorted to a private room when you are passing empty tables, pools, and bars. So those trips are about to stop as well - probably some interesting data on the drop in PJs landing in Vegas YoY.
I know the answer already, but I hope private equity and business leaders are paying attention to the lessons Vegas should be providing them on how to treat people.
SpotResident6135 | 5 months ago
Oh so it’s just America.
diurnal_emissions | 5 months ago
Bloated, stupid, and uncultured... Checks out.
Ellen-CherryCharles | 5 months ago
I’ve only gone once when I got a free room offer which was worth like $2000 and $150 in free play. We figured out quickly that we only got free drinks if we sat in the old person keno section otherwise the cocktail waitresses would ignore us. Food was pricey and cocktails were outrageous (20+) for like a vodka soda. We didn’t even bother trying to see any shows. I’d probably go again but I’d have to have enough free cash to blow to make it worth it.
Thrillikoi | 5 months ago
Exactly, I couldn't dream of going there now whereas 25 years ago it was a cheap getaway.
Certain-Sherbet-9121 | 5 months ago
Last time I was in Vegas for a conference, I went to one of the casinos and figured I'd gamble a bit just to say I'd done it. No cash, so I go to an ATM. Withdrawal fee for cash was like $10. I noped out of there and was just weirded out by that as a business concept.
binswagger1 | 5 months ago
Same. Was going to throw money at a few ballgames. With the ATM fee, plus the vigorish, I was like fuck that. Solidified my feelings about gambling.
jizzmaster-zer0 | 5 months ago
the vig? you going to an atm or a loan shark?
binswagger1 | 5 months ago
Typically, if you are betting on a ballgame and betting the money line, the house has built a 10% fee (or something like it) into the bet. It's easier to understand in football where you are betting the line. A $100 bet costs $110 to make. The "vigorish." Casinos charge vig the same as bookies and loansharks.
Ballistic_86 | 5 months ago
Las Vegas has been attempted to change for a few decades now. All of that cheap stuff became expensive once they aimed to have families and children come to Vegas.
Now nothing is cheap, nobody is going to Vegas without a specific show or event to attend, and the degen gamblers have a lot less casual competition.
brainkandy87 | 5 months ago
Totally get your point but I think the timeline is off. They killed the family marketing in the early aughts and went with “What happens in Vegas” which became a successful campaign. I went a ton in my twenties (late aughts/early teens) and I could still get $5 rooms at Bally’s and eat $3.99 steak and eggs at Bill’s across the street. Granted, the insanely cheap Vegas ended in the ‘90s, but the nosebleed pricing of Vegas is a fairly recent development.
Hanifsefu | 5 months ago
You're looking at two sides of the same coin and saying one caused the other. But what actually happened was corporations coming in and fucking everything up. Corporations say you aren't allowed to have the bar or kitchen run at a loss ever so no more cheap eating or drinks for your gamblers. They also say "kids spend money too" which is why they pushed for families at the same time. They just wanted every aspect of the business to be individually popular just in case they want to sell off parts of the company.
DrewforPres | 5 months ago
Gambling not as big as it used to be. With online gambling opening up a lot of places gamblers have alternatives to going to Vegas. They shifted their emphasis to coins and premium offerings.
Personally I’m not unhappy to see this. Last time I was there I got sick of being nickled and dimed for everything. I doubt they’ll recover until the culture shifts back
[Deleted] | 5 months ago
I feel like a degenerate enough gambler will blow their money on those apps before they can even get to Vegas.
DeadOrcSociety | 5 months ago
It costs less for me to go overseas and visit my best friend in London for two weeks than it does to spend a week in Vegas, gambling not included. The place is unrealistically expensive.
Hanifsefu | 5 months ago
Yes that was the point. But then they started getting shareholders and everything had to be corporatized.
The first thing corporations do to promote profits and efficiency is do away with any sort of "loss leaders" and guest services. They require every aspect of the business to turn a profit themselves so no more complimentary drink service because they customers can handle a drink service with a profit margin. Standard gambling odds aren't enough in their favor so every year they find new ways to rig it even further in their favor so they can show growth.
Vegas is dying and it's their own fault. It's what they get for running their casino like it's a business on its way to being chopped and sold in parts. That's the secret to why every aspect they can make profitable has to be. At any moment the board could decide the casino is failed and they need to sell it off and that bar is worth more if it looks like it makes a profit on its own.
The_Autarch | 5 months ago
The MBAs took over and now everything needs to turn a profit.
throwthisidaway | 5 months ago
That used to be the case, but now at the bigger properties up to 75% of total revenue is non-gambling.
>Today, the Strip’s revenue stream has flipped, with nongambling sources accounting for 75%. According to the most recent quarterly earnings reports from its three biggest resort companies, MGM Resorts Las Vegas generated only 23.4% of its $2.037 billion in revenue from gambling. Caesars Las Vegas only earned 27.6% of its $1.142 billion in revenue, and Wynn Las Vegas only had 24.1% of its $561 million in revenue from gaming operations.
spursfan34 | 5 months ago
People don’t go to Vegas to gamble anymore. That was their parents’ Vegas. Today’s Vegas is a curated escape more about experiences than slots. Gambling is just background noise for the main event, the concerts, the DJs, the food, the scene etc
Exavion | 5 months ago
Yep. Most occasional frequent visitors could stay for free by signing up to the various casino perks programs. Not so sure its possible now except for true part time gamblers
Paradigm_Reset | 5 months ago
I used to love going to Vegas 'cause it was inexpensive. Sure you could make the trip expensive but you didn't have to.
From the posts I see here those days are over.
ReefaManiack42o | 5 months ago
People making a big deal about this, but just like they added all the extra fee's to milk visitors when they were in abundance, they will simply get rid of a lot of the fee's now that it's a "ghost town". It might take a few quarters before they decide to do it, but it can, and likely will, be done.
AndyWarwheels | 5 months ago
So I know the answer to this.
I worked in Casinos in Las Vegas for over 20 years. About 14 years ago I was sitting in a meeting where we were presented with an analysis that stated that people come to Vegas with a set budget and no matter how expensive the room is that budget doesn't change. So the focus shifted from making things affordable to getting as much cash up front because you don't want them spending the money next door.
It is such a narrow-minded view of how to run any business.
Pjpjpjpjpj | 5 months ago
$25 to park at a casino. $62.36 daily 'resort' fees (Aria, Cosmo, Four Seasons, Vdara, etc.). $9 for coffee. $87 buffets. 3x hotel rates on weekends. Roulette with 3 green spaces ("Triple Zero") and 6:5 blackjack payouts. $25 minimum hands and the drinks come around every 45 minutes. Vegas airport mixed drinks are $14 and only 1 oz pours. Tips, tips, tips, tips - slow service, get your order wrong, food is cold, suggested tips 25%, 27% or 30%.
The part of the city feeding off tourists has lost its friggen mind.
whatssenguntoagoblin | 5 months ago
They got triple zeros on roulette now??? Greedy fucks.
Chuu | 5 months ago
It's scummier than you think. The 0 and 00 are where you'd expect, but the 000 in may places is a casino logo in a triangle above them. So someone who isn't paying too close attention might not even realize that logo representing 000 is on the wheel.
It's surprisingly hard to find a good shot of this, but if you scroll down to the second picture in this article you can see it: https://www.americancasinoguidebook.com/roulette/how-triple-zero-roulette-affects-roulette-odds.html
EscapedFromArea51 | 5 months ago
Wouldn’t people see the third green slot on the roulette wheel and figure out that there are three 0 spaces?
Or does it fly under the radar because most of the gamblers are completely plastered? But then, why would they be plastered at all if the casino is overcharging them for drinks?
Ctrlwud | 5 months ago
Most people don't understand how the game actually works. Like a giant percentage of gamblers don't understand that if there is another number in the table you lose more.
EscapedFromArea51 | 5 months ago
Yeah, that’s true.
Having both a 0 and a 00 already skewed the odds in favor of the house. Having a third zero slot just gives the house more of the edge they already have.
The “gamblers for fun” probably wouldn’t care, and the “degenerate gamblers” would probably try to beat the odds regardless.
houseswappa | 5 months ago
its about 4% to 7% edge
IvysMomToo | 5 months ago
What's the payout? The last time I played roulette, it was 35 to 1.
EscapedFromArea51 | 5 months ago
I don’t have personal experience with roulette, but from what I understand, the payout changes based on the type of bet. Betting on just a color has the lowest payout, and betting on a specific number has the highest.
I’m surprised it’s 35:1! That’s much better than I expected for a number bet.
cat_of_danzig | 5 months ago
Likely still 35:1, but the odds of hitting a single number dropped to 38:1. Over time it provides the excitement of 35-1 wins, but decreases the statistical payout.
Let’s say you bet $10 on one number for 100 spins (if you could find a $10 table). Each win pays out $360 (35:1 payout plus $10 original bet back).
1 in 37 odds of hitting your number: %2.70 × 360 = $972
1 in 38 odds of hitting your number: %2.63 × 360 = $946.80
In theory, you can get the excitement of playing roulette for a couple hours with a free drink or two for $28 with two green spots. It costs you another $28 with an added spot.
Equivalent-Excuse-80 | 5 months ago
I would guess the same goes for conventioners who understand how to play “21” but don’t understand the difference between 3:2 and 6:5 payouts.
FontMeHard | 5 months ago
I dont understand the difference. Ive only played it once, and beginners luck, tripled my money. Haha.
What’s the difference?
SwenKa | 5 months ago
Getting a blackjack with 6:5 payout means you get $6 for every $5 you wagered, or $1.20 per $1.
A 3:2 payout is $3 for every $2 you wagered, or $1.50 per $1.
FontMeHard | 5 months ago
So a big benefit for the house, which they didn’t need. What a scam.
NEBanshee | 5 months ago
It's the payoff ratio, for the 1st, if you bet $2, you get 3 back. Betting 5 gets you only $6 back for the second.
So if you bet $10 with the first ratio you'd win $15, whereas for the second you'd only get $12. Basically the house is shaving 20% off your payout.
FontMeHard | 5 months ago
Man I wish I went to Vegas 10 years ago. I feel like I missed out. Sounds like such a scam now.
sirheyzeus55 | 5 months ago
Ya per the article the house edges as they’re called go from 5.26% for 0, 00 to 7.69% for 0, 00, 000. A relatively large increase when it comes to the frequency of betting happening on a Vegas roulette table.
danktonium | 5 months ago
I believe it was the English lottery that once made the draw several numbers longer than it was before. They marketed it as "more ways to win"
bigbobisherenow | 5 months ago
People are really really ignorant and/or stupid when it comes to gambling. Source: I've been in the business for 10 years.
shifty_coder | 5 months ago
It’s less that they see or don’t see the 000 slot and betting space, and more that the average person is terrible at probability maths and doesn’t know how much more it affects their odds of winning.
EscapedFromArea51 | 5 months ago
Oh, shit, I just looked up an image of a roulette table and realized that there are only 36 red/black slots! For some reason I thought it was 100!
Lol, in a way I guess it’s all gambling anyway, but going from 38 to 39 slots is way worse than 102 to 103.
I guess Blackjack is still the only fun game with slightly less dogshit odds. But apparently they’ve decreased the payout multiplier for Blackjack wins too.
Fluffy-Mango-6607 | 5 months ago
6:5 black Jack and 000 has become popular because they were getting just as many bets putting them in the front of casinos to catch casuals and fleece them.
flif | 5 months ago
This rambling video has a better shot of the tripple-zero:
https://youtu.be/W62Ie7dKXRY?t=615
TheRadishBros | 5 months ago
The third zero is often depicted as the logo of the casino, so it’s not even clear to the unsuspecting tourist that it’s actually triple zero.
loweyedfox | 5 months ago
Damn I’ve never played roulette but I would honestly assume if I landed on the one space with the casino logo, that it would be a bonus space or something
Wolfgung | 5 months ago
It is, bonus for the casino.
ilikepizza2much | 5 months ago
As someone who’s never been to Vegas, but been inside gambling places in other parts of the world and the USA… holy shit. Triple zero on a roulette table is laughable. It’s a perfect metaphor for their business strategy: Unabashed, naked greed. Edit: I just want to clarify - merely double zeros is greedy. People have gotten used to that. The standard used to be a single zero.
aselinger | 5 months ago
I don’t understand. Roulette is like the most steady “business” you can run. How was it concluded that the game needs to make more money? Ie how have the economics changed?
Psykotyrant | 5 months ago
Well, the US did put in charge a guy who managed to run a casino into the ground, so…
The_Nice_Marmot | 5 months ago
Not just one.
Psykotyrant | 5 months ago
….true.
HiImDan | 5 months ago
Holy crap I just realized he's about to bankrupt an entire casino city.
queerhistorynerd | 5 months ago
do you think he is going to blame it on the native Americans having casinos like he did last time?
Odd-Influence7116 | 5 months ago
It is like tips. Back in the day a standard tip was 10%, then 15, now 20 and places are pushing for 22 or 25. The price of the food increases with inflation, so why does the percentage have to go up too? For me, I'm staying at 15%. Less for counter service, sometimes nothing.
Qix213 | 5 months ago
Making a billion dollars in profit is shit if you also made a billion last year. That is merely 'meeting expectations'. It's all about increased profits. Steady is not good enough. In fact, it's especially bad if your competition is seeing increases. Now 'steady' is seen as losing. Steady becomes something that needs to be fixed.
And the greed works in the short term. Because people still go/buy the thing because they are already on vacation. They just don't come back next time when it was too expensive. So the response to that greed is delayed.
CEOs are rewarded based on short term results. This quarter, this year. So they only care about short term. This is the long term result of short term thinking.
mccoyn | 5 months ago
One thing that has changed, specifically for Vegas, is more casinos have opened around the US. Vegas is no longer the casino destinations, they are merely the top tier casino destination.
aselinger | 5 months ago
I would think the competition would cause them to actually reduce the house’s margins.
jizonida | 5 months ago
Why compete when you can just milk the ones that show up for more?
ddb_db | 5 months ago
What happened is some MBA thought "wouldn't it be cool if we threw an extra zero on the wheel, let's call it triple zero, and see if the suckers keep playing? We'll make an extra 2.5% on this game!"
And they did, so it stayed. That person also got their bonus for the year. The casual gamblers kind of noticed something wasn't right so they replaced the 000 with a pretty logo instead and most of them stopped noticing. That's how the MBA got their bonus the following year for stopping the majority of the complaints.
Same with 6:5 blackjack. People just keep playing it. If you want casinos to stop offering it, people got to stop playing it, but most people who play don't know the difference and just think it's "totally awesome" when their $25 blackjack pays them $30.
Fluffy-Mango-6607 | 5 months ago
easy, they are corporations. if they see 000 makes them 4% more because it doesn't dip spend at the front tables, they put more 000 in.
when people stop coming because they don't win as much, and everything's expensive, and all the real gamblers move to fair tables, then they wonder what happened in corporate speak and eventually drop prices, go bankrupt, or replace the tables when there's a new CEO there.and the last one took a payout to leave.
AlmostSunnyinSeattle | 5 months ago
Number must go up.
ilikepizza2much | 5 months ago
Even the zeros. They must go up.
Paradigm_Reset | 5 months ago
This is a silly answer but probably a realistic one.
Because it can make more money. It's little different than banking fees. Opportunity to make more money exists, they don't think it'll have so much of a negative impact that it'll decrease use, so it is implemented.
Although this will bite 'em in the ass eventually... maybe.
Miraclefish | 5 months ago
They don't like that anyone gets on a plane with any money at all.
It's all for them, our money, you see, and we can't keep it.
But we've got to keep spending on their luxury products, but they also want us to be poor.
spanishgav | 5 months ago
Businesses have to show growth/make more money every year. Investors don’t want a steady business. They want higher returns on their investments. It’s a sick system we designed and it will end our civilisation eventually.
GuelphEastEndGhetto | 5 months ago
Because the philosophy of capitalism is more, more, more.
33445delray | 5 months ago
They do it because they can.
TheRadishBros | 5 months ago
Lots of costs for casinos (energy, food, staff) have gone way up. Not excusing the greed, but that’s definitely part of the motivation.
Cnshap | 5 months ago
As a Canadian, I'd observe that it's a perfect metaphor for America.
33445delray | 5 months ago
Never been to Las Vegas, never been near a gambling casino and turned 83 last week. Have no FOMO.
Pdawnm | 5 months ago
Happy Birthday!
cosmiccoffee9 | 5 months ago
it's THEIR bonus, makes perfect sense.
Galloping_Scallop | 5 months ago
Are American casino government regulated?
EthanDMatthews | 5 months ago
No, but then neither is the American government.
Galloping_Scallop | 5 months ago
lol. Nice
CapeMOGuy | 5 months ago
Yes. States with casinos all have Gaming Commissions.
We can argue whether they're in the pocket of the industry (like insurance commissions) but there is definitely regulation.
grizzlor_ | 5 months ago
In Vegas (and the rest of NV), they’re regulated by the state government: the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission.
farmerjane | 5 months ago
Actually yes they are regulated. The Nevada gaming board is responsible for creating and enforcing casino play rules
sconniepaul1 | 5 months ago
The gaming board that was created by the casinos to “prove they were being fair”? The laws were written by the casinos. It’s why they can claim errors on jackpots and kick out successful gamblers.
If the casinos failed, there goes the gaming board. Don’t you want to keep your job?
Cutielov5 | 5 months ago
I just found this out last night and it made my mouth drop. How is that blatant act of cheating allowed? There is no more oversight. Games are now rigged to ONLY favor the house.
Manowaffle | 5 months ago
This is why I will never gamble. The moment you walk into a casino, or open Draft Kings, or put money down with a bookie, they’ve already stacked the deck against you. Poker night with your friends is more legitimate than those thieves, at least the odds are fair.
And I’ve heard too many stories of casinos finding excuses to deny your winnings and betting apps shadow banning or invalidating the bets of people who win too much.
People say they like the thrill of gambling. I just feel like I’m getting scammed the whole time.
b4dkarm4 | 5 months ago
I used to work with a vice president of a company that was a degen gambler, thing is he was actually pretty good. He had multiple screens in his office and was constantly watching ESPN and ESPN2 on different screens and doing online sports betting. As tech support for the company, we had to try different VPNs for him every so often. He would make so much money off these offshore sports betting sites they would catch onto who he was and ban him.
Gamestonkape | 5 months ago
100% it’s all a total scam. Online gambling is especially terrible and predatory.
MrLanesLament | 5 months ago
Same here. I’ve never gambled other than getting scratch offs for Christmas a few times.
The thing with winnings being denied is what keeps me away. If I were in a situation where I thought my life just changed and I’d be able to fix all of my problems, and then it was technical-errored away from me, I’d fucking end myself, no second thought. Off the roof of that casino I go.
There should be no “mistake” that can legally rob a person of winnings when a chain of events occurs where a reasonable person would believe they had won a jackpot.
Absolutely not worth even trying.
mrneilix | 5 months ago
Actually happened to me on my last trip to Vegas. Had a split bet on 0 and 00, and it hit the triple 0 I didn't know existed. I stopped playing roulette after that
woopwoopscuttle | 5 months ago
Tbf triples is best. Triples is safe.
BlueFalcon89 | 5 months ago
And I don’t live in a hotel.
woopwoopscuttle | 5 months ago
😉
StockTank_redemption | 5 months ago
And she wanted to marry me. Can you believe that?
Nrksbullet | 5 months ago
Tell her...tell the kid
Pristine_Artist_9189 | 5 months ago
Right? Like you're going to lose anyway, so what is the point to make it happen five minutes faster?
djbux89 | 5 months ago
Greed at its finest: Here take these crumbs and give us all your money
analfizzzure | 5 months ago
Last time i went i couldn't find any tables with mins under 20/25. My wife and i do really well....just not big gamblers. Hoping 3-400$ would be enough to have fun for a 2 nights. Bad run at blackjack cleared us half out. Def priced us out. We just went out and walked around. Otherwise would have stayed in venitian for more food, drinks and gambling. Give me a 5/10$ real roulette table and we'll stay there for hours just having fun. Venitian was insane exp as well as sphere dead and co shows. 60$ shirts. $200 poster. One nice dinner was $500. Found a few decent restaurants for normal prices. Just as upper middle class im feeling priced out. Im not a big vegas person anyway. But def got way too greedy for me. Prob won't ever go back except to go to nearby national parks like Zion.
lemonloaff | 5 months ago
Extra number? More ways to win!!!!
Cavewoman22 | 5 months ago
Used to be, they understood that people would pay through the nose to give Vegas their money, and all the casinos had to do was comp some cheap food and drink. But, no, they just had to get short term Greedy.
mathliability | 5 months ago
I just got back from a Vegas wedding and I’m convinced it was better when the mob was in charge. Seriously. It’s so much easier to launder money/skim through gambling, so making everything cheap was the point of Vegas. Hook people with cheap hotels, buffets, and strong drinks and watch them lose to the house all night long. Then the property management companies and MBAs got involved and realized they could charge $67 dollars for a buffet because just enough of the retired boomers have no idea the value of a dollar and just mindlessly throw money away. Well now we’re seeing them pricing out the middle and lower class in favor of the big easy monies, and it’s biting them. There are 15,000 rooms on the strip. The top 10% can’t be everywhere at once. Oh and now you can gamble on your phone via sports betting. So there’s that.
DisneyPandora | 5 months ago
What’s funny is that is feels more dangerous and crime full now than when the mob/mafia was in charge
ElwoodBrew | 5 months ago
That’s because the mob wouldn’t put up with that shit. And they wanted everyone to have a good time so they’d come back for more. They could live off of high volume, low margin profits, and us the casino to launder money from their other rackets. Goods old days in Vegas.
lalich | 5 months ago
Ah yes, the word is cooked… everything that was once great has turned the corner down hill it seams, every business is forcing their subscription model even applianceszzz! Vegas was at a time a right of passage and now not sure what it is, other than a predatory cash grab. ♾️🏴☠️🤙
animerobin | 5 months ago
Basically the free and cheap stuff was always subsidized by something else. Now it isn't anymore, it just costs what it costs.
ElwoodBrew | 5 months ago
It wasn’t subsidized. They just accepted lower profit margins. The consolidation of ownership reduced competition and now they get whatever they want.
cluberti | 5 months ago
Which, a lot of casinos being run by publicly-traded companies now, they are not keen on doing. Like in a lot of other industries, chasing short-term profit growth and ignoring actual customer experience to provide that sweet “shareholder value” ends up detrimental to the business in the long-term.
ElwoodBrew | 5 months ago
It’s truly the downfall of the world. Consolidation of power and predatory control of supply chains has eliminated competition leaving us, the consumers, with low quality/ high priced products.
gregaustex | 5 months ago
That's not unusual at all. Wander into the wrong/right neighborhood in the "bad" part of Newark and you could suddenly find yourself on a street with pristine homes where nobody would dare drop a piece of litter.
Heavy_Law9880 | 5 months ago
organized crime is always better for the average joe than disorganized crime. I rented a house in a neighborhood run by a single criminal gang. They did not allow any petty crimes or mugging/burglary in their territory and everything was fine. The cops finally busted the leaders and the neighborhood went into the toilet as petty thugs fought each other and started breaking into cars and houses so we had to move.
Thanks D for two peaceful years.
Jaded-Argument9961 | 5 months ago
Missing in your analysis is that folks are less interested in gambling now. At least this type of casino gambling. They can't make up for losses on food and drink with gambling as they used to
TheEagleDied | 5 months ago
That’s what the wise guys do. They give you a good time, you give them a good time. One hand washes the other.
opsers | 5 months ago
It was still good (or at least reasonable) right up until they started pulling in sports teams. This kind of triggered everything going down hill with every casino switching to a paid parking model and making valet insanely expensive. They also changed the way they did accounting within their businesses which hugely contributed to it. I go to Las Vegas a lot for work (various conferences) and if my company wasn't paying for it, I wouldn't be spending a dime there. They had to double our already generous per diem for trips here because of how expensive it's become.
big-papito | 5 months ago
Enshitifacation is coming for *everything*. Just like Washington D.C., there is a vibe in the air as though this is the last days of America and you have to squeeze it for all it's got.
One. Last. HEIST.
doctor_morris | 5 months ago
Private equity bought up everything with cheap money, and now everybody has to be squeezed so they can get their payback.
voltron818 | 5 months ago
Ding ding ding. America also filled up a lot. There used to be a bunch of new-ish cities where you could find cheap land, start businesses with low entry cost, and build from there. Now just to open a fast food joint is a 7 figure undertaking, and the only real estate that’s remotely affordable is fucking soulless offices that aren’t needed anymore.
arashi256 | 5 months ago
I'm not even sure this is purely an American vibe either. Capitalism seems to be doing this everywhere.
yourlittlebirdie | 5 months ago
Not exactly capitalism but unregulated or barely regulated capitalism and specifically, the mindset that the sole responsibility of a company is to maximize shareholder profits, to the exclusion of any responsibility towards workers or the community. There is no law that says this must be the case, but it’s what we’ve decided to believe in. And it’s unbelievably destructive and immoral.
Capitalism doesn’t have to be this way. But we’ve decided to let it be this way.
MrLanesLament | 5 months ago
Congress defends this stuff so strongly, it genuinely feels like it is the law.
Seeing the one Congressman a few days ago openly argue in favor of insider trading for members of Congress really laid it all on the table, no pun intended.
yourlittlebirdie | 5 months ago
Congress is not nearly as afraid of the American people as they should be.
dust4ngel | 5 months ago
> Not exactly capitalism but unregulated or barely regulated capitalism
all capitalism is barely regulated. the point of capitalism is to accrue enough wealth to capture regulatory bodies to corrupt public institutions into an instrument of your own profit-seeking
Suitable-Activity-27 | 5 months ago
So…capitalism. Because eventually the top “capitalizing” scumbags steal enough profit to be able to dictate the rules and regulations.
Poogoestheweasel | 5 months ago
Retail investors should only buy funds and stocks in companies who show responsibility to workers or the community, none of this for profit crap.
big-papito | 5 months ago
Perhaps - I really don't have enough perspective to know. But if you are right, this kind of behavior means that the world knows it's in for a hard reset. Most likely - violent.
Mcjibblies | 5 months ago
Private equity drives 60% of the American economy. Start there.
xyz75WH4 | 5 months ago
Not to be that guy but I can see a source for that? 60% is an absolutely wild number.
Diprotodong | 5 months ago
All those piles of money people have grown need to keep growing exponentially
Famous_Owl_840 | 5 months ago
I’m very sympathetic to your point. Its inflation.
Govt numbers are lying and even though the speed at which things is not going up as quickly, the prices are far more elevated than 5 years ago. It’s not like we had deflation with prices going down.
I make probably 30% more now than in 2022. Yet, it doesn’t stretch as far. I was able to build up more effective savings in 2010 than now.
Of course, all the internet economists will rush to say I’m wrong and stupid, but I know my numbers. I’m making far more now than ever before, but I’m barely treading water. By no means struggling, but not stacking cash.
gregaustex | 5 months ago
There might have been some money laundering subsidizing all that back in the day.
mimi7878 | 5 months ago
Wanna cool off at the pool with a nice dole whip? $39. THIRTY NINE FUCKING DOLLARS.
12 ounce can of beer -$13.
arrive before check in at your hotel and want to check in? $25, per hour. Plus tax.
Pathetic housekeeping. No front desk staff.
Coffee maker in the room? Pay
Fridge in the room? Pay.
“Oh, you could just walk down the street to Walgreens and buy your own alcohol “ Then why the fuck am I in Vegas? !
what_mustache | 5 months ago
Yeah, the early checkin fee got me.
But also the service was awful. I've been to vegas twice recently for wedding and a jump off for vacation in a few national parks. The check-in line both times was at least an hour way if you wanted a person so i used a kiosk which still took half an hour.
[Deleted] | 5 months ago
I feel like the $13 beer is probably the old prices too it was that much when I was there 10 years ago. I bet its like $18 now.
too-much-shit-on-me | 5 months ago
I can't wait to never go back. The appeal of Vegas baffles me.
MindofShadow | 5 months ago
the appeal of vegas was a cheap flight out west to go do more cool stuff lol.
too-much-shit-on-me | 5 months ago
Yeah, upper midwest here. One of the few places we have direct flights to and it's warmer there in the winter. After a couple times of doing that though, I was done. It's not THAT warm and for the expense I'll just go to Mexico.
BlazinAzn38 | 5 months ago
Yep it’s one of those places now where if you calculate the cost for it you can literally go “well maybe instead I’ll do an international trip.” And if you just want to gamble then most people have a reservation nearby that they could go to or sports gamble online
penguinpetter | 5 months ago
Can you get away from the fridge fee by saying you need to keep medication refrigerated? I actually do have eye drops that need to be kept in a fridge. Worst case, throw it in an ice bucket, has hotels started charging for ice too?
Gisschace | 5 months ago
I was reading about how the taxi lobby lobbied against having a metro from the airport and thought Vegas is screwed. How can any major city not have some kind of mass transport from its airport.
LakeFox3 | 5 months ago
Should be twinned with Dublin, Ireland
Wind_Yer_Neck_In | 5 months ago
Billions in surplus and you still have to get a bus to the city that stops in a grotty looking station
per08 | 5 months ago
Tripletted with Melbourne, Australia.
msing | 5 months ago
Cliff Moore and Bob Millard killed the rail plan to LAX in the 90s. Brain dead long term planning.
These guys weren’t the taxi lobby, these were the airport directors who felt rail would threaten their parking lot revenues. The parking lots are now so old, undersized and outdated /corroded from the sea that you’ll chunks of concrete fall.
uber_neutrino | 5 months ago
The vegas airport is basically a scam. Take a long ass route around the airport to get to the strip or downtown. Meanwhile the strip is on the other side of the fence. Total insanity.
biglyorbigleague | 5 months ago
I can think of a lot of cities that don't. A bunch of them have a major airport that's way outside of town.
doglola | 5 months ago
This guy gets it 👍
Yoroyo | 5 months ago
How about pool cabanas in the thousands ??? Tables for THOUSANDS!
BuzzBadpants | 5 months ago
What other parts of Vegas are there? Is there any part of the Vegas economy that isn’t tourism?
pistola | 5 months ago
It's a city of 2.4m people. There is plenty of life outside the Strip. Lots of good taco joints and dive bars in the 'burbs (service workers gotta eat/drink somewhere). Catch an MLS game. Buy some legal weed and go hiking. Play cheap pinball at the Pinball Hall of Fame. Lots to do if you look for it.
edit: not sure why so many people are getting uppity in the replies. OP asked if there were other economies in Las Vegas, there quite obviously is. I was making no assertions about tourism or allure.
I'm from Brisbane, I'm not defending LV. I have been there and sought life outside the Strip tho, and had a great time!
Christmas_Queef | 5 months ago
Yes but is it a reason for someone out of state to come? No. The outdoors/hiking aspect absolutely though. Thing is, everything you listed can also be found in other states/cities. The casinos have always been the main reason anyone out of state goes to Vegas.
McMarmot1 | 5 months ago
And the outdoors can only be effectively enjoyed for about half the year because nobody is going to Vegas for hiking in July.
Christmas_Queef | 5 months ago
Yup I'm in Phoenix. Outdoors stuff is limited to water based/shaded stuff from like early may until late October lol.
McMarmot1 | 5 months ago
Also, the vast majority of people flying into Vegas for hiking aren't staying in Vegas. People hike at Valley of Fire or whatever as something to do as either a break from gambling or because they don't like to gamble and want to do something else while they're in Vegas for a show or a conference.
Vegas is only a destination for outdoors enthusiasts in the sense people fly into Vegas because it's a cheap flight and quick drive to Zion, Bryce, or the Grand Canyon.
CarstonMathers | 5 months ago
Yeah, for mountain bikers, Vegas is becoming a popular winter destination because the winter riding is fantastic and the trail systems have exploded in length and number. The trail systems are close to the city.
Deepforbiddenlake | 5 months ago
That sounds like an incredibly boring holiday ngl
flingspoo | 5 months ago
Might as well staycation and hit all that stuff at home.
davehoff94 | 5 months ago
it's also 105 degrees for 8 months out of the year lol. So you can't really even go outside
Crowley-Barns | 5 months ago
Pinball museums and hiking in the desert not doing it for you?!
rumblepony247 | 5 months ago
It's basically a much larger version of Tucson, if you carve out the gambling/casino related stuff. Not meant as a dig - I love the desert Southwest.
Edit: Well, maybe more like Phoenix, now that they have an ever-growing presence in big-time sports leagues.
b14ck_jackal | 5 months ago
There's the mob.
FlatEvent2597 | 5 months ago
There’s hockey. The Vegas team is pretty good. I think if I were in Vegas - I would see a hockey game ( price?), see Hoover dam and perhaps do a Grand Canyon hike. Maybe walk the strip. Not actually “Vegas”. Truthfully the gambling scares me. Just the sound of it eek.
Phylanara | 5 months ago
Lots of forensic cops, apparently.
ChosenLightWarrior | 5 months ago
Everything has turned to shit in regards to customer service and they hike prices. We consumers need to seriously stop paying for all this trash. Get groceries, eat at home. Yeah it isn’t fun or great, but everything is getting worse. Time to put a stop to it. Now THAT’S capitalism.
RealityCheck831 | 5 months ago
Travelodge for accommodation, grocery stores for food, and Walgreens for booze. 15 minute walk to Bellagio for the show. Vegas, baby. Vegas.
big-papito | 5 months ago
I was out of work for two years, trying to start my own SaaS. In that time, we were living on one income, and then there was an addition of TWO kids. Just started a new job, and it's a good thing I had a very good practice run and frugality. I am actually saving again, I can see right through any attempts to fleece me.
FormerIntroduction23 | 5 months ago
Companies will always charge as people keep keeping paying. Stop paying and something will come along cheeper and fill the market
Melicor | 5 months ago
Yeah, people gotta remember voting with your wallet, things like boycotts too. Businesses aren't entitled to customers. Monopolies are bad for customers, bad for the economy, bad for society. IF we can't say no to a company, then they have no business existing in a free society.
ObjectiveOdd120 | 5 months ago
They gamble online now from their phones.
RealityCheck831 | 5 months ago
I can't tell if it's price collusion, or casinos suddenly got really expensive to run.
iansf | 5 months ago
They saw the money you can charge business travelers putting conference expenses on the corp card and tried to apply that to the average Joe
slut_bunny69 | 5 months ago
Even when I travel on my corp card for conferences, my company would give me a pretty stern talking to if I ever tried to put resort fees on it. For a conference in Vegas, I'd be allowed to pay a maximum of $126 per night for a hotel and $86 total for all three meals. I'm currently on business travel and I have yet to meet anyone who flies "business class" for work haha. I sat crammed into a middle seat in economy with the unwashed masses.
My company is also trying to make their stock price go up- letting employees spend lavish amounts on business travel doesn't help with that.
tostilocos | 5 months ago
People are being boiled slowly. They’ve been slowly adding this crap for years but as long as the economy and foreign tourism was strong it didn’t matter.
Trump gets elected, foreign tourism drops off a cliff, and Republicans tank the economy, as is tradition.
OpenLinez | 5 months ago
The problem is turning up the heat on the millennials just as the boomers have aged out of Vegas. And the real rich don't go to Vegas anymore unless it's a big event, which is why LV spent so much to get the race cars. The very rich like a dumb novelty, or a last-chance show with a name act who has long peaked but still has nostalgia value.
Vegas was doing quite well during Trump's first term, and Covid is what upset that apple cart, forever. Since the lockdowns, and regardless of whether Biden (past four years) or Trump (half of this year) is president, Las Vegas chose to squeeze blood from a turnip rather than build a sustainable business model for the very different demographics of the next couple of decades, in an era when gambling is a shameful vice on your cell phone, not a glamorous Brad Pitt & Julia Roberts caper.
theyux | 5 months ago
The thing Trump did was piss off the world. Especially Canada Vegas was a big hot spot for Canadians before Trump floated the US absorbing them.
Casinos are like every other corporations they are designed to perpetually grow, so what do you do when turnout is down. Raise the prices.
broadcasters have been doing the same thing, ad revenue down. Demand more money easy fix.
The_Nice_Marmot | 5 months ago
51st state bullshit aside, it’s not even safe to visit the entire country. It wasn’t great before. Getting gunned down is a possibility. Now it’s also ICE running wild. Nobody in their right mind would go there. I used to visit the US a few times a year, but I don’t know if I’ll ever go back. Trump is a symptom. The electorate is the disease. They’re going nowhere.
hyborians | 5 months ago
I think after that mass shooting years ago I got turned off by Vegas. Probably irrational but it lost a bit of its allure for me.
The_Nice_Marmot | 5 months ago
I think it’s pretty valid to think you could be just out enjoying yourself and suddenly in a mass casualty event is a bit off-putting.
BlazeBulker8765 | 5 months ago
> like every other corporations [...] so what do you do when turnout is down
As anyone in this subreddit should understand, when revenue drops expenses don't automatically drop. If just go layoff a bunch of people then 1) people get pissed at you, 2) moral CEO's feel awful, and 3) you lose a lot of skilled workers.
So you delay layoffs and try to stop the bleeding the best you can, hoping things recover before you have to take drastic negative actions.
I'm not saying raising the prices should be the automatic go to, but people in this subreddit should at least understand the basic mechanisms at issue here.
what_mustache | 5 months ago
This is Disney World 2.0.
I went on a European vacation for half the price of a Disney trip. I'd probably take my kids a 2nd time to Disney if it wasnt so incredibly expensive. But its a constant drip of 25 dollar fees
They'd probably rather go to Amsterdam, and it's by far cheaper to spend a week there.
Same with Vegas. Vegas used to be affordable, but I can do Europe or fly out to Grand Cayman for cheaper.
Hiero808 | 5 months ago
Most strip casinos don’t own their land anymore. They now have a multi million dollar rent payment every month.
RealityCheck831 | 5 months ago
Ding, ding, ding! Winner, winner, line away
Private Equity taking a cut - the house always wins. Cool $18M/month 'rent'. Sigh.
"LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — MGM Resorts International has agreed to sell Aria Resort Casino and Vdara Hotel and Spa to a private equity firm for $3.89 billion in cash, the company announced today.
But first, MGM is buying out CityCenter partner Infinity World, which owns a 50% stake in CityCenter. That buyout will cost MGM $2.1 billion. When that deal is complete, MGM will sell the properties to Blackstone, the private equity firm.
The Blackstone deal will then allow MGM to lease back the hotels and continue operating them. Rent will cost MGM $215 million a year...."
HappySlappyMan | 5 months ago
Anytime an entity does this, it invariably goes bankrupt within 5-10 years
existenceawareness | 5 months ago
Why do they do this? They owned their properties via MGP (MGM Growth Properties). It's like selling your house to Blackstone so they can charge you rent. Sure, you get a nice check, but what happens when your lease is up & someone else is willing to pay more to live there?
dfddfsaadaafdssa | 5 months ago
That's the next CEO's problem to deal with.
Double-LR | 5 months ago
Bingo. You win.
Personally, these two or three comments are my own definition of enshittification.
Short term gains being traded for long term pain.
Who knew that long term meant right now??? It’s willful negligence at this point.
Ilovefishdix | 5 months ago
Is it like the Red Lobster lease back?
diurnal_emissions | 5 months ago
Exactly like
Polster1 | 5 months ago
VICI Properties owns portfolio of real estate in Vegas including:
VICI Properties owns 52 gaming sites across the United States.
https://viciproperties.com/portfolio/real-estate/
Scotter1969 | 5 months ago
Caesars/Harrahs was the owner of lots of casinos, went bankrupt, and spun off the land holdings from underneath the buildings as part of the Chapter 11 process. It truly looks like a scumbag maneuver to pluck out the best assets and abandon the debt obligations.
09rw | 5 months ago
How does this not start to violate anti-trust laws as this firm continues to acquire?
Polster1 | 5 months ago
The real estate company owns the property and not the casinos that lease the property. its like a mall operator doesn't own Macys, Nordstrom, or Bloomingdale's. The casinos just pay rent to lease the space.
SisyphusRocks7 | 5 months ago
The reason why isn’t private equity, it’s REIT laws. Even if you have no new investors or investments, for large land owning businesses it often makes sense to sell the land to a REIT, even if the REIT is a spinoff owned by your same shareholders. That’s because the REIT gets favorable tax treatment as long as it pays out 90%+ of its net income to shareholders. The operating business gets a long term lease and a business expense for the lease payment it previously didn’t have, reducing its profits. But the overall effect is to improve the tax efficiency of the business.
For casinos, their business is quite volatile and they often have lots of debt, so sometimes they want or need the cash from investors in a REIT deal. But it quite often makes sense without the outside funding need.
Effective-Addition38 | 5 months ago
You already know the answer. You said it, even.
RealityCheck831 | 5 months ago
So much for CFPB and DOJ. Maybe they get comped rooms, including the 'resort fee.'
CapeMOGuy | 5 months ago
I don't think there could be an argument that all the mergers, acquisitions and new builds are making things cheaper.
Odd-Influence7116 | 5 months ago
My theory is that in the ever need for expanding profits, most corporations have run out of ideas like shipping jobs overseas, breaking unions, and cheaper parts. Now to keep the line going up and to the right they really have to get creative. So now we get disposable cars, subscription everything, price increases that feel like collusion and the rest. The market is maxed. It is getting harder to increase profits, but you can't just run a profitable business, because that is terrible. It must constantly grow, which is simply impossible, mostly with the declining birth rate in developed countries. I think we are in for a very long recession period as this all normalizes and stockholders realize they have to start taking the cuts that they have forced on customers and employees for decades.
Miserable_Eggplant83 | 5 months ago
I would say it's a combination of that but between a small pool of consolidated gaming conglomerates: Caesars, MGM,, Wynn, Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming.
Heck, MGM and Caesars control over half the strip now.
momentousX123 | 5 months ago
$10 fee for ATM withdrawal
Galloping_Scallop | 5 months ago
Wth, 3 zeros! Wow, shift the house % even more.
hidraulik-2 | 5 months ago
And some casinos look and feel like a Department of Get Me Out of Here
Commercial_Rule_7823 | 5 months ago
Preach!
Extension-Dentist-42 | 5 months ago
$100 a spin slots?
Onespokeovertheline | 5 months ago
Shit, put some blues guitar behind that and sell some records
immaSandNi-woops | 5 months ago
Honestly, this is just another symptom of unchecked consumerism in America. It’s this strange collective mindset where even with the cost of living skyrocketing and wages stagnating, people continue to spend more than ever before. Lifestyle inflation has somehow become the norm, not the exception.
In a weird way, Vegas might be one of the best barometers of this phenomenon. Prices keep climbing not because the value improves, but simply because people are still willing to pay. The entire ecosystem is designed to push the envelope until consumers finally say, “Alright, that’s too much.” But that breaking point keeps shifting higher, because we’ve normalized excess.
Possible_Top4855 | 5 months ago
I was just at the aria. $100 minimum bet for pai gow.
Master_Tune_9269 | 5 months ago
Furthermore, why would Epstein commit suicide if all these charges are a “fake hoax” as tRump says? Why should we stop “talking about Epstein”. Just amazing Maxwell has been moved to a low security federal prison and GOP want to depose this sex offender. Why are these pedophile protecting GOP people and not talking to the “real” victims? Just amazing … pedophiles protecting pedophiles. It never was “protect the children”! MAGA needs to own up to their support of pedophiles!
RogeredSterling | 5 months ago
You forgot the bit that even after all that, if you're a winning gambler or on a winning streak, you're asked to leave 😂.
Why even bother?
fondledbydolphins | 5 months ago
I went to Vegas for a conference in one of the mid tier casino/hotels.
A medium coffee and a yogurt parfait cost $24…
lluciferusllamas | 5 months ago
You forgot to mention how the slot machines have gone from a 97% payout to a 91% payout.
nick-jagger | 5 months ago
You should see the prices for the prostitutes!
Halo6819 | 5 months ago
But hey, the servers don’t have to pay taxes on those tips! MAGA!!
Melicor | 5 months ago
Tipping getting insane is killing a lot of the restaurant industry. I remember when it was only 10%. It's tripled on top of the meal prices going up.
The_Autarch | 5 months ago
Vegas was a more affordable and honest place when it was run by the mob. Seriously.
nastywillow | 5 months ago
To paraphrase - Abraham Lincoln
You can rip off all of the people some of the time.
You can rip off some of the people all the time.
But you can't rip off all the people all the time.
krombough | 5 months ago
Rip me off once, shame on you
Rip my off twice- well you cant get ripped off no more.
stuffcrow | 5 months ago
Now watch this rip
jostler57 | 5 months ago
A fool and his money are soon ripped
hotbrownbeanjuice | 5 months ago
I'll always upvote a reference to this bumbled line
Christmas_Queef | 5 months ago
Rip me off three times, fuck the peace signs
messageinab0ttle | 5 months ago
The rippin and the tearin
PsychGuy17 | 5 months ago
I worked in Vegas for years. Vegas has long since abandoned being a place for individuals to visit, it only caters to businesses.
Touring Performers used to regularly complain about the apathy of Vegas crowds. A lot of the best tickets are the results of comps and company give aways almost no one is a true fan in the front rows of the audience.
FullDiskclosure | 5 months ago
Big name DJs hardly play their own music in Vegas, it’s just a “Club DJ” set of whatever is hot on the radio. I went to see Yellow Claw after they dropped a large album, and they maybe played 2 songs from it and the rest was just Drake & Lil Yachty or whatever was popular then.
dostoevsky4evah | 5 months ago
That's ridiculous.
Saephon | 5 months ago
Everything about your comment pisses me off. This is why I just don't go to things anymore.
747WakeTurbulance | 5 months ago
That's nothing new.
Twenty years ago, I went to see The Crystal Method in Vegas. The show started at ten, but they didn't show up until 3 a.m., played for 15 minutes, and left.
Cptn_Shiner | 5 months ago
I don’t know their music very well, so I am picturing a 15-minute rendition of the Bones theme song before they left.
Helpie_Helperton | 5 months ago
That's weird, what a disappointment. I've seen a lot of DJs in Vegas and experienced something similar one time with Louis The Child. They didn't play one of their songs the entire set, just repetitive house music.
sahui | 5 months ago
I wanted to visit but it's unfortunate I would need to pay resort fees, parking fees and a 250 USD visa integrity fee ( that is plus the 180 USD regular price of the American visa) just to have the pleasure to set a foot in the city. I'll pass thanks
wantsoutofthefog | 5 months ago
wtf is an integrity fee
sahui | 5 months ago
It will apply to all visitors from countries whose nationals need to show an American issued visa to enter the United States
Ice_Swallow4u | 5 months ago
It does not apply to those from Visa Waiver Program countries, such as the UK, France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea.
Only certain countries.
FlatEvent2597 | 5 months ago
Trump just introduced it. Not sure if it is implemented already. Just more isolating policies.
GamemasterJeff | 5 months ago
Like most virtues touted (and absent from) by our current administration, it is a fee for people who actually exhibit the virtue.
wino_whynot | 5 months ago
Ironic. It is ironic from this administration.
katbyte | 5 months ago
also don't forget random border patrol deciding that nope you don't get to visit and all that money is gone
sahui | 5 months ago
Yeah they would also have access to all my social networks and my cell phone upon arrival in customs at the airport
HarshComputing | 5 months ago
And you better hope they don't find a meme they don't like
ClevelandWomble | 5 months ago
That would be me screwed then. English Lake District this fall for me.
yuxulu | 5 months ago
All for the honour of getting robbed at gunpoint
d88k41t | 5 months ago
You'd better never badmouthed Trump or Israel.
benicebekindhavefun | 5 months ago
A guy from Europe somewhere (Ireland maybe) flew to the states to meet up with his mom and brother. He was planning on being here 6 weeks and had a road trip planned with his brother. When he landed in the US, he was pulled aside and then denied entry because they found 2 memes of JD Vance during a search of his phone.
lxdc84 | 5 months ago
They might also get an all inclusive paid trip to El Salvador.
-eYe- | 5 months ago
Buzz cuts and daily beatings included.
lxdc84 | 5 months ago
All for free! They make buying a ticket directly there all the more intriguing.
IGolfMyBalls | 5 months ago
Or even worse, Florida
fumar | 5 months ago
Do you get the $250 back when you leave?
sahui | 5 months ago
They said they will eventually give the details of how to get the Integrity fee back but I don't really trust this government will keep their word so I'll go elsewhere , I really love Vegas this is sad
Egad86 | 5 months ago
Got to love that it is called an “integrity fee” and the govt. doesn’t even have the integrity to tell you how the system works.
skyblueerik | 5 months ago
I wonder if Trump can spell integrity.
fumar | 5 months ago
God that is dumb as hell. I'm surprised other countries haven't implemented the same measure on us tourists in retaliation.
catman5 | 5 months ago
One of the articles i read was that you get it back at the end of your visa assuming you havent broken any of the rules etc.
Correct me if im wrong but even for my third world self US gives out 10 year visa when you apply. So my understanding is you get your $250 back 10 years later minus inflation...
mehupmost | 5 months ago
No, it's duration of the stay. The maximum stay is 6 months.
FlatEvent2597 | 5 months ago
I believe they said NOT to expect it back- but you could try.
[Deleted] | 5 months ago
I was gonna say this sounds a lot like a deposit you know the thing you generally don't get back and get fucked out of.
Cavewoman22 | 5 months ago
Do I want to know what a visa integrity fee is?
sahui | 5 months ago
The president of the USA created this to get money for his ICE force.
bannedagainomg | 5 months ago
Can think of it as a renters deposit, if you follow the conditions of whatever visa you have then you can get a refund.
In theory its actually a decent plan, keep the money if the visa holder breaks any laws while visiting for example.
Problem here is the refund process have not been established so currently its just a extra fee you have to pay for a visa and some suspect it wont come and was just a way to justify collecting money.
VehaMeursault | 5 months ago
> VISA INTEGRITY FEE
AHAHAHAH.
Expensive_Necessary7 | 5 months ago
I use to go once every year or 2. No desire now. 10-15 years ago it was an affordable weekend. It then became 45 dollar parking, 10 dollar coffee and pizza slices,and 50 additional resort fees. 2-1 blackjack was dead unless you were playing over 25 dollar hands.
Greed
FrankScaramucci | 5 months ago
Why? I've been to America once (NYC) and there's a large supply of places that are more attractive, e.g. national parks, nicer cities, etc. The vibe and architecture of Las Vegas seems very unappealing to me, and I even like poker.
jaggenoff | 5 months ago
Ironically the only reason I go to Vegas is as a launching pad for the nearby national parks.
Expensive_Necessary7 | 5 months ago
I actually have done that before too. You can still get a reasonable flight and are 3-4 hours from some sweet spots
what_mustache | 5 months ago
Same. I was SHOCKED at how much they squeezed you for money. It was the most expensive leg of the trip. Felt like Disney World
Nwcray | 5 months ago
It’s a spectacle. Vegas is shiny, loud, and flashy. A few days of it can be fun. When it’s a cheap place to throw back a few drinks, eat some food, catch a show, and maybe play a few hands of something, it’s a really good time. Like a big party.
I enjoy the national parks and such too (quite a bit, in fact), but most years when I went to Vegas for an annual conference I would extend my stay and have a mini-vacation afterwards.
Last year, the conference was exactly as described - no coffee in the room, $60/day ‘resort fee’, no place to eat (even a burger or slice of pizza) under $30, and so on.
This year my conference moved to Orlando. Another conference that a coworker attends moved to San Diego.
DangerousTurmeric | 5 months ago
When I was there it felt very post apocalyptic. It's too hot above ground so most stuff is underneath and we've built all these miniature versions of the great monuments of the past to remind us of how it used to be. Everyone is inside in these windowless casinos mindlessly gambling. I walked past one man who had hit the jackpot on a slot machine and won 3k. He saw me notice and I gave him a little congratulatory thumbs up and he smiled and then turned around and literally gambled it all away in less than 30 seconds. It was definitely worth a visit but very dystopian.
generally_unsuitable | 5 months ago
It used to be a cheap, wild, good time. If you were gambling, you'd get comps left and right. But, even without comps, you could get a room for under $100/night. Buffets were $15 or $20. Shows could be a little pricey, but it was like $100, and if the show was at your hotel, you could get a steep discount. Also, it had really over-the-top clubs for young people, and it was known as a place where everybody was looking to hook up and fuck off. 10 years ago, you and a friend could spend a weekend there and have a good time for $500 total.
Expensive_Necessary7 | 5 months ago
If you’re a global tourist not from the US and visiting you’re probably looking more for authentic, not the cheap rowdy 21+ weekend city…. It’s kind of like why I wouldn’t visit Europe for Ibiza
Paradigm_Reset | 5 months ago
Personally I like/liked both.
I enjoyed the over the top-ness of Vegas, the bonkers style, the ludicrous costs (not personal costs, the money put into the place), the random lunacy and in your face debauchery. It was fun to live like that for a bit...but I could only handle a weekend of it before getting burned out.
I enjoy going backpacking. Being in 100% nature, no cell phones or computers, no human made things for miles, the only sounds, sights, and smells are nature.
Both can be fun.
PoorCorrelation | 5 months ago
I find people who like overstimulation like Vegas. This means people who hate overstimulation hate Vegas.
tipsystatistic | 5 months ago
Vegas is awesome so are national park. You’re allowed to do more than one thing in your life.
Evening-Ad5765 | 5 months ago
I stopped going after the non optional resort fees and nickel and diming got well under way. Deceptive advertising and no value for money.
Vegas deserves to die. It’s forgotten its customers.
PoliticsIsDepressing | 5 months ago
Vegas literally got its start for being cheap entertainment. It needs to return to that.
Excellent_Farm_6071 | 5 months ago
Oh, a place turned to shit because of rich people? Never seen that before!
ZiggoCiP | 5 months ago
Vegas literally got big because of organized crime and lobbying for local laws that basically allowed them to make a mecca for legalized gambling.
Lets be honest: Vegas was bolstered after WWII by locals, such as those who built the Hoover dam, and military bases, but it was Bugsy Siegel who set the stage for the push for gambling to be made legal, and after that succeeded, adding on an entertainment component to lure people (tourists) in.
The money-maker wasn't the entertainment; it was the gambling. It was, and still is, the gambling. If you wanted legitimate professional games without the risk of being busted, Vegas was totally legal. And for casinos, it was almost practically free money, since of course, the odds were always in the casino's favor. Cue build great venues for entertainers, and attracting entertainers at that, and you have a tourist haven.
So let's stop pretending like Vegas has 'customers' - it has prey. You can go see shows in any big city, and Vegas is a city that has no business existing in the region it's in; it steals water from the reservoir/dam it's near for vanity crap. Vegas doesn't deserve to die because it betrayed it's customers - it deserves to die because it's a capitalistic enterprise that feeds on people's inability to realize 'one more bet and I'll win big' in the way of a mentality as 'one more hit and I'll be good'.
Sin city, after all.
cybercuzco | 5 months ago
Also keep in mind a “side effect” of glp1 medications is that they reduce other addictive habits like gambling. The first group of people to take these drugs is the very wealthy so even without a visible reduction in tourists you would have had a significant reduction in revenue.
AlmostSunnyinSeattle | 5 months ago
Thanks, ChatGPT!
MrTretorn | 5 months ago
Yeah, no reason to pay more money to lose money in Vegas.
FlatEvent2597 | 5 months ago
I believe they have those “resort fees” at a few of the Niagara Falls US hotels. My son was going to a hockey game in Bufflo last year and was complaining about them. Said they were more than the hotel$$ in some cases.
GoStateBeatEveryone | 5 months ago
Vegas was kept alive by the fact that it was literally one of the only two places in the country you could legally gamble for years.
Now that casinos and sportsbooks are legal online in so many other states, why should I get bent over by Vegas?
Theyalreadysaidno | 5 months ago
You've been able to gamble at other places for decades, though. There are plenty of smaller and large casinos around me that are on tribal land that have been there for decades. It's true in other states as well. It's been more than Vegas, Reno and Atlantic City for awhile.
Vegas used to be a vacation that was affordable. It's absolutely not anymore. Everyone in the world hates us because of the orange blob, so foreigners aren't coming here anymore.
Successful-Winter237 | 5 months ago
Yes but you couldn’t gamble on your phone in most states until recently
Lighthouse_seek | 5 months ago
Never before was it possible to bet on sports halfway across the world in your pajamas in your studio apartment
[Deleted] | 5 months ago
While this is true those places have also leveled up the indian reservation near me has always been kinda a joke but my understanding is they have leveled up and there is basically nothing you can't get there now they have in Vegas.
leunam4891 | 5 months ago
Trump bankrupted his casinos and now he bankrupted Vegas.
o08 | 5 months ago
There are so many casinos. It's partly why Atlantic City died. Now old people go play the slots at the casino in Springfield, MA instead of traveling all the way to Mohegan Sun in CT.
asmallercat | 5 months ago
The rows of slot machines at a casino are one of the most depressing places in the world. Just sad old people sitting silently feeding coins into a machine for hours, not speaking, not winning, begging for the dopamine hit of a minor jackpot to win back 10% of what they lost.
[Deleted] | 5 months ago
yeah its really not that different from a traphouse in the ghetto once you see it for what it is.
Opposite_Agency1229 | 5 months ago
I am a middle of the pack millennial and I don’t think gambling is as popular as it was for older generations. All my peers go to Vegas for either a business conference or a weekend away to see some shows. The conference people only do what is paid for by work, and the people going to shows try to do it as cheap as possible. Never met anyone who splurged on a suite in a big casino on the strip or anything like that, I think those days are running thin with the boomers.
Better_Challenge5756 | 5 months ago
This is statistically true; casinos and businesses in Vegas make a larger percentage of their revenue in shows, food and clubs than ever before and it is only growing while non sports gambling is in a decline.
illegitimatebanana | 5 months ago
I was incredibly disappointed by the food in the casinos. It felt like being on a cruise ship. We ate at very high end, medium, and fast casual and it was all not a great version of the meal. And moreso, it was all 2 to 4 times what you would pay for the meal in any other city.
I did enjoy some meals we went off the strip for.
retxed24 | 5 months ago
People gamble from the comfort of their own home these days. I think gambling is as big as ever, it just moved online.
flavanugz | 5 months ago
This is the best comment in the thread. Once everyone has a smart phone, you could gamble from the luxury of your couch 24/7.
The_Crass-Beagle_Act | 5 months ago
Not just the technology but the fact that app-based sports betting got legalized basically everywhere. Vegas’s advantage was it had a near monopoly on legal gambling for decades and decades.
Now that they don’t, why does anybody who likes gambling really need to jet across the country to spend a lot of extra money to do it
SimiShittyProgrammer | 5 months ago
Depends on the state you're in, sadly (or fortunately for addicts, lol).
berball | 5 months ago
Oh gambling is more popular than it's ever been. The young just do it on their phones now.
InfoMiddleMan | 5 months ago
That's a good point. I'm probably your same age, and I can hardly think of anyone else our age that enjoys gambling money. If Vegas isn't getting as much $$$ from the slot machines, it needs to pull it in from other places.
thepulloutmethod | 5 months ago
I'm 38 and live on the East Coast. I've never been to Vegas and frankly never had any desire to.
If I'm splurging on an expensive vacation, I'm going to Europe.
Niceguy4186 | 5 months ago
I'm an older millennial and go to local casino once a year with the guy friends. I know one or two people that actually like to gamble and are willing to loose a decent amount per trip. But for the most of the people I know, they are not willing to lose more than $200-300. Some will be 100 or less. Doesn't go far at $25 table minimums.
B4K5c7N | 5 months ago
Millenials and gen-z are gambling, just with options and crypto.
Birdy_Cephon_Altera | 5 months ago
It won't be too long before Vegas is nothing more than Harrison Ford sitting alone in a palatial suite overlooking the billowing orange dust storms running along the strip below. .
smellydawg | 5 months ago
Sitting Han Solo if you will…
electriclux | 5 months ago
Was wondering how I didnt know he was such a notorious gambler till this clicked.
IMissTexas | 5 months ago
Blame former big boss Jim Murren, formerly from MGM, who introduced paid parking knowing almost everyone would follow. He's the piece of shit that started the downfall. I was at MGM grand when.he started it. I knew it was the beginning of the end.
InternalAd3921 | 5 months ago
Do people actually rent cars in Vegas?? Like I've been twice both times no car and never thought twice about it. Even went MTN biking near red Rock.
Potential-Cover7120 | 5 months ago
The one of people drive there from southern CA (and elsewhere).
bellycoconut | 5 months ago
Do you remember what year it started
kylehatesyou | 5 months ago
It was around the time T-Mobile Arena was built, so probably 10 years ago or so. It was kind of like "well, people will just use free parking for games and keep people from being able to go gamble", but they never really gave free parking to people who were staying at the hotel, so it was just a money grab. Then casinos that aren't really near the stadiums started doing it as well because "well they may take the monorail from our hotel", and at that point it just became a money grab and casinos not really convenient to the monorail or close to the stadiums started charging as well.
heyarkay | 5 months ago
My assumption is that guy is extremely wealthy now and doesn't care he helped toast Vegas, nor will his kids, grandkids, great grandkids...
djc6535 | 5 months ago
Everything being owned by MGM or Caesars doesn't help. Casinos aren't competing with each other for your dollar anymore.
Who_ate_my_cookie | 5 months ago
Anecdotal but this is how I see it:
throwaway490215 | 5 months ago
Your anecdotal insight would have been a far more honest and reliable submission to discuss the subject.
We are apparently at the point that hindustantimes is a good primary source on a subject.
Illustrious_Hotel527 | 5 months ago
In 2008, went to Vegas for a poker tournament. Parked for free at Caesar's, paid $8 each meal, and stayed off Strip for $45. That's unthinkable now. Thought about doing the $10000 WSOP Main Event one of these days, but I'll pass.
bautofdi | 5 months ago
That’s 08-12 though. They couldn’t even give rooms away during that recession. I was getting comped 1 bedroom suites at Cosmo every month at that time. The moment ~2015 rolled around they stopped comping me entirely since I had quit gambling around 2013.
hybridck | 5 months ago
Also during those years Cosmo was owned by Deutsche Bank, who only owned it because the original builder defaulted on the loan during the recession. They finally managed to sell it sometime late 2014. The new ownership actually wanted to run it like a business, compared to DB where it was just a random asset on their balance sheet that they didn't care about or even want to begin with lol
westvi | 5 months ago
I’ve been three times this year. Prices have gone crazy. Customer service and even food quality have really taken a hit at many of the places I’m familiar with. There’re still cool live shows to see, but with the poor service and constant nickel and dime-ing, the vibe is bad.
Ornery_Ring_9831 | 5 months ago
Why do you keep going back and rewarding them? You’re the boiling frog.
linniex | 5 months ago
Many of us have to go for work. I’ve been there twice this year and am going again this month . Honestly I love Vegas but only on the company dime. I went solo last year for Dead&Co and still have shell shock over the cost - a $25 drink hits different when the sales guy isn’t buying it for you
elpajaroquemamais | 5 months ago
Right? “It has sucked all three times I went this year!”
westvi | 5 months ago
First time I paid to go to a show I wanted to see and had a great time. Second time I went because I got comp’d a room and some other things. Had an okay time. Third time I went for a conference, but didn’t have a great time and likely won’t go back for a while. I wasn’t feeling great with myself or life for the first few months of the year, so I was admittedly looking for ways to treat and distract myself, so I traveled a lot. I like Vegas and hope it makes a comeback.
TeachIsHouse | 5 months ago
As someone who's never been, is it the kind of place lots of people will keep going to regardless of how disappointed they are each time?
gioraffe32 | 5 months ago
There's A LOT to do in Vegas. You can go back 3 times a year and stay at different hotels, try different restaurants, see different shows, etc. each time. And that's just on the Strip and Fremont Street; there are plenty of places outside of that that cater more to locals, but are just as good or even better (maybe even cheaper).
My parents and brother live in Vegas so I visit a handful of times a year. Though I generally avoid the touristy parts of town.
Though if someone keeps going back to the same casino and other entertainment and the experiences gets get worse and worse, that is just silly.
rumblepony247 | 5 months ago
As humans (myself very much included), we seem to fall prey to this, far too often. I don't know how many times in my younger years, I said about some event or destination, "Now, why do I keep doing this again?"
Thankfully I've gotten (marginally) wiser in my later years lol.
jonnyvegashey | 5 months ago
“I’m gonna let this go on for about 5 more mins before I put an end to this”
or what’s the event from family guy when that person starts sucking on the finger or w/e
OverSpinach8949 | 5 months ago
When the resort wanted $35 for a small ass margarita. Last time I went. If I go for a show, I’ll stay at Fremont street or off the strip. The casinos on the strip are ridiculous.
lucidum | 5 months ago
Just so you guys know as it seems to be a common misconception, Canadians aren't boycotting the US because of tariffs, more it's because of the 29 times the American COC has threatened to annex our country.
samanthasgramma | 5 months ago
I've been seeing articles etc start to come out, as they've realized how we can hit them, if we wish. And, yeah, they keep on about tariffs. No. We're just pissed off about threatening our sovereignty.
Having said this, I also see that Americans don't give us any thought. They just don't think about us as being something to consider. Until their bottom line gets hit, and they genuinely wonder WTF is the problem.
sasha0404 | 5 months ago
Its sad that not one comment in this thread points to the lack of Canadians. The article even mentions that the majority of the missing people are Canadians.
Massive-Machine4049 | 5 months ago
COC. Lol
notsanni | 5 months ago
honestly, good for y'all. i think that kind of action is going to be the only thing that wakes up people in america.
bramlet | 5 months ago
I canvassed Las Vegas for Harris the week before the election. A few people told me they were voting for Trump because "something needed to change". Here's their change.
Miserable_Eggplant83 | 5 months ago
Their idea of change is going from punching themselves in the balls to shooting themselves in the foot.
And then telling us things have improved as their balls feel better.
BourbonSupreme | 5 months ago
Did they even say thank you?
Prohydration | 5 months ago
In other words, "Price go up, incumbent go down."
no-chance-cuz | 5 months ago
No tax on tips amirite? There's also no tax on tips that don't exist from customers that don't exist. Despite the warnings, this is what they voted for.
kummer5peck | 5 months ago
Biden actually tried to do something about the insane resort fees. I don’t know what kind of change they thought Trump would bring.
dvking131 | 5 months ago
Prices were bad before Trump got in his second term people have just had enough of it. Better value anywhere else.
TerriblePair5239 | 5 months ago
International tourists used to happily pay vegas prices. We lost a lot of those customers.
Now I expect a slight (still greedy) price correction as they shift focus to the domestic market. layoffs will pass through hospitality to the rest of the local economy.
Saabaroni | 5 months ago
Good. 75 dollar parking at the souvenir parking
150 bike ride from the fairgrounds to a stop where Ubers aren't "crazy expensive" just to pay another 150 in Uber ride to the hotel.
Plus tips,tips,tips,tips,tips.
Fuck you Vegas.
nocdmb | 5 months ago
We were planning on going this summer from the EU but we have an italian friend who under the right lighting kinda looks mexican so you know... we ICEd those plans and go to Ibiza instead.
thepulloutmethod | 5 months ago
Any European who wants to experience Vegas should go to Monaco instead. It's much nicer.
Suitable-Economy-346 | 5 months ago
If you do absolutely nothing besides breathe air, Monaco is nicer, but Vegas has a billion more things to do than boring ass Monaco.
yousernamefail | 5 months ago
I must have done Vegas wrong then, because I was bored out of my mind the entire time I was there.
uber_neutrino | 5 months ago
Not really comparable IMHO. But yeah I would rather go to Monaco lol.
Ateist | 5 months ago
How big of a decline in the number of tourists?
How big of a decline in the number of Canadian tourists?
How big of a decline in money spent per tourist?
WHERE IS THE DATA?!
Lots and lots of completely empty words with not a single bit of actual data to back up their claims.
> According to a Wall Street Journal report, published July 26, workers in Las Vegas have seen their tips go down by as much as 50%, thanks to declining tourism.
> Mungo said that Canadians used to make up 30% of his clientele. They have now vanished.
radiationkills | 5 months ago
I recently went to Vegas on a holiday weekend, which should’ve been packed, and asked a taxi driver about how dead it’s been. He said “this weekends a little better, I’m waiting maybe an hour outside the hotel to get 1 ride.”
I said that sounds insanely low for a holiday weekend on a Saturday night. He said “Yeah it is but before this I’ve been waiting maybe 2-3 hours for a single ride. ”
I also would love to see more overall data on things like this
Ateist | 5 months ago
Couldn't it be explained by Uber?
ddb_db | 5 months ago
>WHERE IS THE DATA?!
https://www.lvcva.com/research/reports/post/lvcva-executive-summary-of-southern-nevada-tourism-indicators/
Easily available. Right in the June 2025 executive summary... lot's of red arrows pointing down for all the declines in all the categories. Double digit drop in total visitors y/y... ouch! That certainly isn't sustainable!
FlatEvent2597 | 5 months ago
This is summer in Canada. It is a very dry one and the temperatures have been good for the most part. No need to go anywhere- we have the best at home.
Mechaheph | 5 months ago
What, you don't trust this article written by "HT Trending Desk"?
whisperwrongwords | 5 months ago
https://v.redd.it/ozrnvz8mayef1
SpamEatingChikn | 5 months ago
It’s hilarious seeing all these posts and seeing everyone blaming the prices. Are the prices ridiculous? Sure, but they have been for a minute. What’s different now is hostile traveler/immigration policies, foreign travel advisories, and Americans buckling down due to inflation and shaky market conditions. So yes, outrageously expensive vacations are going to be the first to go lol. People want to cherry pick objective reality…
ballmermurland | 5 months ago
Economy getting worse and international tourism tanking due to Trump being an asshole.
Yeah, that'll do it.
Every_Return7662 | 5 months ago
Paying a fortune to travel to Vegas to end up paying a fortune on every little thing such as tax, parking, service, tips and lose my hard earned money to the casino billionaires? Seems fun
untetheredgrief | 5 months ago
I've never understood the appeal of Vegas anyway. I'm not into alcohol, and I'm too pessimistic to gamble.
I heard stories of huge loss-leader buffets that might be interesting, but was never enough to get me to visit.
tostilocos | 5 months ago
Even the buffets are stupidly overpriced now.
Test-Normal | 5 months ago
I went for the shows. Which made a couple of trips worth it. I also go to the occasional convention/event in Vegas. But the hotel costs are almost 2x-2.5x during those. I wish they weren't being held in Vegas.
EscapedFromArea51 | 5 months ago
Well, there’s also the sights to see around Vegas, such as Hoover Dam, … uh… etc. Oh, and the strip clubs.
I personally wanted to visit it to do the Fallout New Vegas tour, but my circle of IRL friends contains zero people who know about it. Fact is, most of what I know about Vegas comes from the game, to the extent that I mentally call it “New Vegas” and have to consciously stop myself from saying it out loud when talking about the city.
Slumunistmanifisto | 5 months ago
We share the same interest.... buffet.
OreoZen | 5 months ago
Very easy to get married
retxed24 | 5 months ago
> I'm not into alcohol, and I'm too pessimistic to gamble.
So you do understand the appeal. It's alcohol and gambling. It just doesn't appeal to you.
rewdea | 5 months ago
I’m into alcohol, but they have that in literally every municipality except a few in Nebraska and Kansas.
New_Butterscotch_337 | 5 months ago
Never understood how anyone could enjoy being at the casino period. They just overload every single sense you have, distort your sense of time so you can’t figure out when your need to leave, lay out the floor so you are easily lost, and need to pass by all the shops in order to find your way. All of which would be bearable, if they didn’t kick you off the blackjack after 12 only minutes of winning.
Bad_Habit_Nun | 5 months ago
Well yeah, it's a trashy garbage dump masquerading as luxury with the prices to match. Especially withhow accessible gambling is now, vegas is just no longer special or even a tourist destination anymore.
DignityThief80 | 5 months ago
I was in Vegas 1 year ago and it was busy as hell.
This has everything to do with foreign tourists not wanting to go due to your megalomaniac bond villain of a president.
HMTMKMKM95 | 5 months ago
I last went to Vegas in 2023 to be at the opening of the Sphere. It was a big event. I hadn't been since 2011, so I thought it'd be fun to go back. The opening was certainly memorable, but the $20 drinks were off putting.
Nothing was inexpensive, yet I felt the Strip was in worse shape than 12 years prior. With where things have gone since, 2023, I don't feel the need to go back. Add on President Asshat's threats to annex my country, and there is just no reason to ever return.
S1gorJabjong | 5 months ago
The global market overall seems to be in a downward trend, hence people don't have that much disposable income to spare toward tourism let alone gambling. Even the domestic situation for the US doesn't seem gleeful at the moment. Like, of course, tourism gets hit first. What would people cut spending on next I wonder? Maybe entertainment?
sonofalando | 5 months ago
Things are too expensive and incomes at most levels can’t sustain it. It’s risky because debt is also at all time highs.
Gumichi | 5 months ago
Macau looks fine. Japan is straight up over crowded. This might be a US thing.
dvking131 | 5 months ago
Macau doesn’t charge 25$ a drink
Commercial_Regret_36 | 5 months ago
Maybe there’s a hint there, as it pulls in more gambling money than vegas does. I was there recently grabbing the free drinks.
S1gorJabjong | 5 months ago
I guess the US's reputation is not like it was just a year ago yeah? Foreigners searching for a less expensive country could be one of the reasons too.
teshh | 5 months ago
It's due to increasing wealth concentration in the handful of billionaires. Demand is decreasing across the world because capitalism has robbed most countries of affordable living.
Mist_Rising | 5 months ago
Don't confuse the west with the world. Most of the world's population is actually elevating upwards in terms of disposable income. That's what happens when China and India, two nations with multiple times more population than the next two countries combined, both see economic gains in their citizens.
bdd6911 | 5 months ago
Yeah. I was scrolling for this. We see the same in LA. The energy over past few years has completely dropped out. It’s the pricing. Rent is high, buying a home would be a miracle for most, and going out went from 60-80 bucks to 150 bucks (this is for a low end good time)…now it costs several hundred for people to go have a solid fun nite out. So many people have simply stopped showing up.
604ian | 5 months ago
The number of Canadians who visited Vegas was way more than you’d expect. The US travel and product boycott that was caused by the president saying he wants to annex us as a 51st state is in full force, and you’re seeing cause and effect.
PortugalTheHam | 5 months ago
Vegas has three types of tourists: domestic (typically spontaneous visits and bachelor/ette parties), corporate visits (conferences), and international tourists. We have a tanking economy and any international tourists wanting to go risk being kidnapped by our government. All demographics for tourism have been effectively killed by this administration.
grossguts | 5 months ago
Only time I went there was about 9 years ago. It was the city of hidden fees. Want to go on the roller coaster sure come in that's $20, oh no that was just the fee to get into the gift shop, it's $20 to go on to the coaster, yeah that was the fee to see the coaster, it's $20 to get on the coaster. Every single experience was like that, the restaurant, the cab, the strip club, the shows, the dance club, the bars, the atm. I'm never going back, I don't care if flight and hotel was about 50-75% of what it would've cost to go somewhere else. I wouldn't go if it was a free trip.
tunaman808 | 5 months ago
Well, let's see:
- I'm pretty sure every resort on the Strip has "resort fees", which are now $55/day at most places. And that's a taxable $55/day.
- Every resort on the Strip has gotten rid of free parking, which is now $25-$50/day.
- AFAIK, many casinos have gotten rid of "on demand" free drinks in favor of coupons that spit out of slot machines after spending x amount of money.
- MGM properties now charge $26 for the in-room bottled water.
- On top of charging $56 for a crappy room service cheeseburger, MGM properties are now charging $25 if you want it on actual ceramic plates. But hey, if you're OK eating it out of a cardboard to-go box it's only a $10 fee!
- Well-known gambler Cody Burnett was recently denied a comped drink at Resorts World, despite playing $25,000 a hand blackjack, because he wasn't staying at the hotel.
This is just scratching the surface of all the nonsense Vegas is up to these days. If I want to gamble, I have many other options these days, most of which don't involve flying halfway across the country.
The sad thing is, on paper, a week in Vegas is a fraction of the cost of a week in Paris. But by the time you add in all the goddamn fees (and Vegas' high prices in general) Paris somehow ends up being a bargain in comparison!
geomaster | 5 months ago
canadians are not boycotting US travel and products because of tariffs. they're boycotting USA because of the threats against their sovereignty by one man who cannot keep his mouth shut
_Captain_Amazing_ | 5 months ago
Look, prices have been high for a long time in Vegas and people still came. This decline in business is due to Trump threatening to invade Canada, locking up brown skinned people for no reason, and businesses being paralyzed by the ever changing and absolutely insane new tariff regime. If you think this sudden dramatic decline in tourism is due to high prices, you have your head in the sand.
acdha | 5 months ago
You’re seeing multiple factors combine. Vegas has been pushing prices up for years but people still went for the turn of the century cool reputation and celebrity vibes. The market was getting weaker, though, as prices went up, competition internationally was growing, and sports betting was legalized for much of the domestic population.
Then the pandemic nuked a lot of habits: people who’d been going annually stopped and had the chance to reconsider whether it was worth it, a lot of older people died or retired, and young people weren’t pulled along by their friends for a couple years to make it a tradition.
Then businesses and landlords kept prices rising, and the tone of big companies changed from celebrating huge profits to layoffs and telling everyone that AI was coming for their jobs, followed by Trump creating enormous uncertainty along with cancelling hundreds of billions in economic activity while declaring a trade war with the entire world and antagonizing key markets.
That is a lot and much of it is overlapping. Once you get shocks like that people are going to reconsider their spending habits and consider changing even stable ones. A weekend in Vegas is about as discretionary as it gets so demand is unusually fragile and the negatives amplify each other: Canadians and Europeans staying away is going to mean more stories about it being a ghost town and even if the casinos temporarily pause some of the gratuitous fees things like airfare are still expensive.
Different-Fly4561 | 5 months ago
These corporations have been making money on tourists “hand over fist” and they are missing the big picture! At this rate Vegas will not survive, at this rate of greed Vegas will die as a destination!!
whistlepig4life | 5 months ago
My wife and I used to go to Vegas annually for a 4 day trip. She’d hit up a convention for a day. I’d linger at a cigar lounge for a day. We’d get a good steak off the strip one night.
Haven’t been in 4 years now because it went from being an all inclusive $1500 trip to being $4k minimum now.
Eff that.
oddsi | 5 months ago
You know I keep seeing articles about this, but when I was passing through there and stayed the night last month it felt pretty packed to me. I'm not expert on the place but trying to walk down the street was a nightmare
AngryRepublican | 5 months ago
I remember when Vegas was a relatively cheap vacation if you didn’t intend to gamble. I’d go there with my family and while grandma played the nickel slots and gramps played poker, my cousins and I would run amuck in the kids arcade winning garbage bags filled with cheap stuffed animals or playing unlimited laser tag with my dad, then go to a cheap buffet dinner.
Everything AROUND the gambling was cheap, to encourage you to stay and gamble. Again, it was a fun affordable vacation if you weren’t betting your rent money at the roulette wheel.
Everything about that is gone now.
Wise_Composer_2661 | 5 months ago
Growing up in the 90s and early 2000s Vegas was always looked at as having the cheapest hotels and buffets and stuff. As well as obvious high roller stuff but it always looked like an interesting and stark dichotomy. Now it just seems like it’s Miami in the desert, clubs and expenses for no reason aside from vanity.
NicKaboom | 5 months ago
I just went there with the wife a few months ago as a needed long weekend getaway.
Even though we booked the flight and hotel on points, we still ended up spending almost $1500 for 3 days and 2 nights, and neither of us are big gamblers and she doesn't drink. Each had a couple hundred to throw in some slots or play a spin or two of roulette and both of us came out break even or ahead.
It was just insane that every time we ate it was $50, if we went to a sit down restaurant it was probably north of $100/meal. Two coffees and a breakfast sandwich at Starbucks was $basically $30. We did a comedy show and Cirque show and that was it. Wanted to check out the sphere but everything there was a couple hundred, and the Eagles were playing for like $800-2500 a ticket.
I remember in late 2000's in college we'd get 5-6 friends to crash in a room, find Spirit airlines round trip tickets for like $79 from the PNW, then basically go down for a 48 hour rager. We could go down there, enjoy drinks and food for cheap and maybe gamble a bit.
Its sad I could have a better time when I was a broke college kid working nights in a warehouse than I can as a white collar professional making 5-6x what I did.
Shame on you Vegas and your enshittification. The mobsters left and something worse took its place.... Private Equity.
mosskin-woast | 5 months ago
I live in Vegas and it's not a ghost town. Visits are down and it's a popular alarm to sound because it highlights how Trump's policies are harming tourism and travel in the US, but it's not a ghost town.
It should be because it's so insanely expensive to do anything on the strip, but there are a lot of idiots who will just pay what it costs because it's Vegas and it's important to them that people think they're rich.
Vegas trips in the socil media age are conspicuous consumption, it's a Veblen good.
_________FU_________ | 5 months ago
I was going to go see the Eagles at the dome and it was gonna be around $1500 all in. I simply don’t have that kind of money for a single ticket to anything.
neovox | 5 months ago
I'm done with Vegas. They went down the road of resort fees, convenience fees, service fees, tracking them on everywhere, because fuck you. Then to add insult to injury they changed the odds on the games making them even worse than they already are. Yeah, nope. I'm voting with my money. Bulldoze the entire strip.
rollerbase | 5 months ago
$35 for a cheeseburger meal (at a food court) at any hotel on the strip. $20 for a pizza slice after tax and fees. Why aren’t people flocking to these amazing deals?
Vegetable_Assist_736 | 5 months ago
Not surprising. The whole experience and hustle is a no from me. One and done. Many Canadians with money refuse to travel to the U.S. now too which is taking away tourists too. Being so close I’m sure is having an impact. Recession on the horizon too
tg981 | 5 months ago
I am an American and have never been there. I do regret not seeing U2 at the Sphere, but as someone who doesn’t drink, am I missing much by not going?
Falkor | 5 months ago
Nup
vman81 | 5 months ago
Resort fees left a bad taste in my mouth last time. If they want to sell the illusion of winning, it seems a bit silly to make everyone feel like they are in a big hole from the start.
gregaustex | 5 months ago
>Passenger traffic through Harry Reid International Airport also declined, with domestic travel in the first half of 2025 down 4% compared to the same period last year.
So nobody actually reports on tourism volumes in Vegas? We get anecdotes and theoretically correlated airport data? That doesn’t tell us much.
XtraMayoMonster | 5 months ago
I went a couple of years ago and the experience had shifted so drastically that I couldn’t ever imagine going back. Food was so expensive, we’re talking hundreds of dollars for food you can get a Cracker Barrel, drinks were insane, we didn’t experience the free drinks while gambling nor did we get any cheap buffets. The great part of Vegas used to be its level of fun for the amount you spend but it’s completely different now.
Humble-Plankton2217 | 5 months ago
Younger generations don't value the same things.
Raising prices reduces foot traffic, that's a free market correction aka "natural consequences".
Adapt or go the way of the dinosaurs.
Ornery-Ticket834 | 5 months ago
This is the new Big Beautiful Economy.Get used to it. Foreign Tourism is way down because people from other countries are either afraid to come here or strongly dislike us. It will be happening in many other places in the country.
GovernorGoat | 5 months ago
A lot of younger people are barely keeping up with rent. Gambling, liquor, and glamor don't really appeal much to gen z and millennials. It's pretty much exclusively for wealthy folks these days. Las Vegas flew too close to the sun.
garden-guy- | 5 months ago
Canary in the coal mine. The economy is in free fall thanks to republicans intentionally dismantling it. Other indicators are lagging but will soon catch up. The false data Trump wants to report will still be shown at places like Vegas and on Supermarket shelves.
PoppinfreshOG | 5 months ago
Vegas was the crown jewel of our tourism? Fuck that, uninhabitable cess pool. Gaudy and gauche testament to a complete and total lack of culture or good taste. Hope the desert reclaims that place.
Hemicrusher | 5 months ago
I used to go to Vegas with my parents for the Mint 400 Desert Race in the late 1970s. Then, when I was old enough to drink and gamble in the mid-80s, I used to drive up with friends for the weekend. $.25 beers, $.50 drinks, $2.99 all you could eat buffets, and $15 rooms. Free drinks were handed out faster than you could finish the one you already had. I also won on slots regularly enough that it usually paid for the trip. And many times rooms were comped just for gambling.
It all started going downhill when they covered Fremont Street.
cloudyds | 5 months ago
ill never forget my friends and i going in january 2024 for her 21st and 3 drinks and 3 shots (1 for each of us) cost 99 dollars. we looked at each other and said never again
MHWGamer | 5 months ago
i am still perplexed that people (americans) went to LV for holiday as a "typical" holiday. As an outsider, LV is like the 2-3 day extension when you visited LA. And you are doing it just once because then you've seen anything and have the 'i was there' batch
autotelica | 5 months ago
It isn't a typical holiday, in my experience. It is where people go when they want to do it up royal before they get married or when they are turning 50 or when they are doing a once in a lifetime "bros" or "girls" trip.
Also, a lot of people do a visit there before or after checking out the Grand Canyon, fwiw.
Iplaymeinreallife | 5 months ago
What did they think was going to happen?
Americans have less disposable income with higher prices, more tarrifs and cuts in services.
Canadians don't want to visit a country raising tarrifs massively on them and threatening to annex them.
Europeans don't want to visit a country raising tarrifs on them and randomly turning people away at the border for having political opinions, or locking us up in holding cells for weeks without due process.
And that's not even going into how stupid a queer person would have to be to set foot on US soil these days.
America has told us extremely loudly and very clearly that visitors are no longer welcome or wanted.
Message received.
Edit. interesting how this reply got a few initial upvotes ticking for the first few minutes, then suddenly a block of downvotes at the same time. Weird how that happens sometimes on here.
silverum | 5 months ago
Well, well, well, if it isn’t the consequences of our extremely public actions that the entire world can easily see.
knownothing000 | 5 months ago
ABSOLUTELY bonkers hearing so much rhetoric about “how the economy is in shambles” which YES YEAH but a tourism city like Las Vegas is empty because tourists are NOT traveling to the US, because people are being detained at the fucking border because of their social media posts.
you can not have the leader of the entire country arresting the citizens of your closest country neighbors without consequences, and this is one of them. People pointing to “Vegas is too expensive” sound like they’re complete unfamiliar with the reasons at large and I suspect a lot of “I don’t pay attention to politics” is at play here
hey do yall know the Grand Canyon is currently on fire? hey, remember when this administration fired tons and tons of parks and rec staff? hey, remember all those tarrifs that the consumer currently is paying for, thatre about to go into serious effect as companies start running out of their backlogs of older goods? remember when this administration made the Smithsonian take down any mentions of “women in leadership” from their website? Hey remember when our president threatened to annex Canada about 49 fucking times? hey,
hanumanCT | 5 months ago
Weird, I see lots of 'nobody wants to pay $25 to park', but that's been around. Vegas has always been pricey and it doesn't seem like there was a recent tripwire. Why isn't anyone talking about the foreign travelers who populated a good percentage of the tourist traffic, who don't want to come here now? I know a bunch of Aussies and Europeans who would have come here around this time, but aren't because this government is trying to do messed up shit to people who are not citizens. How is this not recognized as a large part of this issue?
Elmundopalladio | 5 months ago
Parking is parking. One would expect tourists are fine to pay that. The other excessive charges add up, but for our family it’s the deliberate unfriendly border policy for visitors that has ruled out any visit in the immediate future. There are plenty of other destinations for us which do not have the risk of privacy invasion and detention for arbitrary reasons and no legal rights - just why bother with that?
crunkjuiceblu | 5 months ago
No it has not always been pricey dweeb
earthwormjimjones | 5 months ago
Right? It would be cool if they would get back to all the perks and cheap buffets and everything they had 30 years ago to entice people to come and get drunk and blow all their money.
It's a pipe dream I know but it would still be nice.
SirMinimum79 | 5 months ago
Something people are missing is that with more and more states allowing gambling and online gambling like Draftkings it’s removing the main reason some people went.
CodenameZoya | 5 months ago
Las Vegas largely relies on foreign tourism. No one wants to come here right now. And now they wanna charge people $250 to come here. All his talk about making Canada a 51st state has crushed Canadian tourism to the US.
Unlucky_Stomach4923 | 5 months ago
Who would have thought that giving everyone's expendable income to the billionaires and rolling out the red carpet for puritanical weirdos would negatively impact "sin city"?
padizzledonk | 5 months ago
Whats hilarious is this post is just above a news story about the first time in history that every casino in Vegas being Unionized
Not that that has anything to do with this, its just a serendipitous alingment of posts....this is entirely do to our fucking Moron in Chief fucking up the economy...Vegas is seeing a major decline in tourisim because people are scared about spending money and just have less of it....its very simple, travel is a totally unnecessary expense and one of the first to get cut
I said in the beginning of his presidency that things would begin to start going off the rails in the summer with his absolutely batshit economic policies and the cracks are starting to let light in....you cant have this whipsaw crazy tariff policy with absolutely shit/nonexistent industrial policy, firing all these government workers, canceling 100s of billions in grants and programs and suck 200B out of consumers pockets with tariffs and not start to have problems economically
Dont worry guys, Trump will right the ship, hes a well know super successful businessman...... 🤣
We're fucked
Street_Barracuda1657 | 5 months ago
Don’t forget the student loans going back into repayment. That money had been flowing into the economy since Covid.
AvailableYak8248 | 5 months ago
They fed off tourist too long, took expenses they didn’t need
Now the casino operators can they lower price because they got debt to pay but they can’t get people to come
They stuck and it will only get worse and every decides to do something else with their money
ripChazmo | 5 months ago
I don't know what it is about this story, but it's very purposefully being spread, despite seeming to not be the case. I was in Vegas in May, and it was packed. I was there last weekend, it was packed. Shows sold out, lines for food, traffic everywhere.
Las Vegas is still very busy.
Ballistic_86 | 5 months ago
This started 25 years ago when Las Vegas attempted to rebrand. It went from Sin City to trying to be a destination for everyone. Those cheap buffets and accommodations stopped being just for degenerate gamblers and now kids and non-gambling adults were coming in. But if you cannot make up the loss leaders via gambling, the price of those items had to increase.
Now hotels are expensive, food is expensive, shows are expensive.
That isn’t to say Vegas is failing, occupancy is still around 70-80% and anytime there is a large event it goes up to 100% quickly. It’s just that Vegas is now back to being more for the degen gambler who doesn’t have to worry about costs or for those with big budgets going for a specific show/event.
Spocktiputty | 5 months ago
I mean.
relaximadoctor | 5 months ago
I think a lot of people are missing the bigger shift here which is, Vegas is now catering to business travelers over the weekend Joe who wants to come gamble.
Can every hotel be sustained with this? Absolutely not. But, the larger conference center style casinos are not dead.
I travel for work and I personally have five conventions in Las Vegas in the next 6 months.
Vegas is not dead, it's just now a business traveler destination.
misterxboxnj | 5 months ago
Vegas used to be the only game in town when it came to betting on sports. It is no longer that way with a number of states passing legal sports book. If I want to drop a bet on my team to win the superbowl I no longer need to hop on a plane to go to Vegas. I can do it from an app on my phone. Combine that with the price of airfare, hotels and food going up and people no longer look at Vegas as worth the money. They did this to themselves by jacking up the prices of everything.
Vegas was always a young person destination city and young people no longer have the kind of disposable income they used to because of higher prices of rent, higher food costs and higher school loans. You are seeing this across the service industry in bars and restaurants across this country.
gaelorian | 5 months ago
I’ll never go again after my last visit. Used to love it. A drink by the pool is 25 bucks. I’ve got cash and I like to spend it but that’s just a giant fuck you. Pass.
Upset_Researcher_143 | 5 months ago
Tourism is definitely down big time, but a lot of that is the casinos' fault. Luxury properties don't nickel and dime. Nickel and diming is really considered low rent. The whole point of Vegas was the experience. Unfortunately, that experience can be duplicated in just about every major US city for a fraction of the cost. While not every major US city has gambling, prostitution, and drinking within the city limits like Vegas, it's still pretty damn close. Like at least within an hour of a major city, you can still obtain all 3
talldean | 5 months ago
I'm curious if this gets Steve Wynn to push back on Trump's policies at all, as Wynn... is gonna hurt from this, and was the finance chair of the RNC for a bit.
nelly2929 | 5 months ago
Was down there for a conference 2 months ago…. Zero lineups for anything as the crowds were very very thin, but the prices were still high with very few deals….They are hurting but unwilling to adjust their prices so too bad.
holden_mcg | 5 months ago
In 2023, about 11.5% of Vegas tourists were foreigners, with half of that number from Canada and Mexico. Guess who has decided not to come to Vegas in 2025?
WizardlyLizardy | 5 months ago
I've lived there since 2007 and it doesn't seem any different. I have had friends visit a lot.
There are the outer area casinos, like the "station" or what used to be the station casinos. Like Santa Fe Station. Those are reasonable.
Certain hotels downtown have deals every so often, like the Luxor was really cheap at one point any my parents stayed there.
Also it is not a "ghost town" compared to like 07-09 lol. Covid was ofc the worst and it was eerie.
Minimum-Ad7542 | 5 months ago
Does this have anything to do with international tourists avoiding the US? I agree Vegas is overpriced but I'm curious to know if this is causing a big impact.
Snoo_2473 | 5 months ago
Yes, that’s definitely a huge piece of this.
It’s also the price gouging.
And the locals completely avoiding the strip.
And the vulture capitalists with their MBA’s aren’t capable of actually solving the problem. They’re taught when profits are down, you raise prices.
They’ve been doing this since the Vegas dip started & it obviously hasn’t worked.
Lowering prices to increase traffic is not in their DNA, so this is going to be a painful crash.
But the handful of locally owned casinos will continue to see increases in profits (Station, Red Rock, Durango)
Double-LR | 5 months ago
I’m a local. Been here a long time.
When you run a casino to launder money you need volume of guests and money to be as large as possible.
Whatever that costs to make in to reality, you pay it. The skim is what made that model a success. Give shit away it doesn’t matter get them in the door and spending and no matter what keep the volume of guests high. You would never enshittify your laundering mechanism.
Now it’s just quarterly statements. If guest numbers drop for whatever reason, they have to raise prices or if they report quarter to quarter losses the shareholders vanish overnight.
Even if guest numbers stay high and steady, the shareholders want rising profit margins quarter to quarter and the CEO gets bonused if he does that. He don’t give a flying fuck if that place goes under the day after he leaves. He got his, fuck the guy behind him, the customer doesn’t mean shit and priority is to make those statements look a certain way, future be damned.
The modern business model is anything but smart and future facing. People just don’t want to admit that we have transitioned from short term gain to long term pain. The “oh that won’t happen until years from now” crowd is still in denial but the whole damn country is showing signs of enshittification, we even had to invent a word to describe it it’s so prevalent.
Tons of other business all show the negative signs of enshittification. Casinos it just shows up different, especially in Vegas, as the whole freakin town was literally built around their success.
TNlivinvol | 5 months ago
First time I went to Vegas it probably cost me around $1500 airfare and all. That was around 2003.
Went this summer and it cost around $5k.
The first time was exciting. We gambled because table minimums were $5. We went to buffets. We went to clubs. It was a blast.
Last time everything was insanely expensive. Every time you turned around it was $50.
We won’t be going back.
rhjillion91 | 5 months ago
HA HAAA. I feel bad for the workers as they're prolly just people trying to make ends meet, but for the owners themselves? We know most of them voted for this.
WonDorkFuk404 | 5 months ago
Sadly workers voted for him too. Most moved there cuz they watched YouTubers, they believed Vegas no taxes, no taxes in tips, no wokes to serve
motorik | 5 months ago
We're not vegas people but we ended up going for a variety of somewhat random reasons when we were living in Phoenix. Our hotel had a refrigerator full of very expensive for-pay items with zero space for anything of our own and a sign telling us we'd be charged if we even moved any of the paid items. With that kind of fuck-you-want-money energy, why would we go back? The crowd largely seemed to be various forms of mafia and other people that somehow have a good amount of money without having had to learn anything or participate in any form of education or self-improvement.
I liked Macao much better even though a restaurant there served us tap water and we were stuck stuck in our room for 3 days being sick.
TheGraycat | 5 months ago
Huh, I wonder why people don’t want to go to America at the moment? Or why people may not have the cash to go on holidays?
We’ll likely never know. /s
Hynch | 5 months ago
Vegas is the only place I’ve visited that did not offer a refrigerator in the room. I was there for a conference, not a vacation. Give me a place to keep some fruit and other snacks. They offered to bring us one for an extra charge. It’s also a city design to prey upon people. It’s entirely sustained by predatory businesses and conferences. As a millennial I found it to just feel sad and dirty. I had more fun when we rented a car and got out of Vegas for a day. It’s unsurprising their tourism is shrinking as fewer people have gainful employment.
newlife_substance847 | 5 months ago
As a former long-time resident and even longer visitor. The city itself has changed over the years. Vegas has always been a city about reinventing itself and overcoming economic despair. The pandemic put the hurt on Vegas in ways that only that city can experience and know. Coming out of the pandemic, the city never has fully recovered. Casino execs, who are still making millions aren't make as much as they were before. Tourism has waned and many people are finding that the Vegas "Experience" can be had much closer to home and at a fraction of the cost. The entire economic landscape has shifted and I believe that these same casino execs have no interest in putting in the work to make things better. So they just price gouge and cash grab what they can until the market itself bottoms out and with that, those execs run off with their profits. Leaving the city to crumble and fall under the weight of its own identity.
Sufficient-Sea949 | 5 months ago
Just to correct one misconception in the article: Canadians are not avoiding the US because of Tarriffs, we are avoiding because of Presudents Trumps statements around making Canada the 51st state. Economic policy is one thing, threatening the sovereignty of the best friend that the US has in this world, is a betrayal and way over the line.
CodenameZoya | 5 months ago
As a US citizen, I’m so embarrassed and I apologize for our president. Your boy caught of American tourism is having a huge effect, but no one seems to be crunching those numbers for the public right now. Keep up the good work Canada, someday we will be friends again.
findme_a_better_name | 5 months ago
These morons writing that article, as well as the morons in America, just don't freaking get it. We don't care about the stupid tariffs, everyone knows they will just change in five minutes anyways.
It's the sovereignty thing, your leader has repeatedly threatened to ENSLAVE OUR FUCKING COUNTRY. That's why I and many others are never coming back, and why I will teach my step children to hate America.
Strange-Spinach-9725 | 5 months ago
It has been a while since looking into trips there but it was inexpensive if I remember correctly (2010s). There were buffet deals or something.
JustMeAgainMarge | 5 months ago
Modern big business has killed everything that drew in the crowds. The Mob knew the secret, low costs and comped drinks kept asses in the seats gambling, which is where you make your money.
Now, as others have pointed out, everything costs through the roof. Pair that with social media stories of casinos balking on paying slot winnings citing machine error, and why bother. If I want all that, I can get the same at the closest Indian casino.
Well_Dressed_Kobold | 5 months ago
This is the natural consequence of destroying the middle class; businesses have to chase the money up the ladder by charging more to a smaller number of customers, which drives off even more people, which drives prices even higher, and on and on it goes. Disneyworld and Disneyland are in the same boat.
Soon travel and leisure will be niche industries serving the wealthy only.
Smart-Simple9938 | 5 months ago
Once again, they got it wrong. Canadians aren't boycotting travelling to (and buying products from) the USA because of tariffs. We're doing so because of being threatened with annexation, the threat of being detained/deported/disappeared if they don't like our Facebook history, and general disgust with fascism.
krichard-21 | 5 months ago
Pretty sure Nevada carried Trump in 2024... Good luck...
To be honest. I have zero sympathy for any State supporting Trump... And the Deep Red States can fend for themselves. Whatever.
I sincerely hope you enjoy it just as much as I am.
This is exactly what y'all voted for.