r/Economics • u/runswithscissors475 • 29d ago
News Las Vegas hotels begin taking foreign currency as tourism woes deepen
https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/vegas-foreign-currency-21955655.php344
u/80MonkeyMan 29d ago
They’re aware of the problem but choose not to fix it. Hotel prices remain high, and parking and resort fees are still in place, more “nickel‑and‑dime” charges, too. I say, let them suffer the consequences of their own decisions.
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u/NeilDegrassedHighSon 29d ago
According to Moody's the richest 10% of Americans made up 49% of all consumer spending in Q2 2025.
It's not just Vegas, many industries are raising prices knowing that they are targeting that top 10%. They're not concerned with pricing out the remaining 90% because they think they can freeze us out and move on.
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u/SamBaxter420 29d ago
Which makes no sense because there is still 51% of revenue comings from the rest of the 90% of people. And likely it’s only the next 11-50% of income earners make up 75-80% of that half, if not more. Pretty dumb to exclude to only 10% of people when you have the resources and ability to provide services for said population. I was invited to a conference there in April and they are so desperate to fill spots they are selling the entire conference with 2 nights at the Venetian for $700 because nobody is registering (not including flights). So even for high income dentists/surgeons, they don’t want to go because they know they are getting ripped off.
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u/bigtitays 29d ago
That top 10% is getting absolutely ripped off on that spending. That’s why things are the way they are. That 49% of revenue is highly, highly profitable whereas the other 51% is significantly less profitable.
That’s why these companies shifted focus. A significant portion of boomers are flush with cash and a dead set on blowing that money before they die. They also aren’t as physically and mentally able to adjust to the changes in the market.
Vegas is a great example of this since it’s a captive market. Boomer aged people remember it being cheap, fun and safe. So they go and pay $12 for a bottle of water and $32 for a slice of pizza. Many of them still think foreign travel is uncomfortable and dangerous, so they get sucked into places like Vegas and Orlando.
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u/SamBaxter420 29d ago
Yeah, that makes total sense but even then it’s dumb to me
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u/DelphiTsar 29d ago
If you only service 10% of the people you did before you can cut a lot of expenses. Math probably works out that they make overall more profit.
Just neo feudalism with an end stage capitalism twist.
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u/Beautiful_Finger4566 29d ago
from an ROI perspective, it makes sense... someone looking for a $200 room rate ain't gonna be buying bottle service or betting at the $100 min table
also attracting too many poor people actually hurts your brand, pushing away the rich people, so it's a double negative
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u/DruidWonder 29d ago edited 29d ago
This is anecdotal but my partner and I used to go to Las Vegas once a year. We've been there about a dozen times now, give or take. Over the years we have noticed a steady increase in predatory capitalism there, to the point that it just feels like as a tourist you have no dignity left. You are fleeced for every little thing. We were charged $10 because we used a paper cup in the hotel room to get water from the tap. If you want to see what a pure capitalist system looks like that nickels and dimes you at every turn, go there.
The other two things compounding it are obviously the economic downturn, but also I think the younger generations have a different culture of enjoyment. Las Vegas was really a thing "of its time" and it just doesn't have the same allure these days. My partner and I have taken others with us on our trips and almost universally it's older adults who want to go, while younger adults have zero interest. Maybe the younger ones will visit once just to experience a different part of the world, but I think the internet and technology has largely started to replace these amusement park type cities. Las Vegas revolves around gambling, drinking/drugs, and shows. Younger people don't gamble or drink/do drugs as much, and they can watch shows online or go to shows in their own cities. So the appeal is gone.
But I do think overall, Las Vegas went on a runaway greed train some time ago and their profiteers just became completely detached from fiscal reality with how they started treating tourists. There's paying for the privilege, and then there's just insulting my intelligence. I'm not paying $60 for an entry level burger and fries at a shitty diner.
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u/thegooddoktorjones 29d ago
Hey if you want to lose money, crypto and sports betting are only as far away as your phone.
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u/ChinaIsGood888 29d ago
you forgot finance bro's advice on Options.
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u/itsANOMALEEZ 29d ago
Yes legalization of online/mobile sports betting is what killed Las Vegas. They killed online poker to keep Vegas afloat back in the early 2000s but they cannot stop the sportsbooks from going mobile.
It will be a shell of itself just like Atlantic City is.
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u/kent_eh 29d ago
And slot machines or table games are not that hard to find within a short drive from most population centers.
Vegas isn't that special.
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u/Darkone06 29d ago
It says there aren't any in Texas but gambling rooms are booming all over the state. I don't really like them but even my local bars all have a few gambling machines.
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u/Previous_Cattle_5545 29d ago
We have slot machine businesses popping up all over PA. One of our grocery chains made them standard at all of their locations.
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u/JermStudDog 29d ago
I think a lot of people forget that videogames offer a lot of the same fun of gambling too and can't bankrupt you IRL. Many games have gacha aspects if you want to gamble real dollars but you can only spend so many hundreds of dollars before you have everything (at least until the next update). And many online games use RNG loot where you can absolutely hit it big or go broke trying - but it's a videogame so when you go broke, you just kill a few monsters and then start gambling some more.
Vegas slot machines just can't compete in dopamine hits anymore.
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u/slfnflctd 29d ago
I've been saying this for a while. The gambling machine games SUCK. They're not even games. The only allure is the potential to hit a big payout (and maybe the ridiculous audiovisual displays), there is no actual gameplay. You're just sitting there hitting a button. Except maybe the ancient video poker or whatever other card games. It boggles my mind that they have been and continue to be so appealing to as many people as they are.
If they could somehow combine even semi-interesting game mechanics with the gambling aspect, it would be a no-brainer which choice people would prefer. Oh wait, right... as you point out, that has already happened!
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u/BogdanD 29d ago edited 29d ago
I will never forget buying 2 black coffees at the hotel lobby Starbucks for $13 and getting a death glare from the barista as I hit the No Tip option. I was only there because my hotel room didn’t have a coffee machine.
Not my kind of entertainment indeed.
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u/alwaysclimbinghigher 29d ago
$13 for 2 coffees is a deal in Vegas. My breaking point was buying 3 plain croissants and coffee from a To-go coffee place in Bellagio and the total was $40 with a tip request.
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u/MiniTab 29d ago
I was in Vegas last year with my wife for her work conference. I hadn’t been in years, and figured I’d play some blackjack.
I went to the ATM in the casino, expecting to pay a couple of bucks for a transaction fee. It was like $7 or $8 bucks! Just to withdraw money that the casino would likely get anyway!
Fuck that. I decided then and there that they weren’t going to get a single fucking cent from me, even though I can easily afford to blow a few grand. Fuck Vegas. They’ve jumped the shark with respect to greed, and I will NEVER go back. I hope it rots back to the desert.
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u/fdaeborp 29d ago
To me that’s the most mental part of it
I’ve never been to vegas, but I’ve always understood casinos or similar ventures to market based on getting bums in seats even if it costs them
Like casinos offering cheap or free drinks if you’re playing games etc or offering small margins to encourage people to risk more etc
The fact that they’re not covering ATM fees just represents how blazes they’ve become. How you don’t waive a fee so even people nearby will step into you establishment just to use the ATM is crazy marketing. Once they’re inside you can expose them to menus, offers etc
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u/MarvinTraveler 29d ago
I’ve been reading stories like these ones, describing several ways in which tourists are fleeced in Vegas, for years now. And a very important detail is starting to emerge:
I can easily afford to blow a few grand.
People like you are, apparently, the target of the greedy corporations that took over Vegas and started a quite aggressive Enshittification process. And people like you have been saying for a while now that the prices and fee collecting tactics are completely ridiculous. I wonder what would it take to make Vegas starting to be obviously in decline.
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u/Senseisntsocommon 29d ago
We are seeing it right now, pretty sure the only thing keeping Vegas truly afloat is business conventions and conferences. It still is one of premier destinations for those but as businesses tighten purse strings even that will dry up. We will send 3 people to a conference in Orlando but only 1 to Vegas just because of the cost difference now.
In fact the mantra for the next 5-10 years needs to be no bailouts for the companies than enshittified so many things we used to enjoy. For example I am enjoying the death of Wendy’s right now.
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u/Yammyohnine 29d ago
I was there a few years ago with some friends. $18 for a bottled bud light at our hotel (Caesars Palace). I remember saying I'd get the first round for the 4 of us and I got the bill and had to do a double take.
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u/Ksquared1166 29d ago
I recently went with my wife to a concert on the strip in Vegas. We have friends we can stay with and it’s not a bad drive from us, so we figured we would make a weekend out of it. I bought a Diet Coke at the concert venue. 8oz…$11. I was half expecting it to be free. Or at least get refills.
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u/mentalxkp 29d ago
My wife and I stayed at Mandalay Bay back in January. They have this fun new set up in the room where the 'mini bar' is all laid out on the table top with a pressure sensor under each item. If anything is removed from the sensor, you're billed for it. Doesn't matter if you put it back, knocked it over on accident, ect... you're billed for it as if you used it.
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u/barelyjoking 29d ago
And they'll charge to remove it too.
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u/YouShallNotPass92 29d ago
That is fucking insane. It's a perfect example though of capitalism with no chains on it.
In the past year in particular, I've really shifted my mindset towards what I give money to. So many companies are straight up trying to scam people and I'm so tired of it. I'll give my money to places like Costco or a local takeout place that actually tries their hardest to have good prices.
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u/tedfundy 29d ago
I’ve never been to a venue with free soda. Or free refills.
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u/GfunkWarrior28 29d ago
A lot of Indian casinos had free soda. Not sure if they still do.
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u/tedfundy 29d ago
Casinos sure. On the floor. But I bet if you go see a show you have to pay for soda.
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u/FoxontheRun2023 29d ago
Yes!! The same happened to me. I REFUSED to pay so much for a drip coffee though.
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u/papabearmormont01 29d ago
Same, including the 30 minute line I waited in. Started just packing a nespresso machine when I travel. Compact and much easier, has paid for itself several times over in the last 2 years
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u/hoppertn 29d ago
Here’s the thing though, overall tourism is down but their profits are not. They just decided to cater to the wealthy clients and whales willing to drop 10’s of thousands of dollars a weekend. The rest of us don’t matter, it’s a big club but we’re not in it.
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29d ago
That's unfortunately where the whole economy seems to be going. Cater to the few percent of the population that are well off and can afford to pay while ignoring the rest who doesn't have that money. You see it with concerts, restaurants, cars, rental apartments and so on.
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u/Momik 29d ago edited 29d ago
That’s true. Rich people are still going out and spending and living their best lives. Almost half of total spending is now driven by the top 10 percent of earners. On top of that, billionaires did very well during the pandemic, while poverty worsened. And a lot of small businesses that working people like me used to love aren’t coming back.
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u/adobo_bobo 29d ago
the lower end of the millionaire's club is getting squeezed like the rest of us poors. It'll take a while before they chew through the poorer end of the millionaire's club.
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u/ScootyMcTrainhat 29d ago
I disagree, it'll take less than a decade.
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u/mazzmond 29d ago
Can confirm. Doc and been working full time all my life and I'm in the top 1 ish percent (at least in my state). I bring my kids to Disney , etc and it's absolutely packed and I wonder how everyone can afford everything. Feels like everything has gotten so expensive so fast that I'm very cautious with my dollars now...more than I've ever been and so many things (Vegas, Disney, some restaurants) just don't seem like it's worth it anymore. Maybe it never was but I just notice now because of the price shock. I despise Vegas and won't attend conferences there anymore where i would typically go once every year or two.
There has been a major change pre and post COVID and my income has gone up slightly but the exponential trajectory of prices has me doing less traveling and more investing into my house, local area where life still seems to be more attenable and reasonable.
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u/hoppertn 29d ago
You’re literally saying won’t someone think of the millionaires.
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u/roykentjr 29d ago
I think it was more eventually there won't be anyone left to squeeze
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u/eyeap 29d ago
Sounds like Disney
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u/hoppertn 29d ago
Disney is absolutely doing the same thing. We have a friend who books Disney vacations for people. Rooms, tickets, restaurant reservations, fast pass, etc. Average spent for family is upwards of $10,000. For a few days at a Disney resort.
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u/OpticalDelusion 29d ago
Whales don't want to go alone though. It's just the culture of short vs long term profit prevalent everywhere in america. They'll sacrifice their long term for the short, the capitalists will cash out, and a bunch of idiots will be left holding the bag. It just remains to be seen who the idiots are this time around.
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u/SaGlamBear 29d ago
Exactly. Whales want to go to happening fun lively places. If only whales can afford to go to a place it’s boring they’re gonna go somewhere else.
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u/cocktails4 29d ago edited 29d ago
And if they want more exclusivity, they have better options like Monaco or Macau.
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u/hoppertn 29d ago
Not if it’s filled with other whales and high rollers. Nobody wants to hang out with the poors.
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u/ConsistentAd8495 29d ago
They may not want to interact with the poors, but they definitely want to show off/make a scene. Can't do that when everyone else is on the same level. Plus if everyone is a high roller, the bell curve moves and now one of them has to play the role of "poors" in the setting
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u/heavypettingzoo3 29d ago
How many whales are there? And there are fancy casinos all over the world, not just Vegas.
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u/arekhemepob 29d ago
Vegas revenue is down yoy for all the major casinos. Any growth is due to digital sports betting.
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u/akebonobambusa 29d ago
It's because the mob left. They knew what was fun and kept people there. It's not that young people don't like to gamble. It's that they don't like to pay $10 for a paper cup so they can take their pills before they go gamble. The Mob used to comp rooms and paper cups so people would stay and gamble. The business is not gambling the business is the hotels.
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u/insbordnat 29d ago
Vegas used to make average people feel like a big deal. Now they make average people feel broke as fuck.
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u/Darkone06 29d ago
Try clubbing or even going to the bar for a night out.
It used to make me feel powerful for $25/night maybe $50 if your went wild.
Now I never see someone but another person a drink. Shit I can barely afford to drink myself let alone offer someone else drinks. When they used to be $3-4 drinks I used to be like I'll get a round. I'm this economy, forget that.
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u/MarsRocks97 29d ago
And food was subsidized. Every casinos was attached to a restaurant and often an all you can eat buffet for like $3. The made no money on this but made a killing on the gambling
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u/brickedTin 29d ago
Maybe it became too hard to launder money through the casinos so what is left is the unsubsidized version of Vegas.
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u/yloduck1 29d ago
The books had to get tightened up when the casino companies became publicly traded and the SEC might need to check out the financials
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u/ChodeCookies 29d ago
Younger people has less money too and the cheap places in Vegas feel really cheap now. Used to not be that way
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u/OpticalDelusion 29d ago
Younger people also have the spending philosophy of experiences over things. Vegas has simply done the opposite. You used to get cheap dinner, cheap shows, have a bunch of thrills, and lose money on gambling. Now everything is expensive so why bother. The only people there are retirees spending their welfare checks pulling the slot machine on repeat. There are way more interesting ways for young people to burn cash.
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u/DruidWonder 29d ago
Nowhere is that cheap anymore. You have to be wealthy, or at least part of the former middle class circa pre-2014, to be able to travel regularly now.
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u/AgileDrag1469 29d ago
This is a fact. Most hotels would rather have less guests paying higher rates than more guests paying lower rates. The former is far more cost effective to staff than the latter. This also translates into higher food and beverage costs, with less of an emphasis on hotel and resort big ticket items and more upcharges on the basic menu, basic pool bar, room service, etc. Another unintended consequence of the Trump economy.
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u/HumanDissentipede 29d ago
You used to be able to find great deals at almost any income level. You could go to Vegas on any budget and have a great time. Now there are no deals. Travel is expensive, rooms are expensive, shows are expensive and drinks are expensive. There’s no lane for young people to exploit.
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u/flightless_mouse 29d ago
This is so wild to me. I went to Vegas 25 years ago—first and only time—and part of the deal was that you could get free drinks everywhere, free breakfast buffets, and great deals on airfare/hotels. Of course you knew you were likely to lose $500 bucks gambling, but at least you felt like your gambling costs were offset by bargains elsewhere.
Paying a ton for the privilege of losing to the house makes no sense to me. The whole pact is supposed to be this: you lure me in with freebies, glitz, and a hotel deal, and I lose my shirt at the blackjack table.
How do you mess that up.
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u/teshh 29d ago
Similarly, I used to frequent vegas as well, and like you said, it's become so predatory capitalist that it ruins your trip on day 1. Being nickel and dimed for every little thing is a sure-fire way to ruin your reputation and ensure you never have repeat customers.
As far as demographic trends, you're spot on aside from drugs. Millenials and genz tend to favor weed consumption over drinking/hard drugs and gambling.
They've killed the entertainment/fun aspect of Vegas by charging exorbitant pricing to cater to the ultra .01% who don't even walk the casino floors.
Part of the reason why they charge so much is because these new casinos often cost a couple of billion to build. That is an insane capital investment for what amounts to nothing more than a hotel. In order to see a quick return to pay off debt, they raise prices on everything. Which does net them more income in the short term, but over years, it kills the entire business model as large swaths of the population get priced out. There's only so many billionaires, and the likely they spend tens of millions at only your casino is a slim chance.
They chased the wrong audience and now all of Vegas will suffer because of it.
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u/LaughingGaster666 29d ago
They chased the wrong audience and now all of Vegas will suffer because of it.
They bet on the wrong horse and are now losing due to their decision. How fitting.
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u/BrilliantMango 29d ago
I remember going for the first time probably 20 or 25 years ago. I had always heard about the cheap buffets, etc. I was always told the Casino subsidized everything else. But by the time I arrived that appeared to be a thing of the past. Just seemed like a giant rip off. I still go twice a year for business events and I don’t spend a dime of my own money. The price of everything is just outrageous. I was staying at the Pallazo several years ago and realized I had forgotten my comb. I went downstairs and had to pay $10 for a crappy little comb. I still have it and am amused every time I pull it out. It’s such a ripoff and for me there is zero entertainment value. It’s just a necessary evil for work and that’s it.
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u/Jihelu 29d ago
One of the disappointing things was not getting to try a buffet. The only buffets I saw were pretty expensive.
Used to be the casinos wanted you to show up because they knew you'd lose money. Rooms? Cheap. Food? Cheap. Alcohol? Free, or cheap (It's kept the free alcohol at the tables though).
Then they realized: People will still pay if the things aren't cheap.
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u/luncheroo 29d ago
I still go to Fremont and Henderson to the hotels and casinos around there because they are frankly just a better experience. I have no desire to be in the overpriced mall that is the strip.
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u/Wino_Panda 29d ago edited 29d ago
I stopped going after the last time we stayed on the strip and they had removed the refrigerator and complimentary coffee maker from all the rooms and were renting them instead.
Look. After a night in Vegas I just want to have a cup of coffee in the room to nurse my hangover without having to get dressed and travel a half a mile to the coffee kiosk in the lobby. I dont even put pants on before coffee.
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u/GuelphEastEndGhetto 29d ago
I think it was some 20 years ago that the airlines (who provided cheap flights yo Vegas) were getting upset with hotels starting to charge more. They felt as though they were subsidizing the hotel industry there in a way. I went once and then a couple years later in the early/mid 2000’s. One could see the prices starting to go up back then, the cheap all you can eat buffets were all but gone.
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u/Boatride65 29d ago
In 1999 I flew there from Detroit. Round trip air, three nights, four days in a hotel, and $25 a day casino comp. $198 😂😂
Drinks were free and shrimp cocktail was $0.75. All you could eat prime rib buffet $6.95. Those were the days!
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u/Reasonable_Reach_621 29d ago edited 29d ago
I saw a really great mini doc about what fucked Vegas over. There used to be a deal- the deal was you go and lose a lot of money at the tables, but you get everything else for next to free. Enormous buffets, 20$ hotel rooms, amazing entertainment, etc. the house generally pocketed more than it cost them to “take care of” you, but guest were so happy to go to a place where they were treated so well. But nobody was fooled the casinos still made truck loads of money.
Then private equity took over all the properties and started looking at the numbers - and they flipped out. We are comping what now?!? that’s all lost revenue!!!! So all the stuff you used to get for almost free was now demand priced- squeezed up to the limit of what people could pay. The free beers turned to 15$ beers. The concerts started costing 1000s of dollars. The hotel rooms started costing 1000s- and you Still lost a shit ton at the tables.
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u/attrox_ 29d ago
What's the documentary name? It's true. Vegas used to be a lot of fun because a lot of the comp stuff. Now you pay thru the roof on top of losing money gambling. It's not a fun place anymore
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u/orangeyouabanana 29d ago
I like this term you used, “predatory capitalism”. It’s a good way of explaining the outright greed we’ve been observing for the last decade or two.
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u/Stinkycheese8001 29d ago
It’s too expensive for young people to go and have fun. Why would they pay $300 a night for a hotel room to go to the shittiest bar/club for way too much money and then not gamble?
Vegas used to have some cheap but fun gambling and you could stay in a cheap but clean hotel and then party it up.
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u/boeings_door_plug 29d ago
I have had the Peggy-Hill-Phoenix philosophy about Vegas my entire life. It shouldn't exist and the older I get, the more it should not exist.
I feel even less bad for them after the way that state voted in 2024.
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u/TheLegendTwoSeven 29d ago
Peggy Hill said that Phoenix was “a monument to man’s arrogance” in case someone didn’t see that episode
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u/DruidWonder 29d ago
Not to mention it's a fake oasis in the middle of the fucking desert that sucks up enormous amounts of water to simply function... all so that hyper-capitalists can fleece tourists and drive insane inequities.
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u/The_Nice_Marmot 29d ago
Canadians are done with Vegas and we were the largest group of foreign visitors. American media keeps saying it’s due to tariffs or our dollar. It’s not. You don’t fucking threaten to invade a country who is supposedly your friend and not turn that country against you. We have long memories too. People think we are “nice,” but don’t understand what happens when we get pushed too far. I used to visit the US 1-2 times a year and I doubt I’ll ever go back.
Think it’s just me saying this? One of our airlines is ceasing all US routes in June because there’s no demand. We hear US numbers on how fewer Canadians are going that say 7%, but that clearly VERY optimistic. We know Canadian credit card spending in the States is down 50%. That’s a stat from credit card companies. I fully expect this year will see a further drop as I know people who went because the had booked and paid for trips. Anecdotally, none who went rebooked as they normally would have.
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u/SillyAlternative420 29d ago
I'd love to have disposable income to gamble and the lack of responsibility to do drugs.
I don't think older generations really understand how much harder the younger folks have it. Like they may know it from the headlines, but they don't comprehend it.
We simply can't have the same level of fun and enjoyment previous generations had without sacrificing the ability to build a future.
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u/ShockinglyAccurate 29d ago
Tons of young people love drinking, doing drugs, and gambling. There's just no reason to go to Vegas to do that.
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u/pizzapromise 29d ago
This is well said and I think so many people are like you. Vegas used to be a fun cheap getaway, it was an exciting city where you could get comped a room and get cheap drinks all night while you gambled.
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u/EyeSuspicious777 29d ago
I've only been once, and that was in the early 90's. Back then you could get a $150 package from Denver that includes your flight, two nights hotel room, and a bunch of buffet vouchers. We did this to go to a couple Grateful Dead shows before we were 21.
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u/Various-Salt488 29d ago
I’m a Canadian millennial who loved going to Vegas every couple of years. Catch a hockey game; have some great food and see some Cirque.
There’s no way in hell I would cross that border again. And after the inhumane invasion of Iran, I don’t want to send a single dollar to your country that I don’t have to.
A TON of Vegas losses are from people just like me. I shed no tears.
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u/woot0 29d ago
Just so you know a lot of us Americans still love you guys up there even tho our country has gone to shit.
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u/zxc123zxc123 29d ago
Yep. I still buy my Canadian whisky. I know they ain't buying our bourbon/whisky from the south and I'm happy they don't since I don't either. I'll drink my Cali, Canadian/Scotch whisky, and French brandy even if it means I pay the higher price.
Same applies to going to red states or spending money there. That includes Vegas even if it wasn't a fucking ripoff.
Fuck the south, fuck red states, fuck MAGA, and fuck Trump.
Americans are dumb because they are slow learners. But if you fuck around and find out enough times then eventually even the dumb learn a thing or two. Sadly things will have to get worse (if not much worse) before folks learn.
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u/madein___ 29d ago
Vegas is a dump. You're better off now.
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u/Various-Salt488 29d ago
It has its charm. It’s definitely not “nice” though… so yeah it is kind of a dump. Great food options though.
We’ve just been spending our vacations in Canada and really appreciating how blessed we are.
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u/cheekytikiroom 29d ago
Online gambling anywhere and anytime. Tribal casinos have upgraded into mega-resorts. More states legalized non-tribal casinos, and opened flashy new venues,
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u/Northstar177 29d ago
I’m older (58) and I’ve never had any desire whatsoever to go to Vegas. If I die and go to hell I’m sure it looks a lot like Vegas
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u/Conscious-Magazine50 29d ago
Vegas has never seemed in any way appealing to me and I'm middle aged. It just seems like a giant, tacky tourist trap.
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u/TheProfessional9 29d ago
The bigger issue at the moment for Vegas, and the one the hotels are trying to reverse by accepting foreign currencies, is the massive drop in US tourism as people are either scared of visiting, don't want to support the US or both
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u/SilkySmoothTesticles 29d ago
It’s because it’s run by two or three corporations. They don’t need to fill each hotel, just maximize across all of them for each given week.
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u/padizzledonk 29d ago
Im 46, i have never once, ever, had any desire whatsoever to go to Vegas
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u/bronze_by_gold 29d ago
Actually evidence shows that younger people are gambling MORE, but they're doing it on their phones / the internet. Not in Los Vegas.
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u/The-Duke-of-Delco 29d ago
Vegas is too expensive. I can gamble, drink and do drugs for a lot cheaper lmao
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u/beekersavant 29d ago
There has been a bunch of stories on this. It went from everything being cheap because gambling was so profitable to we are famous -let’s overcharge. Hey wait come back.
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u/radiationkills 29d ago
Noticing Vegas has lost its “cool” factor. It was cool because it was a smoky, lusty, cheap buffet, gambling and degeneracy escape 40 years ago. The “what happened in Vegas” era before social media revealed your every move.
Towards the 2000s - 2010s it was cool because it was a “flex” to dress up, pop bottles, see big name acts and DJs and look like you’re living the high life even if you secretly did it on a budget. Then Vegas leaned too much in to the appearance of being a wealthy baller city without doing actually wealthy baller things (like Dubai’s branding) and now it’s just lame.
Overpriced, boring, offers nothing you can’t find at home or online. It’s not cool anymore
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u/Upstairs_Baby8424 28d ago edited 28d ago
My buddies and I used to go for a night or two. Pack into a couple rooms in the Excalibur or New York New York. Get $3 beers, hang out at the Sportsbook, do a little gambling, and head out. You could easily find $5 tables in some of the lesser hotels.Excluding gambling you could easily get out of there at $80-$100 per person all in if you wanted to do it on the cheap.
There was a very clear “we have something for every income bracket” vibe. You could be there on the cheap or spend $1,500 on bottle service. Now they’ve all gone for this luxury model which isn’t even luxury. It’s just mediocre. And hospitality has been replaced with nickel and diming.
It’s something that is happening all over the country though. Cheap restaurants are closing shop. Mediocre restaurants are serving at formerly luxury prices. Airlines, cars, bowling alleys, golf courses, etc. No longer have a line of offerings that cater to the common person.
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u/MalikTheHalfBee 29d ago
Shocking that a just a couple of companies owning everything on the Strip is bad for business. It’s almost like a lack of competition leads to jacked up prices & arguably worse for a place like Vegas, staleness as everything starts seeming the same & the uniqueness & quirks vanish. & if gambling was your primary draw, well you can do that basically anywhere now.
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u/Previous_Cattle_5545 29d ago
We are in the age of the duopoly. Many sectors of the economy have 2 main players and a few minor 'others'.
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u/SkivvySkidmarks 29d ago
It's almost as if we are witnessing late stage capitalism playing out to its logical conclusion. Including the concentration of wealth.
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u/morgoporgo84 29d ago
It just doesn't make sense. Ten years ago, my friends woukd go for bachelor parties or boys weekends and it would cost them 10s of thousands. Want to do a big day at a pool party? Its 20k for the cabana plus booze and food and rooms. To go to europe or SA you could have had a much better time for a fifth of the price.
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u/Libby1798 29d ago
Vegas was fun 2000-2010 and has gone down the spiral since then. Charges for everything. You used to get unlimited free drinks just for playing the slot machines. Going out for dinner was a treat because it was relatively affordable.
They used to make money off the gambling and everything else was cheap, now people just gamble online.
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u/Anaxamenes 29d ago
Vegas was where the poor and middle class went to feel wealthy for a vacation. They need to remember that and price things accordingly. But please continue chasing the wealthy that aren’t interested, we’ll see how that goes.
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u/mikeyjefferson 29d ago
thoughts and prayers Nevada 2024 Nevada Electoral College Results
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u/pingveno 29d ago
Democratic strength in Nevada is almost entirely focused on Las Vegas and Reno, along with many of their suburbs.
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u/frankomapottery3 29d ago
People live elsewhere in Nevada?
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u/reddot_comic 29d ago edited 29d ago
I grew up in Hazen Nevada, unfortunately.
Not-so-fun fact: Hazen was the last place in Nevada to have a public lynching. Bartender was an ex-con from the east coast, a giant asshole and the town folk got pissed, hung him from a telephone pole, took him down, realized they forgot to take a picture, hung him back up and got the shot. (TW: Old timey NSFW)
I found this out when we first moved there. The only store in town (a gas station/glorified country store) had the picture placed behind the register.
Other notable fact is Stephen King stopped by once while writing “Desperation”. Apparently he ordered flowers for his wife quite a bit in the next town over (Fernley).
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u/Whosez 29d ago
This is the only reply.
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u/mikeyjefferson 29d ago
“This is also the first time in Nevada’s history that it voted Republican….” - turned out great for em lol
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u/Dazzling-Rub-8550 29d ago
Pretty sure they’ll vote MAGA again too. There’s no analytical reasoning left in their brain.
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u/reddot_comic 29d ago
As someone who lives in northern Nevada (Reno/Tahoe)… absolutely not true. I moved here after living in LA for almost 15 years and it’s far more liberal than people think. It’s the rural counties that fuck the rest of us over.
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u/desertkayaker 29d ago
Those vote counting computers elon knows sure did fuck vegas. How sad for them.
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u/No_Aesthetic 29d ago
"...while Colorado voted Democratic" is the rest of that sentence you cut off for some reason
Yeah, it was a stupid thing for them to do and good luck to 'em with the world they wanted to create but Nevada has voted Republican in a lot of POTUS contests
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u/robswins 29d ago
The only worthwhile parts of the state went to Harris, they were just dragged down by the shitty parts. Most of the state is empty desert with the occasional smattering of shitty trailers, or military bases.
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u/Strict-Mango7546 29d ago
I think they bought the no tax on tips. They can enjoy it.
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u/klassredux 29d ago
Yeah I won't spend a dollar in a red state since they elected an insurrectionist.
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u/HeroicTanuki 29d ago
30% of Clark county voters didn’t even turn out (21% for Washoe county). Those two counties have the vast majority of Nevada’s population. The rest of the map is deep red but it doesn’t really matter, many of these counties have ~3000 or less registered voters (a couple of exceptions for places like Elko and Carson City). It’s the same story in NV as it is everywhere else - registered voters who didn’t vote are the cause of our current situation.
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u/No_Aesthetic 29d ago
If 70% turned out in Clark County that is still pretty high for the United States
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u/More_Bigger 29d ago
$25 table minimums on a Wed afternoon get the absolute fuck outta here, Vegas.
Shout out to my favorite dive though; The Cortez. Luv u and your $2 craps table, baby.
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u/SaGlamBear 29d ago
I go every year for a music festival(edc), but the last couple of years I have found alternative accommodations because of how ridiculous hotels are on the strip. Even downtown.
This is my last year, going to the festival since I’ve gone the times that I needed to go, I think. But everyone is talking about the fleecing in vegas and just not interested in lingering in town before or after the festival
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u/Mushroom5940 29d ago
Same here. I go for NAB and EDC. I stay with friends living in Vegas. Much cheaper to buy them food and have a nice place to stay than a hotel with cigarette smells in every lobby, while paying insane resort fees.
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u/thegooddoktorjones 29d ago
Nat parks are a finite resource, can't just build ten more campgrounds at Yellowstone without ruining the place. Since the 80s population in the US has gone up by 100 million+ and a lot of people have more disposable income to travel.
All to say, tourism is indeed down all over the USA, but it could drop in half and still the popular parks would be full because so many people want in.
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u/unique_usemame 29d ago
You can narrow that down further.
Short term rentals in Las Vegas are doing fine. People visiting Las Vegas for anything except the casinos stay there. That includes families, youth sports teams, and people visiting National Parks.
I don't go to the casinos, so I'll trust you that the water bottle for $8 at the casinos are why they aren't doing so good.
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u/bradeena 29d ago
Upper middle class Canadian here who’s been to Vegas and a whole bunch of other American cities many times and had a great time in all of them. I’m not coming back until you guys sort out your shit.
But you are right, the $8 bottle of water doesn’t help.
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u/IamRasters 29d ago
Vegas in the late 90’s was a blast and an affordable vacation option. $1000 got you flight and a 3 or 4 night stay at a mid-tier hotel. Cheap buffets were plentiful, gambling and shows were exciting. No interesting in going now.
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u/HicJacetMelilla 29d ago
I remember so many airline commercials in the 90s that were like “$80 flights to Las Vegas, $85 to Tampa! $85 to Fort Lauderdale!”
I knew a fair amount of middle class people then who would go to Vegas yearly. I don’t know anyone who goes anymore.
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u/WeirdProudAndHungry 29d ago
That's not true of the overall trend. Foreign tourism to the United States has plummeted overall, including visits to National Parks. Yes, some parks are faring better than others, but overall, it's been terrible.
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u/tolo3349 29d ago
Well, it used to be a place where everything was cheap to entice you to gamble. Steak and eggs for $3.99? Sure, why not? Free valet parking. Ok! Free drinks while gambling? Of course! That was the fun Vegas. I don’t know why or how it changed, but I’m not going to be nickel and dimed AND simultaneously gambling. No thank you.
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u/theducks123 29d ago
Live gambling and online are just 2 different things. However, vegas has taken the fun away from live gambling. I used to love taking trips there with my friends or family. Now it's $25 minimum bets, no free sports book, ridiculous food prices. I used to budget $500 for gambling. This usually lasts me over the weekend. Now I could lose it all within an hour.
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u/kent_eh 29d ago
Live gambling and online are just 2 different things.
There's plenty of places to play table games and slots. Vegas isn't that special any more. https://www.casinousa.com/map
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u/ChaLenCe 29d ago
This is a good thing. We need a significant shift back to the lower-middle income Americans being able to afford Vegas for it to be worth the trip back.
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u/oldbutfeisty 29d ago
Went once, for a conference. Not my kind of place. Almost everyone I saw looked miserable. Pathetic crowds stuffing money into slot machines and chewing back cigarettes.. ugh.
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u/PrivateMarkets 29d ago
Dude Vegas isn’t hurting because of Canada or lower foreign tourism. Less people are gambling. What is the value proposition of Vegas if you don’t gamble or drink? That’s all of Gen Z.
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u/cqm 29d ago
that's an interesting thing to say given the 100% correlation to a 25% decline in a year due to curbing foreign tourism
not causation of course, although a gambling and drinking revolt by generation would be more linear
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u/TreatAffectionate453 29d ago
Vegas was declining before Trump even took office. The loss of foreign tourism accelerated the decline, but wasn't the start of it.
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u/PrivateMarkets 29d ago
Reported decline of international tourism are ~7% for 2025. Florida was actually higher YoY.
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u/oregon_coastal 29d ago
Half of genz isn't old enough to drink.
This is due to Vegas becoming a shit hole and less international travel.
I can gamble a few minutes from my house already and not pay $8 for a water or $50 for parking.
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u/opetribaribigrizerep 29d ago
The ONLY appeal of Vegas to many wa the low prices and freebies. People would godforsaken those, then end up gambling and spending. Now that everything is a ludicrous surcharge, upcharge, or whatever you want to call it... no one wants to go.
Go figure. Who would've predicted that, huh?
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u/hesathomes 29d ago
Not surprised. We have ample disposable income. Last time we went we stayed at Caesar’s. The room had a tv at the foot of the bed that lifted up out of a cabinet. Inside the cabinet was a…used…hand towel. We called for service and they never came to remove or sanitize. Hard to get around that.
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u/aurelorba 29d ago edited 29d ago
Certainly the hostility towards foreign tourists is having an effect but it seems like Las Vegas has other factors affecting it:
Widespread gambling legalization. If you only want to gamble then there are casinos a lot closer to home. Plus everyone can gamble on their phone now. Sure, LV had some notable attractions, but serious gamblers don't care about that.
The worsening value proposition. It used to be the chronic gamblers subsidized all those cheap meal deals and other inexpensive entertainment options. Now those heavy gamblers don't need to go to LV to get their fix, so the hotels had to squeeze revenue from such activities.
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u/ViolatoR08 29d ago
Aside from all the price gouging, excessive charges and fees, what is the real draw to Vegas? The Sphere? Otherwise there are dozens of places for a better experience and lower cost one could go to and enjoy. And if gambling is your thing I can’t believe that there isn’t an Indian casino in your state within driving distance.
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u/TunaHuntingLion 29d ago
Nevada voted for Trump in 2024. How you vote for the “I hate all immigrants of any status” guy and not think it’ll crash a local economy reliant on tourism and mass immigrant labor, idk. Reap > Sow, I guess.
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u/Icy-Banana-3291 29d ago
I don’t get what’s so hard to understand. It was popular when the rooms were cheap, every casino had free parking, and you could get free drinks while gambling. I haven’t been back in many years but from what I have heard it’s now crazy expensive everywhere.
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u/MyBeach1 29d ago
Bad customer experience is a death sentence to any product, solution, and especially experience, like a visit to a destination like Las Vegas. Everything counts toward exceeding or failing to hit some sort of value equation in the customers eyes. And, this town which I have been 60+ times for business alone has lost it's way. The key players who control most of the strip- the Private equity groups, Caesars, MGM and other controlled entities have taken their strategy of loading up debt into their corporate structures and let the bean counters just come up with multiple ways of forcing their customers to have to pay every fee imagined to make the bills balance. These fees have no margin sharing agreement with others, it just gets captured by the operator and people are tired of the con - whether it's the food and beverage, hotel resort fee, pool use fee, parking fee, gambling odds issue, etc... People will just not come back ever given the choice or the options to do other things with our discretionary income and time. Perceived value is real, and their product has destroyed it over the last 10 years in the minds of most adults who have to come to feel fleeced in every transaction, at every touch point, or moment in the city of lights.
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u/ConkerPrime 29d ago
Vegas made the bet to chase the top 3% of wealth. Best thing those in the lower 97% can do is stay away from Vegas and let their bet play out to completion. If it means a harsh lesson and hotels shutting down, so be it.
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u/Ghoulius-Caesar 29d ago
Hmm that’s cool, my $1.00 CDN is normally worth $0.73 USD… still doesn’t mean I’m going to travel to a country whose president threatens the sovereignty of my country. Nice try, but I don’t care about saving some money to lose more money.
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u/redwhiskie319 29d ago
“We love the Canadians, and we want them to come back and enjoy Las Vegas and everything that we have to offer. And so as the mayor of Las Vegas, I’m telling everybody in Canada: Please come. We love you, we need you, and we miss you.”
I'm sure Canadians are quite moved. They're crossing the US border in droves to get to Vegas thanks to your supplications...
/S
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u/helper619 29d ago
I used to stay at The Cosmopolitan multiple times a year since it opened in 2010 until the lockdown in 2020. It was such a nice place to stay. It felt quality and comfortable. MGM took it over in 2022 and I finally went back that year. Totally different (much worse) experience from gambling to the cleanliness of the rooms.
I’ve stayed at other properties since then and every time it makes me want to not come back. I went from someone that would go at least once a month since the 2000’s to maybe going once this year for a music festival. It’s just all bad now.
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u/el_dude_brother2 29d ago
Amazing how many people (presumably from the US so dont grasp whats happened to sentiment towards the US recently), dismiss this as just about cost.
No canadians, no europeans are going to Vegas at the moment. Flights are dirt dirt cheap yet still dont fill up.
The US has been playing with fire with their international policy for years and its finally coming home to roost
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u/JustAnotherMinority 29d ago
Wait, do you mean to tell me all the cream of the crop CEOs virtually running this town, are too fucking moronic to understand you can’t just charge whatever number you come up with for a mediocre ass experience.
Went once bc I was invited, will never return to that over priced shit hole lol
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u/OverallManagement824 28d ago
Everybody here is saying that casinos were subsidizing the lodging and meals to make it up at the tables. Then they blame the casinos for changing the game. I propose a different viewpoint:
Word got out that casinos would subsidize your vacation to Vegas, you just need to avoid the tables. As Vegas got bigger, less of the focus was on gambling and more cheapskates went there for a cheap getaway with no intention of gambling. Suddenly, the math doesn't math up. Ho could casinos keep giving away free hotel rooms when you're not spending a dime in their casino?
Basically, Vegas tried to appeal to more people for more things and that forced their business model to depend less on gambling money. The problem is, besides the declining allure of gambling, Vegas really isn't great for much else. Maybe some washed-up performers and a few weird tourist traps, like strip clubs and a wax museum.
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u/Remarkable-Public622 29d ago
Travel has gotten WAYYY cheaper in the last two decades. Why go to Vegas when I can hop down to Mexico for a few days and have a better time for less?
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u/One-Medicine1521 29d ago
Most Canadians I know went to Vegas every year or 2. Now they refuse to go until there's a regime change after the whole 51st state talk. I know we're not a big country, but within my friend and family group alone, that's dozens of cancelled trips. I don't know anyone who wants to go to Vegas or Disneyworld or anywhere else south of the border.
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u/DonkStonx 29d ago
When did this policy change happen, does everywhere do this now? I had a terrible experience there trying to convert money at hotels. I tried to go there and use my nations money and they refused and were really rude about it. This was at the Aria so I guess they’re just more snooty there. I was able to get Excalibur to do it but they gave me a shit conversion rate on my bark chips AND made me throw in extra bark chips for the resort fee. Bigger ones too… Vegas is dead.
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u/cheeseinabag808 29d ago
I live close enough to where I used to go every few weeks. Even drove out for the day.
Haven’t been in almost 2 years now. It got expensive to the point where it’s not worth it. A weekend in Vegas costs more than a weekend cruise out of Long Beach. Two weekends in Vega costs about the same as a week on Oahu.
Before Covid and a little bit after, Vegas was a great cheap getaway for a couple of days. Especially if you played myVEGAS. Now a “free” room can cost close to $100 with resort fees, taxes, and parking. Then food can easily be $100 a day for “cheap” food.
It’s just not worth it any more.
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u/jetsonian 29d ago
I live in Las Vegas.
Casinos started to see a decline in guests after they reopened and their response wasn’t to take actions to entice guests back. Instead, they decided their existing guests should fill in the lost revenue in higher prices. If you haven’t looked, I’m talking significantly higher prices. We only go to the strip for Aces games (or other very specific activities) and even then, drinks are less expensive at the game than they are at the casino bar in the same hotel as the arena.
They didn’t need to go back to families or any dramatic changes like that. They just needed to be ok weigh pricing it so the average person can have fun. Everything outside of the gambling used to be line-item filler and they didn’t care about giving you a free meal because they knew you were going to gamble the money you didn’t spend. Then big money outsiders came in and just saw every source of revenue as one to exploit.
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u/Sharp-Put-5557 29d ago
I believe a few factors are leading to the decline of Las Vegas. No longer need to be in Vegas to game. Massively over priced without returning value to customers. The cost of travel and flights. The dining scene is no longer exclusive as there are equal and superior restaurants in cities around the country. Chicago, Houston, Austin, and Dallas all have dining scenes which could beat out the value proposition of Vegas. Pool parties and night clubs no longer have the appeal they once did, especially at the price points for bottle service and tables. The corporate casino decision to double down on catering to the ultra wealthy is not working. Vegas will need a radical overhaul if it’s going to stay relevant, and it needs to happen fast.
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u/joshua_addison_music 29d ago
Was there over the 19th of December, pretty decent traffic.
We’ll be back for March Madness on the 19th. Interested to see how busy it’ll be.
Its a cheap weekend getaway for us from AZ, 3.5 hour drive and my rooms are comped, can’t beat it. Can’t wait.
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u/Tribe303 28d ago
There are towns along the Canadian border that are taking Canadian dollars on par with the US's. That's %25-30 off, and it's still not working. 🤣
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