Is Las Vegas dying?

And what's gonna be the new Vegas. Could it be Nashville as they say.

If your gambling where you going then if not LV. You got Reno/Tahoe. Bioloxi. Atlantic City. Niagra Falls. Deadwood. What's the new spot then.

Prediction markets and sports betting are a newer industry. And there’s also a rise in b-book firms allowing people to day trade futures in a simulated account but be able to receive payouts if they do well. So there’s more “totally not gambling”—gambling outlets for people to enjoy from their easy-to-access phone.

The main thing is when will people want to socialize when gambling. But the local bar and grill in local areas can probably do well there. I’ve noticed in Texas there are more machines of some kind in convenience stores. I haven’t paid enough attention to the laws of how they have gotten looser, but they are out there.

As for the professional gamblers, they were negatively affected last summer when the OBBA was passed. Basically, they lost a huge ability to take a tax deduction on losses. In addition, they are taxed at a higher rate for their wins. That decreases incentives to seek out fellow professional gamblers for things like poker tournaments, etc

taxfoundation.org

It will be tough to have a new Vegas or any other centralized gambling vacation spot because of those things. But existing Indian reservation casinos that attract people from not too far away will probably float along well enough.

Vegas sucked my left nut, while fondling my right, and this was before the pandemic. My favorite thing to do in Vegas was get out and see the ghost towns, Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, shit like that.

The tiger guys? You missed that? One of the guys got badly mauled by one of the tigers. Like 25 years ago. That was the end of the tiger show.

Haven't been to Vegas or Atlantic City since pre-pandemic. I live 2-1/2 hours from Atlantic City. I don't go out of my way to gamble, but once I'm at that Blackjack table, I'm playing, and it would be hard to get me away unless I'm losing my shirt.

Barbra Streisand? 😬

Vegas was killed by greed, too many hotels, going upscale, and the fact that casinos are a dime a dozen. Teres nothing special there. Vegas used to have cheap rooms, cheap food and plenty of gambling. Now its just too expensive for what it has become. Even worse, you get nickel and dimed. We went 29 times between 1993 and 2018 and twice since then.

Overly high prices tend to be self-correcting. Businesses who charge them see customers abandon them. They then lower them or go under. I went to Vegas once. It was worth seeing once but the prices are too high to make it a regular habit. There are plenty of other enjoyable things to do.

“50, 60 dollar covers. Just for entry? Are they outta there fucking minds?”

“50, 60 dollar covers. Just for entry? Are they outta there fucking minds?” Lol

Fun Vegas has died. High table minimums, 6-to-5 blackjack payouts and the nickel and diming. I can get that at the Detroit casinos, plus a pile of stripper pussy at the strip clubs at a fraction of the Vegas cost.

who is barbara streisand? some jewish woman?

Streisand's a singer, actress, and activist, largely known for her work back in the '70s. If you want to see a truly hilarious movie, catch "What's Up, Doc?"

And Vegas is pricing itself out of the market. Sure, some hotel rooms might sound relatively cheap, but then they hit you with these "resort fees" that can double the cost of the room. And, like Muddy said, the cheap buffets are gone.

Most shows are crazy expensive, too, but there are some that're still reasonable. A few years ago, Rich Little was $40 for a ticket, and there was the Zombie Burlesque that went for, if I remember, about the same price.

Funny you bring this up, I just read an article about this - this morning.

38 million people visited Vegas in 2025, it hasn’t been that low since 2000, and there’s roughly 60 million more residents in the United States in 2025 than there were in 2000.

In 2009 there were around 58 poker rooms in Vegas, now there are only 16 with only 7 or 8 of them being on the strip.

I still think places like Vegas were trying to make up for lost time due to the pandemic. After the pandemic people were so glad to get out of their house after being locked up for a year+ they didn’t give a damn what their vacations cost. 6 years later, well, now they do care.

Vegas was fun in the 1980s and 90s when it was cheap, smoky, and sleazy. It was also the only place in the US with legal gambling. Food and hotels were so cheap that it was literally free. Now there is legal gambling everywhere, and on-line. So there’s no reason to go to Las Vegas anymore.

I am very familiar with Las Vegas and there are still plenty of deals if you look for them. They are not at Wynn or Bellagio and but there is still free entry to Rhino and Sapphire if you let them pick you up. And that $60 steak dinner? In Vegas that will buy 4 decent steak dinners at the right place (or half a steak dinner at the wrong one). Vegas was heavily damaged by greed after the pandemic when people were willing to pay any price with their government relief checks and the casinos were happy to oblige. . Fast forward to today and there are now sub $100 rooms even at some places on the strip (just not during a big convention) and there is 3/2 blackjack tables showing up all over again. Some casinos are advertising 3/2 exclusively. Plus at least a dozen casinos advertising two and three dollar drinks at all casino bars when not playing, if your playing all drinks are still free. See if you can find that at any other casino destination in the country! . Yes, visitation is down 2 or 3 percent, but it is everywhere. In Hawaii it’s down over 10%, but I for one a glad for the slightly reduced crowds. Btw, gambling handle, the number casinos really care about, has been up every year since even before the pandemic.

Fewer people are visiting Las Vegas, this is a fact. Hotel room occupancy rates are way down and many small-medium businesses are closing. However, the high-end businesses and tax collection are at record highs.

Las Vegas is a great example of the K-shaped economy, where high earners are spending more and low earners are spending less. Vegas has become geared towards the high earners and high spenders. I was in Vegas in 2024, my first post-COVID trip to Sin City, and it was so different from what I had remembered in the '00s and '10s that it blew my mind. It had lost all of its charm and appeal. Literally every square yard of space was occupied by an act or a stage or some commercial activity. Even the Fremont Street experience was ruined since that damned zip line destroying the airspace. Even the atmosphere was ruined by the smell of cheap skunkweed everywhere. I am all for recreational marijuana in the privacy of your own home and maybe even in smoke shops, but not every fucking 3 feet as you are walking around outdoors.

Vegas is what happens when a city made for fun turns into a city made for spending money. It just feels like a giant people mill, and adult Disney (not to be confused with Disney adults) that is constantly bombarding your senses and working tirelessly to get you to spend. My last visit there was disappointing enough - with the congested highways, crowded sidewalks, over priced restaurants, greedy street performers, lazy and disinterested service staff, and pandering to the lowest common denominator that I am thankful not to be a huge gambling fan. The best part for me was that I arrived at the tail end of their big EDM festival, and there were tons of scantily clad coeds wearing metal and leather bikinis on their way to and from the fest and hanging around the pools that I at least had plenty of eye candy. But totally not worth a revisit until its next iteration.

Vegas died when the Mafia died.

LV sucks

It started being awful once they got rid of free parking and then later charged $20 for a cup of coffee

I’ve been going to Vegas once a year since about 2000 or so on a guys’ trip, either for March Madness or during football season. Prices have gone way up. Used to be able to fly out from the east coast on now defunct airline America West for well under $300. Early years we stayed at some real shitholes like the Vagabond Inn (demolished for the Wynn) or 4 to a room in Luxor or Excalibur.

As our budgets increased, we stayed at MGM, NYNY or Mandalay Bay, but even then, a room to yourself would be $500 or so for thurs-sun.

The last few years to stay at Cosmo it’s been $1400 for 4 nights. Table minimums are crazy, plus the gradual casino edge-ifying of the odds just sucks. Yes, you can still get free drinks but not paying $2k for a room and airfare would cover a lot of $10 casino drinks somewhere else. Meals are way more expensive and certainly the strip clubs have pushed price.

I still like the trip and still go, but it’s more about hanging with my friends rather than seeking out a value trip.

I think it was June last year when I was there and I can't see me ever going back. The food prices are ridiculous and the average minimums on the craps tables have gone up. they'd rather have the staff standing next to an empty table than lower the minimum. My biggest gripe is the parking charges, before my last but one visit I used to enjoying driving from one resort to the other without being charged but now so few have free parking or a small number of hours free.

On my last visit I did notice on the strip and in the casinos the drop off in visitors, a few times well after midnight I went into Wynn and it was dead by comparison, many card based tables with dealers stood behind waiting for players that never arrived.

Vegas has cooked its own Goose, problem is they are too stubborn to do anything about it.

I heard the Sphere is a great place to see a concert. We plan on flying into Vegas, spend a couple days, see a couple shows, then rent a car and driving to L.A. and up the coast.

@studme53. I am not so sure myself, the seating doesn't seem to be right for concerts, but I am no expert. I saw the show they put on there daily a couple of years ago, it was good, but overpriced, in typical Vegas tradition.

^A lady about my age (64) I know just saw the Eagles and then The Wizard of Oz at the sphere recently and raved about both. To tell you the truth London, I trust your review more than hers. She’s kind of an old biddy and doesn’t get high.

Should be *hopping on a plane in the OP

It sucks getting old and stuck in the spot you remember as the ideal situation hunh?

Me to.

Try to move forward.

Good luck.

There’s also way more hotels (supply) than before so it makes for a lot more capacity to fill. As others have said food prices at all the hotels are ridiculous. Walking the strip used to be doable and kind of fun. Now it’s so difficult to walk due to more hotels and escalators and over the cross section walkways that it sucks.

Haven't been to Vegas in a decade. That says it all right there.