Posted on 09/17/2015 10:15:38 AM PDT by Vigilanteman
When the mob ran Vegas, they knew they could make their money on the gambling, so the attract gamblers, they gave a lot a away. Now that corporations own a lot of the facilities, their MBA’s tell them that they must make a profit from every cost center.
There are only 2 corporations that now control almost all the properties on the strip, 21 out of 30: MGM and Caeser. Lack of competition sucks for tourists.
It would help to know when you were a “pup,” so we can know what time frame we’re talking about.
Should have used spell check. Sorry!
Also LV has become a major destination for overseas tourists. Higher demand = higher prices.
Early 1980s.
Laughlin is the new “Old Vegas”
The place is full of people and politicians who want to make it just like everywhere else. They moved there to get away from the way things are, back east for example, and now want to make it just like the place they left with all the rules, regulations, mentality.
People still drive 1500 miles just to be able to smoke a cigar in public, and thats the only thing that keeps them in business. But I think they don’t quite get that anymore.
“my kid brother was also single and a cook at the Lady Luck Casino on Fremont Street.”
I guess it’s been a while for you.
The Lady Luck was closed for years and is now the Downtown Grand; the home of my favorite craps table in Vegas.
I can recall a steady flow of Crown Royal/Cokes while in the casino, as long as I kept the server happy with an occasional tip.
Same with mortgage lending. It used to be a service of your local state bank. It made a steady profit for the bank and was good for the local community.
Then all the MBA boomers started arriving fresh from college and the goal was to maximize the profit from every cost center. Banks became interstate and home mortgage hustlers.
Nobody goes there anymore — it’s too crowded.
We spent (pun intended) three days there over Labor Day. Stayed at the Bellagio. First lunch there was $60 for soup, sandwich and a drink, so we started eating out after that. If you tried to store your own food in the room fridge, they charge you $50 per day.
Las Vegas still has what you go to Vegas for, just costs more. We saw Cirque du Soleil Beatles for $170 each. Was it worth it? Well it was an extravaganza, won’t forget it soon.
Two things surprised me: Lots of families with kids, at least at the Bellagio. And they still allow smoking in the casinos. Sometimes we were choking.
But overall, a good weeekend.
Try the Sourdough Cafe at Arizona Charlie’s.
I’m going to self-censor my comments on Las Vegas.
I think it was an old Bugs Bunny cartoon that referred to it in an episode as “Lost Wages”.
Its a “destination” now. My wife and I went there earlier this year. Not because we gamble, but because it was a gateway to some of the places I wanted her to see.
I found the buffets to be reasonably priced.
Nothing else was.
I also thought the number of tourists from out of the US made most of the experience tedious.
But, you get what you get.
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