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Classic Las Vegas casino announces it is CLOSING, as Sin City's rip-off prices trigger devastating tourist slump
The Daily Mail ^ | SOPHIE GABLE | 24 Aug 2025

Posted on 08/24/2025 9:28:04 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican

A mom-and-pop casino in Las Vegas is set to close in the fall, after Sin City's rip-off prices sent tourism into freefall.

Poker Palace, a casino in North Las Vegas situated on the Las Vegas Boulevard, notified its 126 employees on July 29 that layoffs were set for September 30, with a final closing date of October 1, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification.

WARN notices are required by federal law to inform employees of closings and mass layoffs at least 60 days in advance.

The casino was sold, impacting all of the employees' jobs, but it's unclear what the future holds for the local spot.

No reason for the closure has been given. Las Vegas saw tourist numbers fall by 11 percent in June compared to the same time last year

Soaring prices and viral complaints about rip-offs have put some prospective visitors off. Canadian tourists - who are particularly important to the local economy - are also shunning Las Vegas and the US after President Trump threatened to turn their country into the 51st state.

And while Poker Palace doesn't sit in a tourist hotspot, the citywide slump has seen many locals losing their jobs and falling behind on mortgage repayments, giving them less to spend at the city's off-the-beaten-track spots.

Poker Palace has served the community of North Las Vegas since 1974, when the casino was simply a blackjack table, eight slot machines, and two pool tables.

The entire casino was the size of a studio apartment at a measly 700 square feet. Poker Palace grew over four decades to a 25,000 square foot casino with over 250 slots, seven table games, eight poker tables, and a bingo room.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Local News
KEYWORDS: democrats; lasvegas; momandpop; nevada; pokerpalace; smallbusiness; warn

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To: Drew68

My daughter, SIL, and two friends were in LV a few years ago. Absolutely hated being there because you can’t even walk down the street without getting stoned. Worse inside casinos, even their hotel lobby.


21 posted on 08/24/2025 10:12:43 AM PDT by Veto! (Trump Is Superman)
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To: imabadboy99

“the illegals pushing pornos in your face at every street corner, timeshare salesmen, street scammers, outrageous prices, ghetto thugs, gee what’s not to love about vegas?”

^^^THIS. Thank you. Vegas’ problems go way beyond the nickel-and-diming of customers with parking fees and the decline and fall of cheap prime rib buffets. Last time I was in LV, the most off-putting thing wasn’t resort fees but rather all the Snoop Dogg wannabes standing around on The Strip smoking weed and conducting petty drug deals.


22 posted on 08/24/2025 10:13:44 AM PDT by irishjuggler
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To: MinorityRepublican

Gambling is for losers, literally.


23 posted on 08/24/2025 10:16:08 AM PDT by KevinB (I don’t really care, Margaret.)
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To: All

Cheap buffets largely disappeared from Las Vegas, with most closing permanently after the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a significant reduction in the number of available buffets. The remaining buffets have transformed, becoming more expensive and focusing on luxury dining experiences rather than cheap, all-you-can-eat value. Instead of returning to the old buffet model, many casinos have repurposed the buffet spaces for food halls or other dining options.

The pandemic forced temporary closures of many buffets, but many didn’t reopen as casinos opted to discontinue the model.

The demand for cheap, all-you-can-eat options has waned, with casinos recognizing a shift toward more curated, upscale dining experiences.

For casinos, the buffet model can be expensive to operate, and many found it more profitable to convert the large spaces into other concepts like food halls.

Even before the pandemic, casinos were exploring ways to reduce food waste. The transformation to food halls or other dining options provides a more sustainable approach to managing food resources, such as sending leftovers to local farms.

The number of casino buffets in Las Vegas has dramatically decreased, with only a handful remaining on the Strip compared to over 70 prior to 2020.

The surviving buffets are generally more expensive, with some costing as much as $75 per person.

Many former buffet spaces have been transformed into food halls, allowing for more variety and different price points.

While most buffets are gone, some high-end options remain, such as Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace and The Buffet at Wynn, but these are not “cheap” by any means.


24 posted on 08/24/2025 10:19:55 AM PDT by Liz (May you be in Heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead (Irish blessing))
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To: MinorityRepublican

Haven’t been in nearly 20 years. It was an expensive hassle even then.


25 posted on 08/24/2025 10:22:52 AM PDT by CodeToad
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To: Drew68

I’m surprised they didn’t squeeze climate change into the article


26 posted on 08/24/2025 10:25:28 AM PDT by j.havenfarm (24 years on Free Republic, 12/10/24! More than 10,500 replies and still not shutting up!)
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To: j.havenfarm

“I’m surprised they didn’t squeeze climate change into the article”

After reading through the comments I was going to post that. They got their Trump bashing in though.


27 posted on 08/24/2025 10:34:30 AM PDT by alternatives?
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To: LukeL

They still comp rooms. But you still have to pay the resort fees. I get offers all the time. And the drinks are still free if you are gambling. Along with my comped room offers usually comes a $50 free food credit as well as at least a $40 free play. I got an offer the other day for MGM. I still don’t go near the strip. lol


28 posted on 08/24/2025 10:43:12 AM PDT by sheana
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To: MinorityRepublican

I hope Cugino’s Italian Deli on Maryland Parkway stays in business. I often eat there when I visit Las Vegas. I never go to the Strip.


29 posted on 08/24/2025 10:45:43 AM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: MinorityRepublican

Vegas has simply become too d***ed expensive for most Americans to visit.
It used to be reasonably affordable (and with free or almost-free food as a good incentive). ‘
Something’s gone wrong


30 posted on 08/24/2025 10:52:20 AM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicians aren't born, they're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE))
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To: MinorityRepublican

I could be way off base, but I personally think people in general have significantly less disposable income come than they’ve had previously. ‘Circuses’ become less important when ‘bread’ becomes more expensive.


31 posted on 08/24/2025 11:08:44 AM PDT by neverevergiveup
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To: PeterPrinciple

Yes it a thing in Las Vegas.... You have slots and video poker pretty much anywhere in Las Vegas.. In the 7-Eleven in the grocery store anywhere.... Next level is your local bars all open 24/7 can have video poker slots in them.. next level up you have kind of a little mini casinos It’s kind of the reverse of a bar it’s a mini casino bar... Then all around the perimeters smaller casinos growing into full size hotel casinos

It’s really quite simple any business can have gambling in it It’s free money companies will just put in machines for you and you get a part of the take


32 posted on 08/24/2025 11:09:09 AM PDT by tophat9000 (Tophat90000)
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To: neverevergiveup
I personally think people in general have significantly less disposable income come than they’ve had previously. ‘Circuses’ become less important when ‘bread’ becomes more expensive.

Yep. Plus everything is way more expensive in Vegas. It's no longer a "good deal".

33 posted on 08/24/2025 11:10:07 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: Secret Agent Man

Organized Crime never left. It is now known as “government.”


34 posted on 08/24/2025 11:10:36 AM PDT by abb
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To: KamperKen

Well, i feel for you, i am in Michigan, we are fighting against voter fraud and stupid democrat ideas everyday.


35 posted on 08/24/2025 11:27:12 AM PDT by exnavy (See article IV section 4 of our constitution.)
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To: BobL

“Allowing the city to be run based on Universal Voting has destroyed the city, the same way Zimbabwe was destroyed by Universal Voting....”

Would you explain this? I don’t know what you mean by Universal Voting. The national trend has been toward expanding the franchise — blacks, women, 18-year-olds — but does that have something to do with Las Vegas?


36 posted on 08/24/2025 11:31:26 AM PDT by Eagle Forgotten
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To: Liz

Hmmm…am I right in assuming that the buffets in LV casinos were sometimes „subsidized“ through the profits made from gambling?

Maybe they were used to attract potential customers who would try their luck at the slot-machines, Black Jack, roulette and other games of chance after having treated themselves to a delicious meal 😋 (and why not? 🙂)

I still have a bad conscience, because during my visit to Vegas 31 years ago, I did content myself with the excellent dinner which I enjoyed at one of the casinos, and I didn’t gamble away more than three or four dollars…and it was worth it🙂


37 posted on 08/24/2025 11:36:57 AM PDT by Menes
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To: freedom1st

There’s a tribal casino twenty minutes from my house and the staff all know me, I get comps and the reservation cops don’t brook any nonsense. What else would I need?


38 posted on 08/24/2025 11:43:25 AM PDT by Orosius
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To: exnavy

Indeed California creep causes that it’s what keeps U Haul in big bucks.


39 posted on 08/24/2025 11:43:57 AM PDT by Vaduz
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To: Menes

Cheap buffets were used to attract those to try their luck at the slots, Black Jack, roulette
and other games of chance after having treated themselves to a delicious meal (and why not?)


40 posted on 08/24/2025 11:55:53 AM PDT by Liz (May you be in Heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead (Irish blessing))
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