"You think I'm skimming off the top?"
Posted on 09/12/2025 2:33:07 PM PDT by Libloather
Las Vegas tourism continues to decline as fresh numbers reveal that fewer visitors are traveling to Sin City.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) recently released its numbers for July visitors, noting a 12% drop from last year.
There were 3,089,300 visitors this July compared to over 3.5 million last year, while occupancy on the Strip dropped 7% from 86.5% last year.
The tourism decline has been attributed to a combination of factors, including the impact of tariffs, the seasonal summer slowdown, and a surge in online gaming.
Most recently, the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino announced it will be forgoing live dealers, shifting to electronic table games (ETG).
Owner and CEO Derek Stevens told Fox News Digital about ongoing evolutions and shared updates.
"I think things continue to change. I remember that at one point in time, people played sic bo [a fast-paced dice game with Asian origins]," said Stevens.
"Remember, there are a lot of different games that had their eras and their run, whether it's in Vegas or anywhere around the world," he added.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I cannot fathom what people find appealing about this sickeningly artificial destination. I saw nothing interesting about it when I went a decade ago with my job. The people are trashy, the value for your cost is low, and the gaudiness of the venues is just nauseating. I wanted to jump ship and take a trip to Hoover Dam or the desert just to breath.
They just won’t address the real cause. Corporate nickel squeezing. They got rid of all the perks and kick out people who won big. Effing greedy idiots.
Yeah l hate Las Vegas but the wife loves the shows. I think those have slid downhill too though.
Is Wayne Newton performing as a zombie yet?
Half the point is some cute girl who laughs at your stupid jokes for tips.
I stayed in LV for a week on business back in the early 70s. It was the tail end of the mob era and things were fairly nice. Everything was affordable. Free booze flowed as long as you kept playing. They almost gave away full breakfasts all over town. The shows were good and affordable. There were still nickel slot machines hidden in the back of the casino floors. And they were the satisfying mechanical machines that went Whirrr....clunk...clunk...clunk, not beep-boop-beep. You pulled the handle and you had a visceral feel you were doing something with the machine.
It was still a make-believe place in the desert, but it was 100 times better than when the corporations have created there.
To each his own, but I still prefer a natural destination to a contrived one.
"You think I'm skimming off the top?"
“””Is Wayne Newton performing as a zombie yet?””
Still going three nights a week for 94 bucks. He has been doing it since 1958.
It used to be cheap.
Some 30 years ago, we never missed to stop at Vegas for Lunch and/or dinner.
The rooms were also dirty cheap.
The entertainment also.
They did everything to get you there to play!
If you did not play, that place was just great!
But now?!
Never been there. I’m not much of a gambler other than the dog track (they’re pretty much gone) and the occasional Powerball ticket.
But a few people have told me that it’s actually kinda fun and you can find good food and other non-gambling things to do.
Those electronic ones just aren’t the same although I hit two 1000 to 1 long shot bets twice in one week last Nov on them. Won $1100 & then $3386. I have never seen anyone else ever win that bet.
Las Vegas was better when the Mafia ran it. I enjoyed Las Vegas many years ago. Today I choose not to go there.
The problem is the corporations skimmed off the top and they got to nickel and dime you for everything. If you don’t have a lot of money, you’ll be broke before you can even gamble.
The casinos sold off their properties to investors and then rent it back. They got to really bring in the cash and they just rip you off every way from Sunday.
Lower comps, resort fees, tax on resort fees, no more cheap rooms, no cheap buffets or food, drug addicts in front of the casinos, Mexicans on every corner handling out hooker flyers. $28 bottled water in your room, $24 beers in the casino, no more free drinks even when gambling...
Do you see the problem yet?
No reason to go to Vegas anymore.
I’d keep an eye out for that guy.
Yep, there are casinos in driving distance in just about every state and the same with the lottery. You can get you fix without paying thousands to get there, room, and food.
Las Vegas greatly deteriorated over the years.
A few decades ago it was totally different.
Everything was dirt cheap—(free parking, very inexpensive buffets, hotel rooms) and included top notch entertainment of every imaginable kind.
In those days in one weekly visit we would attend:
—Comedy clubs/acts
—Magic acts
—Boxing matches
—Country music concerts
I regard these electronic slot machines as reverse ATMS, and about as entertaining.
I like to shoot craps with actual dice, actual felt, and actual humans running and playing the game. They make it all electric and impersonal, I’m going elsewhere.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.