The real reasons Las Vegas is losing visitors

Yahoo Finance! ^ | 7/25/25 | Mohamed Dabo

[DallasBiff]

Was in Vegas 10 years ago, stayed in a place that had no resort fees. Walked the strip, it was dirty and trash everywhere. The escalators to the crosswalks over the strip were all broken, and the 6:5 payout for a blackjack.

[PJ-Comix]

Is Laughlin a good alternative to Vegas as far as expenses?

[Rockingham]

The big issues are rising prices and a proliferation of fees and charges that make visitors feel that they are constantly getting clipped. Vegas is in trouble and they do not have an easy way back from the brink.

[DIRTYSECRET]

The Hooters Hotel was $30 a while back. Now it’s Oya. Prices way up. People have to understand that a Vegas vacation is the first thing to cut back on when times are harder. The city isn’t helping matters.

[rbg81]

Last time I went to Vegas (over 10 years ago), it was boring.
And all the “deals” (like cheap food) were gone. Drinks at casinos were watered down. It was basically like a plastic theme park for adults.

There was a lot more excitement and authenticity there pre 9/11.

[enumerated]

I give up - what’s “the real reason”?

[j.havenfarm]

I took my son there last year. The most infamous gouge was quite a number of hotels charging $25 to have a room refrigerator. We’ll see if the “luxury model” referenced in the article is sufficient to keep them afloat. I’m thinking it won’t

[frogjerk]

Just think of all that “extra” money people used to have from refinancing and buying houses that isn’t happening. Many people used that extra cash in pocket for small vacations, and eating out and other things. All that is GONE right now. Service industry is taking it on the chin as well.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Experts link this to what’s been dubbed the “Trump slump” in tourism, marked by tariffs, strained international relations, and increased visa fees for visitors to the US.

Ah yes. Of course. The $26 bottle of water cited in the article is due to Trump, and the reason Vegas is declining is because of Trump. Does it matter that the data is from before Trump took office and does not remotely make a case that tariffs increased prices? No. The rabid partisans at Yahoo Finance can't wait to deploy their witty "Trump Slump" catchphrase in the service of trying to undermine the Trump economic record.

[vespa300]

It was cleaner, safer and cheaper when the Mob ran it.

I used to go with my girlfriend and her parents in the early and mid 70s. In fact I would drive. Her dad was a doctor who was the worse driver so they made me drive. I was a teenager.

I remember how clean it was and I would whisper to my girlfriend......those guys in the pit are mob guys. And we were at the Stardust all the time. Stayed at the Motel next to it. The sports book had just been set up by Frank Lefty Rosenthal and it was the biggest most advanced.

I did’t know about Lefty and Spilotro till years later of course. But being in that casino at that time.....many times, I had to have rubbed shoulders with those guys a few times.

Give it back to the mob.....they knew how to run the city.

[ASOC]

It couldn’t be the mass of ‘homeless’, beggars, pickpockets, petty thieves, rude and scary folks demanding a handout and the gangs - always the gangs.

LAs Vegas ceased to be a fun, resort city a long time ago. It has caught a bad case of Californites.

Think - really East LA.

[alternatives?]

I thought Disney was charging for everything and over priced 20 years ago. Even the kids thought so. We and they will never go back.

[God luvs America]

i was in Vegas the first time in 1986 and it was easy to get around and go from hotel to hotel...

I was there in 2022 and 2023 on football business- its impossible to go from place to place now without a half mile trek (and i run 4 to 7 miles every day)....

You are basically stuck in one place unless you are prepared to walk- a long distance...

[Steely Tom]

Been there once, what an awful place.

[Jolla]

I was down in Costa Rica this summer, went to the same place my wife and I went to a few years ago. We chatted with the same beach chair-umbrella lady, she was upbeat at first but the 2nd day when we mentioned the lack of tourists she said it was down at least 50%

[PIF]

excerpts:

Tourists are increasingly deterred by the high cost of visiting. Reports highlight eye-watering prices such as $33 bagels and $26 bottles of water, onerous parking and resort fees, and surprise charges for early check-ins and basic amenities.

One visitor remarked people felt they were “getting taken for a ride” as nickel-and-dimed pricing became widespread ...

The sharp decrease in overseas visitors - who typically stay longer and spend more - is a major blow. Convention traffic remains strong, up about 10%, but leisure travel has softened, with weekday hotel occupancy dipping below trend.

[pops88]

It’s pretty simple- they gouge the tourists and alienate the locals. As a local, most people I talk to think it was run better under the Mob.

[MinorityRepublican]

Las Vegas is no longer a blue collar entertainment town. It is now an elite entertainment capital because they cater to the 1%. They tore down the old resorts that were very affordable and now they have palaces all over the place but they’re very expensive.

[Vermont Lt]

It’s run by the BIG mob now: Bankers, Saudis, and the Chinese.

The Italians cannot compete with these guys.

[MinorityRepublican]

It’s pretty simple- they gouge the tourists and alienate the locals. As a local, most people I talk to think it was run better under the Mob.

Yes. What I said in reply # 18.