Posted on 07/28/2025 9:41:02 AM PDT by DallasBiff
Las Vegas is experiencing a notable downturn in tourism, with hotel occupancy, visitor numbers and spending all slipping.
Industry data points to several key reasons behind the shift, including rising costs, fewer international travellers, and broader economic uncertainties.
Drop in international visitors and hotel occupancy
According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, hotel occupancy dropped to just 66.7% in early July—a sharp fall from the previous year—and international visitors.
Domestic arrivals also fell by around 6.5%, and traffic through Harry Reid International Airport declined nearly 4% overall.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
My approach was I had $50, and either I would lose that, or go home with $200 and walk away. Most likely over time I broke even, but I considered it entertainment, as you could talk to the people at the table and have some free drinks and have a good time.
Exactly right! Online Gambling and the proliferation of legalized gambling live or virtually all across the nation has really hurt Las Vegas. Vegas had a virtual monopoly on gambling for decades. Also, I believe the odds at the slots and table games have gotten worse.
I admit - I like the energy and people watching in Las Vegas - but I can lose money just as easily in A.C, Philly suburbs, CT or Boston. (Which is why I don’t go very often; the thrill is gone!)
Laughlin is a small town where you can walk down the streets at night safely...so far.
The casinos are run by the same corporations that run them in Vegas except, you can still get 50 dollar a night rooms when there is no special events going on.
The casino staff are hit and miss depending on time and day.
The Riverside and a couple others are kind of good places. Don Lauglin died a year or so ago and now i understand his kids run the place.
Laughlin is directly on the River.
Laughlin has actually become very lively in the past year on weekends.
Sad part...the Colorado Bell sits idle and closed. One of thee best places sits there closed. Why it isnt taken over by someone we dont know.
Bean counters ruin everything.
Sounds like people just don’t have money for vacations. Not when your spare pennies have to go for groceries. Probably taking in more local attractions, day trips, etc.
My APA pool team won a trip to Vegas to enter the world 9 ball championship tournament. The league pays the flight, hotel and a daily stipend.
My plan is to hole up in my room and spend as close to nothing as possible. Maybe buy some carrots and other healthy stuff to take back to the room.
Some of my team mates will be going to fancy restaurants and hitting the casinos - not me.
I am not wealthy but I could afford to splurge if I thought I’d really enjoy it - but Vegas is not my cup of tea.. I just don’t enjoy being ripped off everywhere I go - and I have come to hate city life.
I’d rather find some cheap campsite in one of Pennsylvania’s state parks.. somewhere where you can look up and see the stars at night - as far away from the big cities as possible.
I used to go back in the 80’s and 90’s and let me tell you, it was fun. They had shrimp cocktail. The drinks were flowing -big giant cheap margaritas, it was crazy. The casinos were packed. People were screaming, and the odds were actually better than Vegas. Then gas prices started getting too high for people to drive out there and Covid was the death blow. It is never came back. Some of the hotels now are just vacant and the buffets are just normal priced like around $35-$40 just crazy prices. It’s a shame. I really liked it back when I was younger.
You live there or near there?
Went beck there every chance we got until they shut the whole town down for a stupid car race a year or two ago. They don't know who their customers are anymore. They cater to the filthy rich.
We will go back only when the mob takes over again and it is again fun and safe.
oh sure, you can’t go to McDonald’s now for less than $100. Who the hell has money to throw into a machine
Exactly, I had the same experience maybe ten years ago: boring. Probably the most interesting thing I saw was the way some people nervously and obsessively shifted their chips from one spot to another before a spin of the roulette wheel. What were they doing, I wondered — were they tuning in on some discreet intuition?
We have visited Laughlin a couple of times and enjoyed it.
The prices were dirt cheap when we went.
The “Stardust Line” with Lee Pete!
We live 20 miles from there.
There are secretes to visiting Laughlin.
As for getting something for nothing.
Forget about it. Aint happening.
And yup, Laughlins hot during the day in summer.
Yes, MGM owns almost everything.
It used to be an inexpensive destination.
Now, everything except downtown is pricey.
The other thing is the people handing out hooker cards on every corner is just not a great look.
That alone made my wife NEVER want to go back.
Very true....when i was there in 2022/2023 i’d go out for a run at 5:30AM and had to make my way to Shrine Bowl practice....i’d stop off and get a bottle of Gatorade and it was $8...
Well, to each his own I guess.
I won’t be going back to LV on my own dime. But, if I won a free trip to Vegas (w/stipend), I would try to have some fun. I can certainly understand not wanting to get sucked into gambling. But beyond that, there are still SOME interesting things to see. Even back in the day, there was often more to do in the LV airport than in most US cities.
We went there ten years ago
My then 47 year old wife and three boys 6-13
Stayed at palazzo twin to the Venetian
Two bed suite
750 a nite
Twice what id pay for Omni downtown Nashville
Food was good but high
All the James beard joints
I rolled one bet only and hit it and gave my rib the money which she promptly spent at Barney’s in the hotels mall
Rooftop pool she could not go to the pool bar without being propositioned or catcalled which I’m used to but still mostly by SoCal boys drunk half her age
There was a very sought after bar up there Asian named they lined up for early
Paparazzi infested place
To top it off
Vomit in pool
That was enough for me
Now I stop in Vegas driving to LA or Yosemite or Portland only to get a double double animal at I&O
Bullhead Laughlin is cheaper to gamble and driving down from the mountain rim above it at nite is spectacular
Yes very much so
A side effect helping is there used to have a lot of cheap flights to LV. How many look forward to flying now?
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