Vegas Struggling (April 28, 2025)

[Dive_Bar_Dave]

Additional reports:

Las Vegas unemployment up. Among the highest in the nation.




Tourism down across the US and in Vegas. Mayor says "We need heads in beds."




And the controversial Not Leaving Las Vegas vlog:



His document for his stats in the video: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...?pli=1&tab=t.0

(Once again, I seek to post a wide variety of sources about the Vegas situation--a survey of sorts.)

[Orko]

Several major retailers and restaurant chains have announced or are in the process of closing stores in 2025.
For example, Foot Locker is closing hundreds of mall locations.
Walgreens is closing 2,150 locations by 2027
. Denny's is closing over 150 restaurants.
Jack in the Box is closing between 150 and 200 locations.
Additionally, Big Lots is also among the retailers closing stores.
USA Today reports that many retailers are facing challenges due to factors like the pandemic and online shopping, which are contributing to these closures.

USA Today is FULL OF SHIT.
EVERY ONE OF THESE IS CAUSED BY PRIVATE EQUITY AND THEIR DEBT SCAM.
This is the tip of the iceberg, many more closures.

[gut]

Several major retailers and restaurant chains have announced or are in the process of closing stores in 2025.
For example, Foot Locker is closing hundreds of mall locations.
Walgreens is closing 2,150 locations by 2027
. Denny's is closing over 150 restaurants.
Jack in the Box is closing between 150 and 200 locations.
Additionally, Big Lots is also among the retailers closing stores.
USA Today reports that many retailers are facing challenges due to factors like the pandemic and online shopping, which are contributing to these closures.

USA Today is FULL OF SHIT.
EVERY ONE OF THESE IS CAUSED BY PRIVATE EQUITY AND THEIR DEBT SCAM.
This is the tip of the iceberg, many more closures.

Caused or correlation?

Everyone wants everything delivered to their door. Thanks Covid.

[desertrunner]

While the Las Vegas casinos are laying off workers, the California indian casinos are hiring...

[Dive_Bar_Dave]

More reports:

Too Expensive: Travel agency COO on Vegas' decline in tourism:





Golden Gate replaces human dealers amid visitor slump:



Corporate greed leads to the rise of the machines...



Miami is The New Vegas!- Vegas in Crisis As Tourism Collapse Sparks Major Alarm:



Patrick Bet-David also mentions how people are drinking less now, and how gambling and meeting people can be done over your phone.

[Dan Druff]

I was just in Vegas last week. Stayed for 4 nights. Of course I visited Mount Charleston as part of it.

Anyway, they definitely have a problem there regarding overcharging for everything, including simple stuff like coffee. The fact that you can't go down to the lobby of a middle-end hotel and get a coffee for under $10 is brutal.

The fact that breakfast or lunch will set you back an amount you used to spend on dinner in the 2010s is also a problem.

We mostly ate off strip for this reason.

Interestingly, the one thing in Vegas which is still a GOOD deal is midweek hotel rooms. Even with no casino status, you can typically get a mid-tier strip hotel room for under $100 (including resort fees) during the week, which you can't do in any other tourist destination in the US. Weekends are expensive, but most midweek nights are surprisingly cheap.

Unfortunately, once you're there, everything else is a ripoff, plus you get nickel-and-dimed to death, plus they've degraded the gambling odds to where you have little chance to even book a short term win.

Here's a 20-minute discussion I had of the entire matter, on the August 9th PFA show. Go to 1:19:19 mark:

[zealanddonk]

I
The fact that breakfast or lunch will set you back an amount you used to spend on dinner in the 2010s is also a problem.

Thanks Obama.

[gut]

I was just in Vegas last week. Stayed for 4 nights. Of course I visited Mount Charleston as part of it.

Anyway, they definitely have a problem there regarding overcharging for everything, including simple stuff like coffee. The fact that you can't go down to the lobby of a middle-end hotel and get a coffee for under $10 is brutal.

The fact that breakfast or lunch will set you back an amount you used to spend on dinner in the 2010s is also a problem.

We mostly ate off strip for this reason.

Interestingly, the one thing in Vegas which is still a GOOD deal is midweek hotel rooms. Even with no casino status, you can typically get a mid-tier strip hotel room for under $100 (including resort fees) during the week, which you can't do in any other tourist destination in the US. Weekends are expensive, but most midweek nights are surprisingly cheap.

Unfortunately, once you're there, everything else is a ripoff, plus you get nickel-and-dimed to death, plus they've degraded the gambling odds to where you have little chance to even book a short term win.

Here's a 20-minute discussion I had of the entire matter, on the August 9th PFA show. Go to 1:19:19 mark:

Basically what I said on page 1 here.

[Yeah basically this. If I come back again this year, might just do southpoint.

The bartenders I chatted with this trip (all Caesers properties) basically agreed as well. Slower for all of them this year, prices of everything thru the roof.

I could generally walk at my own, fast, pace down centerstrip during prime walking hours. Duck and dodge groups, sure, but not the Manhattan style stuck in a moving blob way of old.

A weird hybrid now of dirt cheap to get, and stay, in Vegas. Then spend a ton while here. And low odds of a casual gambler winning money.]

Of course, cheap to fly for me from Portland. Literally was $53 on spirit round trip lol.

Also easy to just slowplay vid poker for free drinks. So whatever, still fine for me. Not as good as before, but like Druff says, still cheaper trip then if i was trying to do 3 nights in NYC or something.

[brutal_thinker]

So when I go to Vegas, I almost always play low stakes limit holdem at the Red Rock and will occasionally play a few slots. When I say occasionally, I mean very very little. Recently I received an offer for 2 free nights anytime during August and September. No resort fees, no tax, total comp. I did agree to pay a $30 premium for early check in, but aside from that, no other charges at all. Now keep in mind that playing 4/8 Limit with my dad and the rest of the elders doesn't exactly rack up the points and comps, yet here I am offered a completely comped room, which I booked for this coming Friday and Saturday night. Point being that if they are giving these types of offers to an infrequent player like me, who plays almost zero pit games, then they must really be hurting.

[BedWetterBettor]

My High Roller Friend can't even get a Limo from the airport due to CET being so stingy! They did offer an Uber free of charge though, hahaha!!!

[Dive_Bar_Dave]

More reports from men on the street:



He just walks along the lower strip on a Tuesday afternoon and mostly complains about the heat. 107 degrees out.
He also calls an escalator an elevator. People don't know words anymore.


And the even less well-spoken DanVsWorld:



They say Vegas is not dead but prices are too high and it has slowed down, also Covid changed stuff.
"THC MAN" with a bad neck tattoo is happy with Vegas too. A third guy says he loves and hates Vegas.
A last guy says Vegas is "gay as f$%#."

[Dive_Bar_Dave]

CBS News on the situation:

[Dive_Bar_Dave]

On the recent Club Random podcast (Aug. 25th),
Bill Maher says "Vegas is dying" and "They overbuilt it."

Other reports:

Drop in Las Vegas tourism hurting restaurants:



Is Las Vegas worth it? Tourists complain about high prices:


The mayor says "We need bodies here in Las Vegas."

[brutal_thinker]

This is kind of a combo post, so please bare with me and apologies in advance for its length. I just returned from a weekend in LV. I normally go to Vegas for one of two reasons. The first is to visit my family there (Dad who is near 80), brother, sister in law, niece and nephew. The second is for my own recreational fun, which is not nearly as often as the first reason. When I do go to visit my family, I either stay with them, or, because my dad plays 4/8 limit holdem almost every day at the Red Rock, he can normally get me a comp. To be clear, I don't play pit games and rarely will I play a slot machine. About 3 weeks ago, I got an unsolicited offer from the Red Rock for 2 free nights anytime between 8/1/25 and 9/30/25. This offer comped everything. Resort fees comped. Room tax comped. They also gave me $50 in free slot play. While it is only $50 bucks, I started watching some videos on YouTube and TikTok about different machines, etc. One of the consistent opinions was to place the same type of bet but at the higher denomination. For example, my comfort zone is between $8.00 and $12.50 per spin. Instead of playing 1200 credits at a penny ($12.00), I was told it is better to play 120 credits at a dime. Stuff like that. I saw some machines that are "must hit by" and big thanks to Druff for educating me on how those are one step shy of a scam. (I saw one grand that had to hit by $1K. The meter was at $918.34. I took my Niece and Nephew to some Harry Potter show at the Horseshoe. When I returned to the Red Rock about 2 1/2 hours later, that meter had barely moved, so Druff saved me a ton of "chasing money". Anyway, I ended up having the run of a lifetime. Multiple hand pays over the course of basically a day and a half. (Arrived around noon on Friday, left 7:00 AM Sunday, and had various dinner plans Friday and Saturday night). The machines that I played most were the Mo Mummy ones (the original and the Yeti), variations on the Huff n Puff, and a few assorted ones that just peaked my interest. I took pics of the different payouts because i was honestly astonished. So here are my questions/observations.

1. Is it correct to play at the higher denominations even with the same basic bet sizing?
2. Does anyone think that maybe hotels are starting to loosen their machines to bring players back or entice new players?
3. Maybe this is unique to the Red Rock as it caters to mostly locals?

Pics attached.

[desertrunner]

Some random summary notes on this topic, some repeats...

- For years now, the indian casinos have been taking the California customers from Nevada, state-wide. Californians have been passing on Las Vegas and Reno vacations and

- PFA Radio and Druff have publicly said it for years now- the Resort Fees were hurting the Vegas experiences and Druff was right.

- Behind Druff, I personally have been posting about the indicators here in these forums for years now. From the Las Vegas housing market to the Indian hotels to the shut down of various Nevada casinos. This is NOT new, we have been covering the items on PFA for years now, we trail blazed it long before the recent media.

- This has absolutely nothing to do with Trump and tariffs, in my opinion. The liberals are using this news item to take a random and convenient shot at Trump. The old throw mud to the wall and see that stick trick.

- The COVID losses from 2020-2021 are partially to blame, but I have always found that people refuse to blame the greedy CEO/President at the top trying to get his multi-million dollar bonus parachute nest egg to jump out in case things go bad, like now. I have found a lot of people (neo cons) will ignore this theory as they think some day they might be a CEO or company president and dont want to crap on an idea that might happen to them. I see this alot in the online gum communities, they embrace the multi-million dollar CEO bonus idea because it could happen to them someday. My answer- BS, its not happening unless you are currently in the top 3 or 5 in an executive company pecking order. If not, drop the pipe dream.

- Now what is happening- Home in Clark County are in foreclosure as casino workers are getting laid off. Its all part of a wheel turning with different spooks- CEO greed, over blown prices/fees, layoffs, foreclosures, people leaving Nevada to go live with parents and then in 3 years, the "Las Vegas Boom" will start and the media will be dumb blind shocked- Wow! And in another 5 years, I will bump this thread as proof when the cycle starts again.

The problem is- most hotel/casinos refuse to accept that they cut their own throats and have to blame someone else. Some are now doing what I said in this thread earlier- offering deals and BOGOs specials. I know Vegas, been going there since I was a kid in the 70s and then mostly in the last 34 years and lived there. Druff and I mostly did the same pattern of back and forth and a short residency.

In the 1995 movie CASINO, then Tangier's casino CEO Sam Rothstein laid it all out and is still right exactly 30 years later to thos day...

[Dive_Bar_Dave]

Rumors of massive layoffs at a major strip property coming soon.

More later...

[desertrunner]

Dive_Bar_Dave: Lots of typos.

I am sorry about the types, I was rushing on that post. I just wanted to get it posted and was frustrated by the topic as so many people get it wrong and he had it correct right here all along.

[Dive_Bar_Dave]

Dive_Bar_Dave: Lots of typos.

I am sorry about the types, I was rushing on that post. I just wanted to get it posted and was frustrated by the topic as so many people get it wrong and he had it correct right here all along.

Who had it correct? Druff?

What are so many people wrong about?

[desertrunner]

I am sorry about the types, I was rushing on that post. I just wanted to get it posted and was frustrated by the topic as so many people get it wrong and he had it correct right here all along.

Who had it correct? Druff?

What are so many people wrong about?

Druff had it correct on the resort fees years ago.

Dive Bar Dave- Youve been pretty spot on too with your posts, good job and thanks for the effort.

The people getting it wrong are the ones now blaming Trump. Also, I feel it is Nevada corporate greed driving this AND the California based Indian casinos success as people dont want to drive to Nevada to play. But people refuse to listen to me, so the problem continues.

A note on the CA Indian casinos- They are hiring people, not laying them off. Nevada casinos are laying off in large numbers.

[Dive_Bar_Dave]

Additional reports:

"Las Vegas Grapples With Tourism Slump as Six Months of Falling Visitor Numbers, High Resort Fees, And Weakening Gaming Revenue Impact The Strip"
https://www.travelandtourworld.com/n...oogle_vignette



"Classic Las Vegas casino announces it is CLOSING, as Sin City's rip-off prices trigger devastating tourist slump"
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ist-slump.html



"Vegas tourism is down. Some blame Trump's tariffs and immigration crackdown"
https://thenevadaindependent.com/art...tion-crackdown



"Las Vegas Indicator Flashing Warning Sign: Fewer Visitors May Imply Trouble For US Economy"
https://www.investopedia.com/las-veg...onomy-11795047