Las Vegas made a big, bad bet on casinos (Commentary)

[chris08876]

All this harshness towards Vegas makes me wonder if Montréal or Macau have the same negative vibe associated with the gambling/night life. It seems Vegas has turned into a place that is trashy and has a bad stigma too it compared to other cities that are gambling hot spots from what I'm reading in the comments. Maybe Vegas can learn from Montréal on how to have gambling and entertainment without being trashy?

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by chris08876

All this harshness towards Vegas makes me wonder if Montréal or Macau have the same negative vibe associated with the gambling/night life. It seems Vegas has turned into a place that is trashy and has a bad stigma too it compared to other cities that are gambling hot spots from what I'm reading in the comments. Maybe Vegas can learn from Montréal on how to have gambling and entertainment without being trashy?

Montreal is nothing like Vegas, so much history and culture.

I have never been to Macau, but I love Portuguese culture and the mix with Chinese is very exotic. The food is amazing.

[chris08876]

Yea thats what I would imagine the history/culture. Vegas does have a history but its not rich like Montreal or even Macau.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Montreal is nothing like Vegas, so much history and culture.

I have never been to Macau, but I love Portuguese culture and the mix with Chinese is very exotic. The food is amazing.

This. It's hard to say that Las Vegas made a "mistake" by becoming a gambling center, because it wouldn't exist without the casinos. Why else would almost 2 million people move to an arid valley with unbearably hot summers?

If the casino entertainment industry declines, then perhaps Vegas will stop growing... which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.

[brickell]

edit: In the time it took me to read the article and post this, somebody already brought it up. So consider it a +1 to ihearthed's comment.


Sounds more like a construction problem than a casino problem.
If/when the housing market corrects, they'll probably be ok. That's a big if though.

[chris08876]

^^^^

Thats what makes a place like Macau stable as gambling is only 40% of its GDP. Its economy is diverse enough that even if gambling took a hit, it would still survive. Vegas is too dependent on tourism and any effect on that would wound the economy of the area deeply.

[novawolverine]

Originally Posted by chris08876

All this harshness towards Vegas makes me wonder if Montréal or Macau have the same negative vibe associated with the gambling/night life. It seems Vegas has turned into a place that is trashy and has a bad stigma too it compared to other cities that are gambling hot spots from what I'm reading in the comments. Maybe Vegas can learn from Montréal on how to have gambling and entertainment without being trashy?

Montreal has a more diverse array of industries and functions than Vegas. Montreal is a very nice and fun city, but it's not the same kind of getaway that way that Vegas is. Sure, there are plenty of people who party in Montreal for a weekend or bachelor party, but that whole "What happens in Vegas..." slogan is not hyperbole for many people and if you're not into all the debauchery, than you can be treated like a king there.

Las Vegas needs to become a more well-rounded city without losing what makes it unique but also cleaning certain things up. Honestly, it's so hot there, I don't know that it'd appeal to some people just from that perspective.

[brickell]

and on Vegas... Meh. I've been a few times. Always enjoy myself. I'm from Florida so I'm used to the tackiness. The trick is to combine a couple of days in the Casinos with a some days outdoors: Zion, Death Valley, Valley of Fire, Grand Canyon if you're up for a drive, etc... Some of the more amazing scenery in the US.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Vegas's problems have little to do with tourism. It's late 1990s and early 2000s economy was built significantly on heavy labor to build houses and buildings. Tourism was never expanding fast enough to absorb that. I think construction got to be something like 20% of Vegas's economy before the market crash. It was the nation's most egregious example of what happened during our real estate bubble and it's still going through the correction from that.

The driver of any local economy is money coming from elsewhere. Tourism seems like a very large percentage of that for Las Vegas. Another chunk would be the personal wealth of people who move there.

The rest is just money shuffling around within the system. Most jobs are part of that. But they're dependent on the money entering the system to begin with.

Of course the bubble point is true as well. Las Vegas was built around people going into huge debt, and relied on their ability to do that.

[10023]

Originally Posted by brickell

edit: In the time it took me to read the article and post this, somebody already brought it up. So consider it a +1 to ihearthed's comment.


Sounds more like a construction problem than a casino problem.
If/when the housing market corrects, they'll probably be ok. That's a big if though.

But why should the housing market in Las Vegas correct if the hospitality/entertainment sector isn't growing?

[brickell]

Originally Posted by mhays

Another chunk would be the personal wealth of people who move there.

This.

Same thing in Florida. Some places here are still stagnant. But others have recovered and unemployment is shrinking because of it.

In the sunbelt Growth itself is an industry.

• Video Link

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by chris08876

It seems Vegas has turned into a place that is trashy and has a bad stigma too it compared to other cities that are gambling hot spots from what I'm reading in the comments.

I don't think Vegas was ever seen as a "classy" place, at least not in my lifetime. Maybe back in the 1950s and 1960s, back during the Rat Pack, and back when people still dressed up to go to dinner and to a show? I was born in the 70s, so, my experience with Vegas is that it's always been a tacky, schlocky place, and not really classy; there's always been a trashy element to it.

[Leo the Dog]

Vegas is a wonderful place. It's what you make out of it. World class hotels, awesome pools, good shopping, fun shows, people watching, great hiking, lake mead, Grand Canyon tours.

Oh yeah and gambling. You don't have to blow thousands, you could play nickel slots or $5 bet on a basketball game. Just make it fun. I've explored the city off the strip and it has some really neat areas.

[mello]

Brickell that NASA shot is amazing watching that Section of Vegas metro grow (It wasn't showing the Eastern parts of the city) have you or anyone ever seen something like that for LA? I would love to see how fast it grew in the 50's through 90's. Thanks

[antinimby]

Macau's economy revolves around its casino industry. The reason it is flourishing is because of the influx of mainland Chinese money. Without that, it would be in just as much trouble if not more than Vegas. There's nothing it does besides gambling that the other nearby cities like Hong Kong, Shenzhen or Guangzhou can't do better.

For China, it has the monopoly on gambling. That's why it is secure.

As for Montreal vs Vegas. Vegas >>> Montreal. It's not even close. Vegas wins just on weather alone.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by antinimby

As for Montreal vs Vegas. Vegas >>> Montreal. It's not even close. Vegas wins just on weather alone.

Really? Vegas is a dump for trashy people.

Montreal wins on weather alone.

[destroycreate]

I'm always astonished by how much hate LV gets on this forum and in general. LV is supposed to be America's Playground, so what if it's not a more traditionally urban city. I always have fun there, whether it's the fantastic selection of world class nightclubs, huge assortment of stores, or dynamite restaurants--not to mention all that glitz and lights that make it a very exciting place to be. We're actually really lucky to have such a unique city in this country.

And what's all this talk about it being expensive? You can stay at excellent hotels in Vegas for very cheap that would cost much more in others cities, in addition to reasonably priced 4 star restaurants and what not. Vegas overall offers very good value for your money.

The only thing that annoyed me about Vegas was when The Travel Channel used to air Vegas specials literally 24/7, specifically honeymoons in Vegas or crime spree Vegas shows. Who the hell takes a honeymoon in Vegas? It's the least romantic place on earth, lol.

[brickell]

Originally Posted by mello

Brickell that NASA shot is amazing watching that Section of Vegas metro grow (It wasn't showing the Eastern parts of the city) have you or anyone ever seen something like that for LA? I would love to see how fast it grew in the 50's through 90's. Thanks

This has been posted before. Only goes back to '84, but hey it's something.
https://earthengine.google.org/#intro/LasVegas

You can zoom out and pan to wherever you want.

Riverside really takes off.

[chris08876]

^^^^

Phoenix, and Mesa, AZ along with Vegas really ballooned in size. Pretty awesome link.

It was pretty cool also going to NY and seeing the development of the west side of Manhattan and how much Brooklyn and Queens grew along the East River. Even Jersey, a big increase in density.

[DonMendigo]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

I'm always astonished by how much hate LV gets on this forum and in general.

Well, it probably doesn't help that Nevada airs ads, at least in the Chicago area, talking smack about how Illinois sucks for business and that companies should move there. So there's that.