Agfencer98 said:

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Daddy-O5 said:

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That's right, it got demoed and rebuilt, much fancier now, I think.

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Was hard to not be. ha!

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That was certainly the allure at the time (young, broke, and drunk). Had to have been 15-20 years ago that we went and it was still there in its original form.

AggieT said:

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Quote:

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Also 6 to 5 blackjack payouts killed the game for me.

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I don't know why anyone plays these tables.

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I guess similar to paying damn $.50 a hand in blackjack in OK. Amazing anyone sits down to that.

When I lived in San Diego we'd make cheap runs to Vegas at least once a year. Then we'd start flying as we made a bit more (that drive back is murder).

Being poor pre-gaming in a hotel was the norm but you could find $5 tables

Fast forward 25 years a friend i used to go with was meeting a different group but arriving a day later. They called him and said "Bring booze". So he packed a bag full and checked it. He was telling me how shockingly expensive it is now and as ~50yr olds, its back to what it was like at 25.

The joke now is the old folks go to Reno.

I was at a work event in Palm Springs so I popped into a casino and found tables before 5pm at $5. Indian and no free drinks but still. Vegas is going to shift people to other cities.

Need a range of options on the strip like there used to be. From the Wynn to Casino Royale and everything in between. Everyplace seems to be fishing for the higher end.

And yet, somehow Excalibur still stands.

CrackerJackAg said:

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I don't mind more of the fat, badly dressed poors staying home.

Vegas can be pretty gross.

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Try Shreveport some time.

Capt. Augustus McCrae said:

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Gambling, prostitution, drug use and mostly lame shows were destined for failure. I cant say I'm sad to see the demise of a place called "Sin City"

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Username definitely does not check out.

Squadron7 said:

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CrackerJackAg said:

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I don't mind more of the fat, badly dressed poors staying home.

Vegas can be pretty gross.

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Try Shreveport some time.

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I love me some Louisiana.

No way in Hell am I going to a casino in Shreveport?

The uniqueness of going to Vegas for gambling is gone: it's everywhere now.

Vegas has pivoted over the years to being more experience focused. Entertainment, food and beverage, etc. And they make money on each aspect, as it can no longer be a throw in for gambling when people aren't coming to gamble.

And as this thread reveals, most people in my demo that used to go to Vegas to gamble are annoyed by the exorbitant fees the shift toward entertainment has caused. That is likely the clientele that they are losing, in my uneducated opinion.

HTownAg98 said:

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And yet, somehow Excalibur still stands.

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Huzzah!

Went to a conference there late last year and going to the same one this year. I've been curious to see if I notice a major difference.

Used to love Vegas when I was young and single. Myself and a couple friends literally did the whole "Swingers" routine when we'd go in the late-90's/early-00's. Broke as hell but wore suits at night and definitely dressed like the guys in Swingers.

We'd fly in on Sunday (I think it was SkyWest Airlines or something) on a cheap-ass flight and stay at The Riviera since it was dirt cheap. But we always played at Caesar's. And Sunday & Monday nights were "industry nights" at most of the clubs which meant it was when the strippers would go party on their nights off. We'd have a total budget of maybe $500 and thought we were the next Rat Pack. It was so damn fun and there was still that wannabe Rat Pack vibe in a lot of places. It was glorious.

Been back 3 times since between 2012 and 2020 and that vibe was gone. Hard to explain but it just wasn't the same. I suppose I'll go back if there's a concert I really want to see or something but I'll just look at Vegas like an old running buddy who I drifted apart from- lots of good times but those days are long gone and we're both different now.

Vegas can flush itself right down the drain it created. That is literally the worst of humanity crammed into a desert hell.

BCG Disciple said:

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HTownAg98 said:

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And yet, somehow Excalibur still stands.

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Huzzah!

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but Circus Circus does not. RIP slots o fun and your $2 strip beers while watching slot jockeys smoke through their neck.

I have been to Vegas so many times, I have lost count. Last time I went in 2023, it sucked. I noticed that the payouts were down and even BlackJack (I am a very good player) was just not fun due to the high min bet tables. No $5 or $10 tables. Most were $25. I have had more fun at Casinos in Europe. Those can be really fun.

However, My favorite place now is Lake Tahoe. It has some casinos to get your gambling fix, but most importantly it has the all the outdoor activities you could want.

Simple reason for disliking Vegas is everyone got old.

Younger folks may like it but then there are many more avenues for entertainment than Vegas these days. If nothing else, they can stick their noses in their phones and see all the nude girls they want.

"Las Vegas on a downward trajectory…"

That's saying something for a place that was virtually designed to be a craphole.

This whole thread read like the ending of Casino. Ahhh Vegas. It stopped being Vegas when the Chicago Mob was pushed out.

BQ78 said:

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Are you serious, Jack? Canadians who hate Trump are normally half of Vegas visitors. Sure.

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Canada provides about 6% of Las Vegas visitors. Non-US are about 20% with Canada 30% of that 20%. Those are official stats.

I think most are ignoring the Covid effect. Everyone from "whale addicts" to bachelor parties were forced to find other outlets for those urges.

Last time I was in Vegas briefly many years ago (for a George Strait concert) the strip was packed with the stench and site of druggies. Even the little train system (or whatever it is called) reeked of urine.

With gambling now more common elsewhere I am shocked it has held on as long as it has, unless something has changed (which I haven't read about). I'm sure if one stayed inside at a single casino etc. it might be safe etc, just not worth flying there for that for many, I suppose.

Agree with what a lot of people are saying. Used to go to Vegas 2 or 3 times a year. Haven't been in 3 years and really don't have a desire to. Could be because I'm older but the vibe just wasn't the same the last couple of times. Walking the Strip was always something we'd do one afternoon of the trip. As others have said it smells like urine and a big joint now. Doesn't feel as safe and definitely not as fun. I still get comped rooms which is nice but, and maybe it's just me, the casinos are more like slaughterhouses and I haven't done nearly as well the last few trips. All these things have led me to to spend my tourist money in other places. The memories are the best part of Vegas now.

Vegas has been going downhill for multiple reasons for a long time.

I love Vegas, haven't paid for a room in a decade and usually get a meal or two comped but this guy nails it. The price gouging there is outrageous. God forbid I want to sit at the sports book and sip a coors. I refuse to pay $10+ for a fcking beer. I'll admit, I'm cheap and will go to CVS and buy a little mix of beers and High Noons just so I don't get completely f'ed. It bothers me as I've been going to Vegas for ages and part of the allure was it was having some cheap fun where you could between gambling.

When you look at it from a number-crunching standpoint, charging an $80 resort fee makes a lot more sense than trying to make that gambling. If you're playing a game that has a 5% house edge, you have to burn through $1,600 for the house to make that $80. If you're playing 6:5 blackjack perfectly, it's a 0.5% house advantage, and you have to wager $16,000 for the house to earn that $80. It's no wonder they charge those hidden fees.

My guess is when the economic pain becomes too much for the mega resorts and their ownership, we will see Vegas reinvent itself again, and probably successfully. They went from mob-run casinos to trying to make it family-friendly in the late 80's and '90's (remember the MGM theme park?) to Sin City again ("What happens in Vegas...") and now the overpriced destination model for events and happenings. My guess is that they try to thread the needle and go back to a more traditional gambling model - the problem is that with the mega resorts, the overhead has to be brutal, so yeah, no more all you can eat $9.99 buffets.

Admiral Nelson said:

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BQ78 said:

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Are you serious, Jack? Canadians who hate Trump are normally half of Vegas visitors. Sure.

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Canada provides about 6% of Las Vegas visitors. Non-US are about 20% with Canada 30% of that 20%. Those are official stats.

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Canucks come for the quick MRI's they can't get in Canada. They gamble while waiting for them to be read by the radiologists.

TA-OP said:

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I think most are ignoring the Covid effect. Everyone from "whale addicts" to bachelor parties were forced to find other outlets for those urges.

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Spirit airlines and stimulus money fixed much of this quickly.

The others have nailed it. It moved from gambling focused to experience focused, and with that, they have become inventive with the revenue streams to milk $$$ out of those experience offerings

DannyDuberstein said:

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TA-OP said:

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I think most are ignoring the Covid effect. Everyone from "whale addicts" to bachelor parties were forced to find other outlets for those urges.

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Spirit airlines and stimulus money fixed much of this quickly.

The others have nailed it. It moved from gambling focused to experience focused, and with that, they have become inventive with the revenue streams to milk $$$ out of those experience offerings

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I have no remaining desire to go to Vegas...save one: I do want to see something in The Sphere.

HTownAg98 said:

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When you look at it from a number-crunching standpoint, charging an $80 resort fee makes a lot more sense than trying to make that gambling. If you're playing a game that has a 5% house edge, you have to burn through $1,600 for the house to make that $80. If you're playing 6:5 blackjack perfectly, it's a 0.5% house advantage, and you have to wager $16,000 for the house to earn that $80. It's no wonder they charge those hidden fees.

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I am confident that the number, or percentage of people that play blackjack or craps like you are supposed to
Is microscopically small

In craps, taking 5x odds leaves the house a 1.41% advantage. Seems like decent odds on a good night.

But visit a craps table sometime, and watch chips flying all over the table, landing in the dumbest spots.

That's where a casino makes money. The dumb people

"I see stupid people."

$1600 sounds like a lot, but at $25 minimum tables, that's less than an hour on a moderately busy table. At $15 minimum, maybe more like 90 minutes

DannyDuberstein said:

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$1600 sounds like a lot, but at $25 minimum tables, that's less than an hour on a moderately busy table. At $15 minimum, maybe more like 90 minutes

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I would say easily under an hour at $25 minimum tables. If you have just 4 players that $100 per deal assuming they are all doing just the minimum so only 16 hands, which goes by in like 15-20 minutes in black jack