Las Vegas Ignores Reality Amid Scramble To Save Dying City

Las Vegas Dying Decline Numbers Too Expensive

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Las Vegas is dying. Fewer and fewer people are willing to spend a small fortune to visit a tourist destination that seems to get more and more expensive by the day, if not the hour.

Meanwhile, the city itself continues to ignore reality!

Blame is placed on others. Las Vegas chooses not to look internally.

The numbers are in decline.

Hotel occupancy rates dropped 14.6% year over year in the month of June. They were down 12.3% through the first 19 days of July.

MGM made major cuts at many of its top properties in May after tourism numbers saw a steep decline in April. Casinos were panicking in February because the gambling-focused city was empty during the Super Bowl, so hotel rooms on The Strip were selling for pennies. Resorts World specifically saw an astonishing 75% dip in revenue during the first quarter.

All of this goes to say that Las Vegas might be in trouble. The city is dying.

Cost goes up, interest goes down.

A large part of the recent decline stems from the indefinite increase in price. Everything, everywhere costs more today than it did just five years ago. Duh.

That is even more true in Las Vegas!

Gone are the days of cheap buffets, free drinks, low buy-ins at the card tables and shows that are affordable. That doesn’t even include resort fees, valet, hotel accommodations, etc.

To deny the correlation between the high costs of Las Vegas and the ongoing tourism slump would be silly. People can’t afford to play as many $25 games of Blackjack compared to $5. Nobody wants to pay $17 for a smoothie or $9 for coffee.

Las Vegas is a denier.

Steve Hill is the president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. He told MarketWatch that the dip in tourism is on par with other cities across the United States, blaming weak exchange rates, political unrest— and Canada.

“Very little of the drop is a Vegas issue,” Hill said.

The high-ranking city employee instead points to a significant decline in travelers from Canada. Canadian visitors are down 20%, which is apparently on par with a nationwide dip of 19%.

While that might be true, it is foolish to ignore the financial element. Hill does not see the overpriced goods as an issue.

“You’re not paying $9 for the coffee,” he said. “You’re paying $9 for the setting.”

I don’t know about you, but I would much rather pay $3-6 for a coffee at my local Starbucks or just make my coffee at home. I don’t want to pay $9 to drink coffee at a nice resort.

The disconnect between the city and its consumers is going to kill Las Vegas!


Content shared from brobible.com.

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