"I ain't never seen Vegas like this on a Saturday night. Where's the people. Holy shit."

[Swede]

https://i.imgur.com/B3eOi1v.mp4

https://www.reddit.com/r/themayormccheese/comments/1m541qr/las_vegas_faces_tourism_decline/

[Ritabert]

1. Well foreign tourists aren't coming

....why would they? And Americans are conserving their money due to the whiplash tariffs. Haven't been there in years. Not going back.

[Srkdqltr]

2. Gamble on your phone. No need to travel.

[Blue Full Moon]

25. No, just like Amazon put out shopping malls BS

[edhopper]

3. Between multiple fees on rooms

changing the odds at Casinos, ridiculous prices at restaurants, sky high event tickets Vegas is doing everything it can to push away visitors.

[rollin74]

4. that is very true

[JoseBalow]

56. Is it possible to know the TRUE cost of a Vegas hotel room before booking it?

If so, how?

[MurrayDelph]

58. Not just Vegas

I stopped going to Vegas 20+ years ago, when they raised table minimums above what I am willing to risk. But my commute started taking me through Reno, where I could still play. After COVID, that went away, too. Casinos would rather have dealers standing around an empty Craps or Pai-Gow table at $15 minimum bet than have a bunch of low-rollers playing $5 min and there not be a spot for their mythical whale.

[Greg_In_SF]

7. I lived there from 3/20 - 6/22

Not a gambler, so never went to the strip , but the entire town smells like weed. There's are pot stores and gun stores on every corner.

[newdeal2]

15. There are no dispensaries on the actual strip from what I saw on my last visit

Everything legal is off strip at least from what I could tell.

But before weed, it smelled like cigarettes and booze. Pick your poison I guess.

[Greg_In_SF]

24. Yep

no dispensaries on the strip itself, but they will deliver to your hotel.

[Wednesdays]

48. Pot stores, gun stores...

Throw in a little Jim Beam. What could possibly go wrong?

[Greg_In_SF]

49. You know what though?

Away from the strip, is really is just a normal place to live. People dropping kids at school, grocery shopping, going to the bank...just every day normal life. I lived on the west side of town which is really quite nice.

Car insurance is astronomically high though. 24-hour drinking town = lots of DUIs and crashes.

[jonstl08]

62. Yep

Went there for the first time about 3 years ago for an NFL game. Except for Westgate Sports Book the entire town including the casinos and strip all smelled like weed. Was not impressed.

When my sister picked me up from the airport after I got back everything I had including the clothes I was wearing smelled like weed. It was that bad. Have no desire to go back.

[Torchlight]

9. Sounds like America

[Torchlight]

17. Perhaps you're not?

(I doubt different opinions about a city are a valid indication of foreign birth)

[Greg_In_SF]

27. It's kind of an unwritten rule that LV Metro Police

won't mess with you on the strip unless you basically walk right up to them and light a joint in their face. They just look the other way.

[CanonRay]

41. Pretty strong in Portland sometimes

[Skittles]

43. what's wrong with smelling like pot?

[CanonRay]

44. Nothing for me.

[Greg_In_SF]

50. For a town that transitioned

in to a family friendly destination to increase tourism, having your entire tourist district smell like weed is absolutely moronic.

[edhopper]

23. Live in New York

been to Vegas, we win the "smells like pot" contest.

[BBbats]

39. Center City Philadelphia PA smells like Reefer all the time.

[Docreed2003]

40. Lmao...that was my takeaway

I've been to Vegas twice in the last two years for conferences and you comment was exactly what I said to friends and family when I got home.

I'm no prude but the pot smell is obnoxiously ever present and the prices have become ridiculously high on everything in the city, from hotels and food down to a simple Uber/Lyft ride.

[Greg_In_SF]

6. Three long time Vegas insiders explain...

[rurallib]

22. That was interesting! Thanks

[W_HAMILTON]

46. "The tariffs that were put in place in early 2025 has many international tourists staying away from Las Vegas...

...due to uncertainty. This matters a lot because international tourists typically stay longer, gamble more, and spend more on shows and dining than domestic visitors. New trade policies have made traveling to the US more expensive for foreign tourists, while Canadian airlines have reduced flights to Vegas as demand dropped."

[GoCubsGo]

68. I'm sure it being brutally hot there isn't helping, either.

Like a lot of that part of the country, they are seeing more and more days of triple-digit temperatures than they ever have, often topping 110 degrees. Currently, they're also having air quality issues, thanks to nearby wildfires.

And, with everything else getting more and more expensive, thanks to Dementia J. Trump's stupidity, who the the hell can afford to travel at all? I sure as hell can't.

[Traildogbob]

8. Aren't most

Of those billionaires that own casinos, restaurants and Hotel’s in Vegas trump sugar daddies?
Who better to get the full shit in their face than his peeps? Funny he may bankrupt all the Vegas Casinos. He is great at that.

[BoRaGard]

61. Grand Slam if Krasnov (r-felon) can bankrupt all the casinos

FAIL Supreme.
The republican draft-dodging, casino and teen beauty queen hustler, would then have a perfect lifetime score of screwing over everyone and everything he ever came in contact with.

Impressive.

[Deep State Witch]

10. We're Going In 2 Weeks

To the 60th Anniversary Star Trek Convention at the Rio. I haven't been to Vegas in over 20 years. The room rates are astronomical - even with the convention rate. We're going mainly because there's one star that we've been trying to get his autograph for years, but he doesn't do cons very often. (Colm Meaney).

This is costing us about as much as the Star Trek Cruise - only it's in Vegas in the summer.

[Melon]

16. Wait until you see the taxes that will be added to you room rate.

[Greg_In_SF]

28. The Rio

was recently completely renovated. Enjoy!

[SheltieLover]

35. Have fun!

[ProfessorGAC]

36. That Sounds Like Fun

I went to Vegas on a Sunday when I was in SoCal the weekend before a plant visit.
I drive there because the MGM Grand had The Star Trek Experience.
I went through it twice, including the shuttle attack thrill ride, stopped to eat at the Luxor, and drove back to LA.
I've never been to a Trek convention. Hope you have fun!

[MIButterfly]

54. My mother and I saw Colm Meany in Moon for the Misbegotten

with Kevin Spacey and Eve Best in New York in 2007. We stood outside the stage store for autographs after the play and he was very nice and gracious. I was a big fan of Kevin Spacey back then. Not anymore.

[Torchlight]

11. This then is atypical?

I've never gone, and any knowledge I hold comes from 70s police dramas and 90s films.

[BoRaGard]

13. A lot of Vegas mega-moneybucksters are bigly backers of the GOP syndicate

skeazy

[maxsolomon]

14. It's JULY.

It's 97 degrees there currently. No thanks, even if I'm at a pool.

The sheep will return to be fleeced when it cools off.

[Greg_In_SF]

29. It's a dry heat

with 8% humidity today. When I lived there, my cutoff 'uncomfortable temperature' was 105°

[maxsolomon]

31. Anything over 90 and Seattleites melt.

Well, Native Seattleites start to whine at 80. Imports have a little more tolerance.

[Greg_In_SF]

32. Tell me about it!

I moved to LV from San Francisco where it was basically 65° every day for 30 years

[Melon]

18. It's way overpriced. Absurdly so. The strip is dangerous

At night with aggressive homeless people on drugs everywhere. I had one take a swing at me while walking with my children.

They have also changed the odds on blackjack and roulette( payout). It’s just not fun. The buffets are $75 a plate.

[Hey Joe]

34. Just like almost every city in America.

Greed has destroyed this country and made it harder to just live your life.
If I could afford to move to another country I certainly would not hesitate. Every thing here is a fraud, a shakedown or a lie.

[Melon]

37. No where close. It's not everywhere in America. There are a few cities that have gone to complete garbage.

This is one. If you move to EU, there are cities with the same or worse street crime now. Here it is drugs. There it is other social issues with rampant pickpockets and scammers, and mugging and assaults at night. You are running from this issue unless you choose carefully.

[Demovictory9]

20. Youtubers have been reporting the decline in visitors

[edhopper]

21. Greg in SF

already posted the video I was going to.

[chouchou]

26. Greed/Corruption. Here's a good story. My husband worked at a Greyhound track. (Microsoft Engineer)

He said: "Was rather a good job and paid well and watch the doggies."
"I was concerned when trainers/owners of the place started giving me tips that night...and lots of nights"
"I mean, I was afraid the FBI or someone would raid the place..: The tips were NOT who is going to win"
"It was who WASN'T going to even run 4th or last. It was like the proverbial candy from a baby.....except"
"..One thing those "Tipsters" forgot. The average person got sick and tired of NEVER WINNING"
"So...in 2009...the place closed....why would you bet on a dog that looked good only to trail the pack..
...and walk out of the place broke ,,every night... .
That was in Hudson Wisconsin..

[Blue Owl]

30. The billionaires are siphoning all the money

[vapor2]

38. LITERALLY

[irisblue]

33. Nevadans boted for this. Just as Ohio did FTR

https://apnews.com/projects/election-results-2024/nevada/?r=0

[Nimble_Idea]

60. u mispeld boated

[iemanja]

42. The World series of Poker just ended.

And the Grinder probably took his ten million and his rail back to Florida.

[a kennedy]

64. I loved to watch the World Series of poker.....then they moved it to a streaming service.

I won’t pay to watch it….but I did enjoy when it was on regular cable tv. 🤬

[iemanja]

66. A lot of it was free on the pokergo YouTube channel

And next year GG poker is taking over the streaming, so it should all be free on their YouTube channel.

[a kennedy]

67. Hey, thanks, will check it out.

[iemanja]

69. You'd probably enjoy this highlight reel

of the final table of the Main Event.

That is an hour-long summary, but the FT only lasted four hours, I hour on the second day. This is a shorter video breaking down every hand busting a player out.

It truly was a remarkable final table.

[Chakaconcarne]

45. Because Vegas is crap... and everyone is trying to get out...

Based on the increase of available houses on the market currently.

[pecosbob]

47. When Covid came we really took a hit and the only people visiting were riff-raff, the dollar general crowd.

We started seeing shit we never saw before in Las Vegas...cigarette butts in the swimming pools, trash on the streets, people wearing pajamas and crocs. At the same time the hotel-casinos have devolved into clip-joint shopping malls with crappy smelly rooms, bedbugs and constant break-ins.

Now the tariffs and harassment of non-citizens are depressing room occupancy even further. I say forget Vegas...go visit a national park instead while we still have them.

[Xolodno]

51. Costs too much.

It's $20 to park your car when that used to be free or if casino's did charge, it was $5. Food at dining establishments have skyrocketed and so have show/event tickets. And never mind the price of the room, they advertise a cheap rate and then tack on a bunch of extra's like "resort fee's" to use the internet and pool (and the pools are closed during the winter).

And quality has gone down on everything.

And of course most people don't gamble anymore, they know the odds are stacked against them. But the casino's keep raising the minimum bets to the point people for sure won't bother. Having some cheap table games, even if electronic, is more likely to get people to actually play (seen it in Native American casinos). Heck, if you make the parking fee a voucher to play on the games you would actually encourage people to play beyond that.

The level of greed is pushing people away and of course the clown in the Whitehouse isn't helping with foreign tourists.

[._.]

52. You know what?

I can say the same thing about Fisherman's Wharf in SF on a Sunday in July..



Where are all the tourists?

[MrsCheaplaugh]

63. Love the Picture

To answer your question, the tourists are staying home. After the orange blob psychopath insulted my homeland, as a Canadian I lost interest in visiting your country. I also don't want to risk getting sent to El Salvador because said psychopath doesn't like a picture on my phone.

If you had elected the scary black lady, I would have been happy to book another trip to Las Vegas. But I'm going to Montreal instead. You people really have to do something about the blob because he's flushing your tourism industry straight down a toilet.

[multigraincracker]

53. Back in the 80s I use to go there for some big fights.

Was friends with a bookie in Detroit. I use to pick up and deliver cash for him, so he rewarded me with tickets for some major boxing matches.
Back then there were no greater bargains than Vegas. Great room for $20/nights, all you could eat buffets for $1.99 and so on. The casinos were getting rich on the gamblers, so they gave everything else away.
Don’t know what happened, but that all went away.

[MIButterfly]

55. My mother and I used to go to Vegas every year. It was so cheap back then

especially if you went in August (nobody wanted to go to the desert in August) or the week before Christmas. The airfare was cheap; the rooms were cheap; the food was cheap; they had all kinds of freebies all over the place. The last time we went was 2013 and all of that was gone already. Everything was just as expensive as any other big city and don't get me started on "resort fees" which is an extra charge they gouge you with even if you don't use the services they're supposedly for. It's too bad because we really loved going there.

I can only imagine it's gotten worse since 2013.

[Greg_In_SF]

57. I'm calling BULLSHIT

here.

That is supposed to be a video from this past Saturday morning at 1:00am. Here's what was happening late Friday evening.

There are WAY too many Vegas bloggers to make an idiot believe that this video was filmed at 1:00am last Saturday morning.

You have to click to watch...

&t=4709s

[fujiyamasan]

59. I initially assumed it's partly seasonal given how hot it is right now

I agree with others in that It has gotten increasingly expensive, but I’d have to check the stats to see if it has necessarily become more crime ridden or violent.

But I think international tourists will find alternatives to a town mostly known for casinos and being flashy. In many ways Vegas just isn’t that unique anymore.

If ICE crackdowns continue the city will definitely suffer a drop in tourism. I can’t see why Asian tourists especially will continue to flock there. They may as well head to somewhere like Macau. And if they want over the top glitz some may consider a place like Dubai. Oh well, self inflicted wound if it turns out that way. Nevada did vote for Trump. I know, I know Clark county didnt, but nevertheless it’s supposed to be the firewall.

[Maru Kitteh]

65. Glacier National Park was EASY to drive thu the weekend after the 4th.

I took my oldest daughter and my grandaughter on Goint to the Sun Road over to the Blackfeet Reservation where we stayed for a few days. Everywhere we went felt practically ALONE on the road, in the middle of the day, on a SUNDAY, at the absolute height of tourist season, on a perfect blue-sky day. We had no trouble parking at Logan Pass or at Avalanche. Those areas should have been inaccessible. We never had to wait for a table, even at the park lodges. Pull-offs all over the road were empty, even the best ones with some of the most expansive and well-photographed views in the world.

[senseandsensibility]

70. I would think their workforce would be taking a major hit

Very high concentration of Hispanics in the LV labor force. They may be afraid to show up because of ICE. I would imagine that a significant number of the tourists are Hispanic as well.