Is Las Vegas the Next Detroit?

And the Peppermill across the street.

 

Spent a lot of time in the Stardust book on my first trip in 1989 and loved it. I still have a Stardust key chain hanging around my desk here somewhere. Slots-A-Fun was awesome too, coldest beer on the Strip!

 

Vegas is the only place you can go to legally bet on sports. Five years from now, that won't be the case because you'll be able to do it on your laptop. The popularity of Vegas will plummet.

 

Been five years or so since I've been to the Orleans and considering it again. Still quality rooms and a nice and affordable casino? Really enjoyed it last time.

I think Vegas will be just fine and remain one of the top destinations. It's still the place for conventions and has evolved into a lot more than just gaming, with high-end shopping, dining and entertainment. It had to, since you can gamble just about anywhere else. The recession, anti luxury/travel rhetoric and 8,000 new rooms or whatever with City Center/Cosmo have been a tough combo to overcome. But Vegas will.

 

Not sure when your last Orleans trip was, in relation the Gaughan / Coast Casino days & the current Boyd Gaming ownership. It's still a nice bargain, but everything is just a bit....less. Coupon book, the burger joint, the sports book, the abundance of $5 tables, the late night specials in the coffee shop, on & on.

We were 2-3 Vegas trips a year type folks, for close to 15 years. Going all the way back to college, my buds and I used to "junket" out for cheap weekends. Like most folks on this thread, we've found it to be less and less value, for our travel dollar. The irony is that we have far more discretionary income than we've ever had, but are more likely the spend it on something like a cruise now. Just feels like we're getting more for our buck.

When we do go to Vegas (every 18 months, or so), we've also become complete "locals casinos" folks. Last trip, we spent 5 days in town & a total of 3 hours on the strip (for a show). Or...maybe I'm just getting old

 

The Casino operators hate their sports books; they are well-established to be loss leaders.

No one in the casino industry will complain if sports gambling goes away.

 

Casinos hate their sports books for the same reason I like 'em. It takes three hours to lose a bet on a ballgame rather than the three seconds it takes at the tables.
I've been to Vegas two or three times to cover fights, and I'm glad I've been there, but I have very little interest in going again. Table gambling bores me, because I know I can't beat arithmetic. If I'm looking to spend money on good times, there are at least six U.S. cities (let alone the rest of the world), I'd rather the spend the money in, New York, L.A., Chicago, San Francisco, Miami and New Orleans.

 

Be that as it may, but for me, there's no other reason to go to Vegas. I'm not flying 2,000 miles so I can play casino games; I can do that with a 45-minute drive from my front door.

 

I have that option too -- not 45 minutes but maybe two hours -- but never use it. People in Indian casinos (and Reno) are more likely to have a palpable desperation, the cashing-your-paycheck-at-the-casino kind of sickness that reminds me of gambling's ills and makes the whole thing an unpleasant affair.

Net result is I just end up playing a lot less, which is the best outcome anyway.

 

Now is a great time to go to Vegas.

When I got married about a decade ago we were going to have my bachelor party there and I wanted to go the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Well, to get a mediocre room at Mandalay Bay would have been $300+ a night during that week.

A friend went last year and got a 4-night stay for $500.

 

Are you thinking of The Palms?