Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Columnist Hal Rothman: A little respect

Hal Rothman, a history professor at UNLV, is a columnist for the Las Vegas Sun

Las Vegas' greatest paradox is that the success of our economy masks our other problems -- and the last 20 years have been Las Vegas' best when it comes to the economy.

World culture has changed, much to Las Vegas' advantage. Experience has become the measure of who we are and entertainment has replaced conventional culture. As a result, Las Vegas no longer means "sin." The name has become respectable.

We've seen the biggest concentrated hotel construction boom in American history, followed by what looks to be the largest residential construction development in the history of the Las Vegas Valley. If the current construction boom plays out, no American will have ever experienced the concentration of so much investment capital in so little time.

We've become the first city of entertainment, with gaming as the entree on our menu, but no longer the sole choice. Shopping is the No. 1 activity people say they pursue in Las Vegas; dining and entertainment follow closely behind.

It's no coincidence that Las Vegas's best years have coincided with the spread of gaming in the United States. Since 1989, when the Mirage opened and we began what I call the "Mirage Phase," casinos have spread throughout the country.

Seeded by the legalization of gambling on Indian reservations, the spread was supposed to be competition for Las Vegas. It's turned out to be more like spring training.

Nobody has ever been to Las Vegas and said, "Gee, now that I've been to Las Vegas, I've really got to go to Foxwoods." It works the other way. We're the pinnacle, what people aspire to. They gamble elsewhere, yearning to visit us.

More than anything, this status at the top of the heap of postmodern leisure accounts for the consistency of our success. Even though the Strip is the largest investment of private money in public art anywhere in the world, Las Vegas is a symbol, an image, an idea in people's minds.

They associate the name with freedom, leisure, pleasure and quality service, with the belief that when they visit, we will make them feel important.

It's remarkable that we can continue to pull this off, but as long as we do, people will continue to see Las Vegas as a place they must visit.

No one has ever made money selling Las Vegas short, and I'm not about to try. We succeed because we pay attention to detail, because our attractions are new -- always new -- and because we understand that in a world where no one is unique, making people feel special earns you their affection and return patronage.

We succeed because we offer the middle class a luxury experience at a middle-class price. When properties fail, it is because they pervert this formula. The last failure of the Aladdin provides the best example.

Even though the location is jinxed, this property should have succeeded. But it offered the middle class a middle-class experience at a luxury price. Receivership followed.

All tourist towns reflect desire. One way or another they try to link your feelings to their place. Las Vegas does this and does it well, but we do even more: We anticipate your desires as well as reflect them. We pull from you what you will want next year and by the time you come back, we find a way to provide it.

Nothing is ever finished here; there's always something new, just around the corner or around the bend. It's under construction, it's not quite finished, but it's there for you to return to.

It's a strategy so simple that it's brilliant. We make it into alchemy.

The regional economy has diversified of late. It now has three prongs: real estate development and construction; retirement; and tourism.

This is most apparent in the fact that the hospitality industry is shrinking as a segment of the workforce.

The size of the construction economy, now more than 100,000 workers, is a dramatic change that shows no signs of weakening. It comprises more than 10 percent of the workforce, and the economic energy around it is sure to gain momentum in the short term.

At one-third the size of the leisure sector workforce, construction and development have reached the point where they are integral to the area's economic health. This is how growth became our crack.

Retirement is harder to gauge, mostly because we don't measure it well. But with one-quarter of the population retired, at least 400,000 people, there are services that simply never existed in the valley before.

They range from the top of the labor market to the bottom, from superskilled workers to the unskilled. As the valley's demography increasingly reflects the nation's, and as the population bulge of the Baby Boomers exerts its influence, this sector is certain to continue to expand.

It's hard to bet against the continued economic success of the valley. The billions of dollars in the resort industry, the surging share of the market involved in real estate development and construction, and the anchor of the wealthiest group of people in history about to retire suggest that we're well-positioned, both in the near term and the longer term.

The youngest Baby Boomers turn 65 in 2029. Many will live into their 80s. A 40-year horizon combined with the American obsession with leisure and Las Vegas' iconic status make the revolution we've seen in the past 20 years not only likely to continue, but equally likely to expand.

If I sound bullish on Las Vegas, it's because I am. The only question is, how will we mitigate the consequences of our success?

In Saturday's Sun: Assessing the valley's changing demographics and what this might mean for Las Vegas' future.

archive