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StumbleLas Vegas tourism numbers continue fall
Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009 | 11:05 a.m.
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Visitor volume in Las Vegas continued to fall in June, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
In June, 2,980,122 visitors stayed in Las Vegas, a drop of 6.3 percent from the same month in 2008, with 3,179,472 visitors.
Las Vegas visitors seemed to respond to marketing programs and room rates discounted by 25.5 percent on average, the convention authority said. Yet the occupancy rate came in at 82.2 percent, down 7.2 percentage points from June last year.
Convention attendance dropped from 438,044 in June 2008 to 355,436 this June, an 18.9 percent drop.
Visitor numbers dropped 5.5 percent in Laughlin and by 26.2 percent in Mesquite in the month of June, the convention authority said.
Overall, Clark County gaming revenue dropped 14.7 percent.
The Las Vegas room occupancy rate was 28 percentage points higher than the national average, at 54.6 percent, reported by Smith Travel Research.
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Well I'll be doing my part to help the numbers in September when I come out to my happy place for a few days. I'd rather save up for a year to have fun and gamble in Vegas than drive 15 minutes to the nearest riverboat casino. For me, it's just not the same as Vegas.
How wants to send money in Vegas, the slots are so tight. The casinos are just taking us, they could change the payout chips in the slots to a 97 and earn 3 cents per dollar, but no they keep most of the slots at a 93 or 94 chip.
I plan to visit for the weekend of the Pacquiao fight in November. My first visit for the year.
once again...
look at poor mesquite...seriously...how is that place not a ghost town?
it really is sad about mesquite. we stopped their first time in two years and the place we normally gambled at oasis was closed. i wont be surprised to see more close. i also agree with how tight the slots were. especially on the strip.
Sounds like Las Vegas needs a new advertising agency!
Mesquite is slow, so is Primm, Often the Terribles (Primm Valley - Primadonna) is closed. In Jean, one casino is not only closed...It's gone, except for the sign. We stayed on the Strip this past weekend. there appears to be no shortage of tourists in and around the Harrah's area. If they EVER finish the road work in the vicinity of the HArd Rock, maybe they will pick up some. Our gambling consisted of a few dollars in slots, roulette and sports book betting. Won a little at Jean, lost a little at Harrahs. We went to the Hannity concert at Orleans. It was incredible! Also did some shopping in various L.V. locations. Just doing our part, Be back soon! We do avoid any gambling at the higher end casinos, they seem to be tighter than the middle priced places.
you think Strip slots are bad at 93 or 94? you should try Missouri slots where the hold is like 89 or 90. I finally got my wife to see the light and stop playing slots and start playing Craps with me. At least we have a better shot at winning and can do so together.
Las Vegas tourism numbers continue fall, and what is Harry Reid doing about it? Stimulus money? Forget it. You, as myself, are all illegitimate slaves. Leaders like Harry don't lead, they rule over us! Harry's goal is still the same: to encourage every sort of indiscipline and degeneracy in the name of freedom.
All of us must reach out to people with the message that no matter how much Harry squirms and wriggles, he will never escape the fact that he is calling the blind, impulsive followers for the sake of the DNC's future, for the sake of making himself look like a true American leader that cares for the downtrodden. A true political hack! We must alert people of that. We must educate them. We must inspire them. And we must encourage them to pave the way for people of every sex, race, and socioeconomic status to fulfill their own destiny.
In the meantime, welcome to the new American era of Marxism!
"It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error."
--United States Supreme Court - American Communications Association v. Douds
"America will never be destroyed from the outside.
If we falter and lose our freedoms it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
--Abraham Lincoln
"To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men."
--Abraham Lincoln
YA,Hadda chance to Mono-Rail So. California into Vegas and you blew it. Now try the $19.95 air flights of the 50's. Hello Searchlight!If that does not work use your "Parlay your Layoff Money" with the Indians
Also will be visiting Las Vegas in later September to do my civic duty to resuscitate the area's economy. Been flying (my very first Air Travel)and staying in LV twelve years now and have no plans to stop. Like FreeThought, I also feel that visiting the smaller establishments (aside from Atlantic City of course) just isn't the same as venturing out to LV. LV has great food, entertainment, dry heat, a great Bus Transit system like ours in the Washington, DC region! Then of course, the vast Harrahs' properties helps out quite a bit when I plan my trip(s). "I will see you in September."
I made 3 trips to Vegas this summer to take advantage of the Low Room Rates....Here is what I found:
1 - Slot Machines were tighter than my mother in laws purse snaps.
2 - It was impossible to find someone to bring me a drink while playing slots or table games.
3 - Customer Service was NO WHERE to be found!!!
4 - Cheap Prices on FOOD are GONE! Now we are forced to Pay for a side salad and vegetables when ordering the Prime Rib special...(Last March it was $6.99, and now it is $9.99, but minus the sides)
The simple pleasures for coming to Vegas are gone, and that is why Tourism is DOWN!!!
It sure is not the same anymore and I am afraid it may never be again.
Maybe its the smoke and mirrors promos as well. We'll give you a $30 resort credit for your stay, but we'll charge you a $15/day resort fee that you don't notice when you reserve because its buried away in the fine print.
Maybe its Harrahs and now followers ruining 21 games with 6:5 payouts.
Maybe its the proliferation of these damn penny slots that seem to make it impossible to find Reel slot machines.
Maybe not everyone wants to be a mega look at me wanna be high roller and doesn't need every place on the strip to be swanky.
Maybe people are realizing that $12 for a jack and coke is unacceptable.
Maybe its the fact that its damn near impossible to get comped drinks at bar top VP (F.U. Wynn)
Maybe there no longer is feeling of value when you come to Vegas.
Maybe people are getting sick of the casino's desire to empty your wallet in the first ten minutes instead of gradually while your on vacation.
Well, at least you still have the heat.
I still miss the Stardust. Wonder if Boyd Gaming does?
And who payed for this study?Dosent take a geneous to see that the people are tired of being ripped off!If these so called masters of the strip cant see this,then they deserve to go belly up!Its just too bad that the people that make these places work are getting the shaft!!!
Seems the Strip isn't what it used to be, relatively speaking. Maybe this would be a good time for the Mayor to push some changes to the downtown, resurrecting "Old Las Vegas" under the banner of quality, service, and value. Encourage some small gaming startups,expand the entertainment options to include off-Broadway or foreign film shows, throw in some sidewalk cafes to change the feel, and work to make the entire area pedestrian friendly and safe.
people...
don't throw your money away in these stupid slot machines.
if you want to throw some money away and get a GOOD feeling from it, buy groceries for a friend or neighbor that's been out of work.
Jtrudeau is right, get rid of all of those stupid penny video slots. Too complex and not really a penny if you vote max. (I think more like $1.80 to bet max). Give me a 3 reel, one line slot machine any time. In Jean, they still let you use coins! Double Diamond or Haywire are my favorites.
I am goin again in September for the 4th time this year! I cant help it when I keep getting free room comps. All I need is spending money! lol... well I guess the nights are free but the days and the gambling is not. See you all next month.
Let's face it...the overall economy isn't helping the situation on the strip,which is most of the problem. The hotels are going to shave what they can and they are.
Right on stevem. Gods blessings on you.
I use to leave in vegas I will visit it this year with my parent vegas is still a bargain.
Not only are the room rates lower and the attendance down but so is the class of the people coming here. They must be putting these ads in the ghetto urban area papers.
The casino slots are tight, because they are followers of the NWO, they want to see the end of America, It is pretty simple, with money you become a political threat. The top 1% don't want any competition to rule America and the rest of the world, thier plan all along is to reduce world pop by 2/3, the ones who live will be more then happy to lose all thier money in slots in order for thier masters to have all the spoils of brats.
i am NOT some hippie trippy liberal, but these companies are the ones that fired hundreds of our friends and families because they made 1.7 billion in stead of 1.8 billion while the executives still made $300,000+ that year.
screw them.
everyone knows someone that is out of work. instead of dropping $10.00 into the "i dream of genie" slots, take that $10.00 and buy groceries for that friend.
it makes me sick to my stomach to see people post "oh, my god...their slots don't pay out".
look, if you have money to throw away...shut up. the money you throw away at a slot machine is money one of your neighbors wishes they had to put gas in their car.
steven!!!! Maybe you should move to the People's Republic of California. Alas those poor unemployed folk (Heck I can't even get a day off.) Haven't had a xmas off since 1972 but the welfare people across street work 1 or 2 days a week. Good Luck Comrade!
Numbers down? Yesterday, I was in the Venetian at 12:30 in the afternoon for lunch and the place was packed full of people, as was the Palazzo. I was shocked since all you hear and read is that Vegas is closing, but go out and walk into the airport, or a strip hotel, and the places are jumping the activity.
Seems to me that "Vegas" has gone about weathering the recession by;
A) Lowering room rates,and then screwing you out of that money and a whole lot more by raising prices on everything else. People generally aren't that stupid. At the end of their trip, they will ask themselves "did I have a good time?" If they lost gambling, spent too much on food & drink, couldn't afford a show if they wanted to, and were treated poorly or ignored by the few remaining staff, they won't be back.
B) When times were good, the CVB spent TONS on advertising. And it worked. Good, solid advertising that you saw in markets around the country. Very slick stuff. When is the last time you saw a national ad for Las Vegas?
The time for a slick ad campaign with a new twist for luring tourists is N O W. Too bad these "smart, sharp dressed, overpaid execs can't see the forest for the trees.
c) Too much BELT TIGHTENING. Casino properties ought to be passing out the "beverages" right and left. It's relatively cheap, and if you are gonna screw the customer, make them feel good about it with cheap comps. How simple is that?
A free buffet, a 5 dollar coupon for the coffee shop, SOMETHING, even a mostly worthless SOMETHING helps to assuage the masses.
It's all about IMAGE. The LURE of Las Vegas and what it represents to people; come out to the desert and have a great time, forget about your worries and problems. We'll treat you right. And it won't cost you an arm and a leg.
And maybe, just maybe, you'll get lucky. If that lure isn't there, the "mirage" under the hot sun, THEY AIN'T COMIN'.
It's not that Las Vegas isn't spending enough advertising money. They are still spending millions on an advertising agency that can't seem to come up with something better than what they had 10 years ago. Las Vegas needs an infusion of fresh advertising from an agency that hasn't gotten used to getting the advertising contract year after year after year. Major advertising agencies from around the country should be allowed to bid on the Las Vegas contract. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority needs to start looking outside of Las Vegas for fresh advertising ideas.
I'm getting real tired of people griping about tight slots and over priced food and drinks. I'm from Oklahoma where we have some of the nicest indian casinos around. ITS NOT VEGAS THOUGH. I make it to Vegas at least a few times a year. I know as soon as i hit that airport my concept of time and general worries go out the window. I understand the money i take will most likely not come home with me, but thats fine. I love going and everything about it. I love the fact that you can order a gin and tonic at 5 am if you desire and pretty much anything goes. I understand that most people don't like losing their money, but isn't being able to do whatever you want whenever you want worth the price of admission? This is just my opinion and I can't wait until september when we arrive.
We used to joke that the billion dollar resorts were not built with money won by the customers. Implying of course that they were built with money lost by the customers. More and more, it seems that they were built with 100% borrowed money. The debt service and operation costs will in no way allow most of them to dig out from under. This debt load was taken on without giving any consideration to economic slowdown. I wish them well. No doubt billions will be written off in bankruptcies which will continue to have a negative affect on the banks. Like Soonerman, I still really enjoy the trips to L.V.
Maybe we should let tne mob back in instead of the corporations, atleast they ran casinos that returned profits even after skimming off the top.