Less spending will be the new norm, not just for Vegas but throughout North America. Thanks to corporate greed, the erosion of the manufacturing base in the last few decades in both the US and Canada has created a big divide between the haves and the have nots. The middle class is disappearing. Consumerism and the purchase of the McMansions and flashy SUVs has floated the economy for many years, but the gigs up. Hard times are ahead for many people for many years. Visiting Vegas for some people is becoming a low priority and will only occur when prices for hotels/buffets are deeply discounted.....which is not a successful business model for the mega casinos of today. Greed - you reap what you sow!

I agree with stevem, there is no longer an option to 'reverse the formula' and return to the 'way it used to be'. Nice thought, wish it was possible, but it's not. The way of old was based on vegas hotels that were operated at a much reduced cost compared to the current mega casinos - thus it was once possible to offer cheap comps/meals/drinks. Now when mega resorts offer these same cheap options, they are losing money because the overhead is way too high. They are all offering cheap rooms at the moment because they have to as an act of desperation in a dead economy, not because it is a sustainable business model. Vegas went 'all in' with the concept of building mega resorts and thinking there was endless whales/big spenders to support the concept. Ooops! Supply and demand will eventually whittle the number of casinos/hotels down to a sustainable level. Vegas will never die, there is no replacement for vegas. Regional casinos are not a large threat, they will always be in the little leagues and vegas will always stand alone as the 'big show'. As another poster mentioned, watch the retirees flood into vegas in the coming years......the boomers will want the stimulation/activities and other quality of life issues associated with living in a warm climate.

Kenoman, I'm with you! Me and the misses have been going to Vegas every year for the past 20 years, but no more!!....the casinos have outpriced our ability to come without spending a small fortune....and the comps suck!! The problem the casinos now face is that once the decision was made to move from modest casinos to mega resorts, there was no turning back....the overhead to run these mega resorts is far too high and the casinos have little wiggle room to significantly reduce room rates, meal rates, etc. Even before this crisis, I wondered where all the people were coming from that could afford $200 and up hotel rooms and $25 minimum and up black jack tables???? And comps are a thing of the past!!...I sat and played black jack for 5 hrs, consistently betting between $50 and $200 a hand. The next day I learned I earned $9 in comps.....what a joke!! When I queried this, a very frank marketing employee informed me that table players are not rewarded like slots players because the slots bring in much more profit....therefore comps for table players have been dramatically reduced. And what's with all these freakin night clubs!!....another part of the casinos failed transformation in my opinion. Good luck trying to squeeze any significant cash out of the twenty somethings. All in all, yet again a sad tale of horrendous corporate greed. Unfortunately the solutions requires a reversal of greed, but that's not human nature....so the ship will continue to list for many years in my opinion. Viva Las Vegas!!