Things are tight. People can gamble from their phones. Most people dont really need to go back to Vegas unless they're degenerate gamblers or have a conference or something. There's a ton of places I'd rather visit than Las Vegas.
Last time I went, ate at Best Friend (Roy Choi) - thought it was awesome. Could watch and gamble on live football (TAMU v USC) and go out and have fun after. Find good food. Plan around an event. It's still aight.
Vegas tourism is down quite a bit this summer. Not sure if people are skittish about the economy or if Vegas just went too far nickel and diming for everything under the sun. Vegas used to be a bargain, now it’s overpriced. Vegas now has probably the worst gaming rules anywhere. I don’t play the slots, but the slot payback on the Vegas strip is the worst you will find anywhere in the United States. It’s almost impossible to find 3/2 blackjack on the strip at lower minimums, so don’t go to the strip to gamble. I am starting to see some resorts doing away with resort fees and paid parking, so you know they are suffering a bit. But, unless they improve the gaming, there is really no reason for me to give them my money. Off strip is your best bet, but then you need to rent a car, which adds on the cost of the trip pretty substantially. You can of course ride the bus, but I would rather not. I’m at an age now where I’m looking for good value. Vegas isn’t good value for me right now.
The hidden gauging went too far. Simple as that. The idea used to be lose your money at the tables. Now it’s lose your money everywhere. Some of it can be easily fought at checkout, but still, People hate that shiot.
Bottom line, normal things like food and alcoholic drinks cost too much in most entertainment outlets/venues, not just Vegas. $15-20 beer is just not tenable when you can get a 12-pack for that much at home. It's no wonder Gen Z drinks mocktails- they can't afford to drink a cocktail with alcohol. Average souvenirs and merch are ridiculously expensive and I know the markup there, it's well over 100% of cost, often at least 200%. I paid $50 for steak and eggs with a coffee and water in Vegas in March. That was company money but it was the norm there. A domestic beer at a restaurant I went to was $14. It's ridiculous and they're killing the golden goose. The pool of once-a-year splurge folks is rapidly dwindling due to inflation, rising costs that are related to our current shifts in marketplace initiatives by the government, and job losses/salary shrinkage. People simply can't afford it. With robust home entertainment available, I'd rather just throw a party for 15-20 people at 1/4 the cost of just me splurging one day in stinky-ass Vegas where I have to fly in and sleep terribly.
That is quite literally obscene. I'd pay $50+ for a proper Vegas buffet table. I remember going to DisneyWorld/Epcot when I was about 12...I knew, could tell, it was expensive. I cannot imagine how much it costs for a family of 4 to spend a week these days.
Tourism in Las Vegas is down in 2025 due to: Economic Uncertainty: Inflation, high costs, and consumer concerns about the economy deter travel. High Prices: Expensive resort fees, food, drinks, and table minimums discourage visitors. Decline in International Visitors: Trade tensions and U.S. policies, especially with Canada and Mexico, have reduced international travel. Increased Competition: More gambling options nationwide and online reduce the need to visit Vegas. Shift to Luxury Model: High-end focus alienates mid-range travelers. Source: Grok. People too busy gambling online to go pay $50 resort fee a night in vegas..
About 18-24 months ago, Vegas had its highest occupancy rate in its history. This was at a pretty high price point too. Then they REALLY started raising prices and I think people just hit price exhaustion. I think that perhaps people got Post Pandemic travel out of their system. Vegas had a huge snapback of tourism post pandemic and maybe its swung the other way. The problem I see is that even with occupancy down, the hotels haven't really started lowering prices to adjust yet. Vegas has always been sort of cyclical depending on a lot of factors.
My last time in Vegas was my last time in Vegas. I spent close to $500 for 2 pool chairs, a club sandwich, some drink and a bucket of Bud Lights - which she served all 6 opened even though it’s just me drinking the beer. Service was so poor I figured get your order in. Ice melted long before the last beer because it was so hot. Pool was absolutely trashed and disgusting - so much so I wouldn’t get in that pisswater. Yeah Fremont and even the strip has people watching but there is only so much freak show I can watch and it’s less entertaining each time. We used to have fun as we’d fly in there and enjoy a night or 2 before and after having outdoor fun out west. I’ll fly in SLC next time.
Definitely keep coming across these videos due to the algorithm: Last went to Vegas in 2023 and stayed at the Golden Nugget, which seems like a somewhat recent trend of staying off the Strip going back a little bit. It's been getting expensive for awhile now especially the gambling then everything else followed. We were thinking about getting an airbrb and renting a car to enjoy the food, shows, and legal mar1juana scene but flights are so expensive. Instead, just going to Golden Nugget in Lake Charles with a layover in Houston both ways since I'm in Austin.
A week at Disney for a family is easily $10k+, especially if you factor in fastpass or whatever it’s called. Ain’t no way I’m waiting in line longer than I have to. Thanks, Elon.
Still a decent place for a conference, as there’s something for everybody. Still a decent place to catch a really good concert (the sphere is worth seeing at least once). They still do certain restaurants and services well. But they did price out a lot of people in the process. There is a huge disparity between older hotels/casinos on the strip and the updated/newer ones… and the updated ones are already starting to age within 10 years of the renovations.
Blame Trump. The economy is doing poorly and people are just poor. Also there are no Canadian or Mexican visitors because of Trump. For me personally, I don't like Vegas, never did. It's simply too expensive. The food isn't very good but it costs a lot, the strip is a pain to get around, you walk way too much and for what? Casinos that are ultimately just the same. It's hot as hell in the summer, and it's just kind of boring. Not worth it anymore.
What is a (I threw out a ridiculously low number earlier) very nice dinner for 2? What is a very nice buffet? It's been a decade+, so I'm completely out of my element.
“$50 Charge Because I Unplugged A Cord”: Paris Las Vegas Hotel’s Tiny Print Fee Sums Up Why Visitors Are Fleeing The City by Gary Leff on July 27, 2025 Last month I wrote about MGM’s Aria Las Vegas charging $26 for each bottle of water they leave in guest rooms. You’d be better off buying water at the airport when you land, at the inflated prices there. It was the perfect example of the kind of costs that make people feel cheated on a Las Vegas trip. Vegas is suffering, and executives there can’t seem to figure out why. A reader shares that the were billed “$50 to charge a laptop” at Paris Las Vegas, and they thought this was “an even more outrageous fee.” On our last trip, my adult daughter brought her computer to finish some last minute work and needed a workspace. The only suitable workspace was a small desk and chair that also housed the minibar. From your article, I told her to avoid the minibar, since moving anything will result in charges. She set up her laptop on the desk and looked for an outlet. There was one right above the desk, but it was full, so she unplugged one of the cords and plugged in the computer. The guest was charged $50 (plus tax!) and there wasn’t an obvious explanation for the fee, so the guest pressed for an explanation. There was a “very small sign with even smaller print that says Please refrain from unplugging the tray. If this occurs, a fee of $50 will be applied.” The little sign was not near the outlet. Disgusted, I went to the front desk to have the charge removed. The woman there told me that they couldn’t remove it because it was a third party fee. She even had a picture of the minibar with the sign at her fingertips to show me the warning. The head of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said on Thursday, “Visitation is down about 7 %, ADR is down, and RevPAR is down 14 % — the largest drop we’ve seen this century outside a crisis.” Indeed, the city just saw the sharpest month‑on‑month deterioration outside 9/11, the financial crisis and 2020 pandemic shutdowns. CoStar’s weekly note on the city: “Las Vegas posted the second‑largest occupancy drop of any U.S. market, off 11.9 % last week.” Current level Year-Over-Year Visitor volume (Jan‑May 2025) 16.46m ‑6.5 % Hotel occupancy (May 2025) 83% ‑3.1 Room nights occupied (May 2025) 3.88m ‑5.5 % Strip ADR (May 2025) $212 ‑1.2 % Strip RevPAR (May 2025) $181 ‑4.8 % Strip Gaming Revenue (May 2025) $714m ‑3.9 % Weekly occupancy (July 13-19) 74.30% ‑11.9% There’s price fatigue and fee backlash; inflation and high interest rates squeezing leisure travelers that fill value and mid-tier properties (driving down their rates, putting pressure on upper tier); Canadians not visiting the U.S.; weaker value from service cuts and higher costs in response to ~ 30% wage growth since the pandemic. Why could this possibly be happening?
This!! I am not a big gambler, but you used to be able to hit the pool without charging an arm and a leg for the experience but now it's not even included and after a while it's a crazy F`d up loud fraternity party. The places we used to hit up on Fremont are now gentrified and $$............its just not that fun anymore, let me rephrase that, it would be fun if it wasn't so dam expensive, its simply not worth it..................same thing with Disney, I don't want to take a loan out just to have a day of fun
