patrick.net

LOL! I remember when Vegas was an airline stopover. Going to, all these euphoric people and gamblers would be going laughing with their cheat sheets and schemes. When leaving, you'd see the plane load up with a bunch of depressed losers going back to their poorer lives. It was palpable.
Patrick says

I don't remember Vegas ever not sucking.

One simple reason, the RE bubble. Made living there hell for the working class, like it did everywhere else in high populated areas with the most employment.
But those employed working at the Casinos can't afford the rent, or not as many of them are able to cover the cost of living. Society goes to shit after that.
But hey! RE never goes down amerite!?

I just went to Vegas a few weeks ago for a convention. Stayed at Mandalay Pay. I haven't been to Vegas in 15 years. It has really gone downhill. I think what bothered me the most was the nickel and diming, it's really bad. Everything is over priced and I just felt ripped off. I spent $55 gambling and quit it just wasn't as much fun as back when I use to go. People didn't look like they were having a good time, i didn't see or hear people winning at all, looked like zombies gambling. Talked to all my cab and Uber drivers they all said it's getting slower. I could see people visiting and never coming back, they are burning their tourism.

There’s a lot of short sightedness….people bitching about fees even though without the fees total room cost would be exactly the same. This same thing…exact same thing…happened between about 2001 and 2008. People started having more money. The HELOCS and the economy in general. In the late 90’s I was able to get rooms at Las Vegas Club(an absolute dump btw) at a rack rate of $22 weeknights, $44 weekends. My friend played great BJ games at Stratosphere and between the two of us we got comped rooms and up to $1000 in comps for the weekend. One time at the Top of The World restaurant(expensive) he had so much left over on his comp that we and a third friend ordered a Louie XIII (like $75 a drink at that time). All of this on his average bet of $37 and my average bet rated at $17. One time I went on a nice heater roll at the imperial place at craps, betting $5 PSA line with 5x odds and come bets up to four more numbers also 5x odds. I rolled for around 15 minutes twice with the table all to myself. I cashed out over $500 ahead, and found they had included the odds bets in my average play. So there I am getting credit for up to $125 on the table at a time and total comps of $225. It was insane.

But because of the HELOCS, everything started going up and comps started shrinking. Hotel rates rose and new expensive activities started popping up. Anyone remember “making it rain” and bottle service costing thousands of dollars? Nightclubs at every single casino? $15 bottles of beer? It became ludicrous. And nearly overnight came back down to earth. Around 2009, the comps started coming back and rooms crumbled in price. That run lasted real long., it went ll the way to bout 2016. They slowly started creeping and the parking fees and resort fees. Then came back down during Covid. Wife and I both “essential workers” so both at the office during the entire scamdemic. We play a game online called myvegas, run by mgm resorts and have since 2015. The game comped rooms, food, shows. It’s now a shadow of its former self, but was still gold during Covid. Any time we could take off, we did. Had multiple extended weekends because we each could get two nights comped via the game, paying only the resort fees. Four nights at Mandalay Bay multiple times for only the resort fees(at the time the resort fees were max $30 a night). My wife was Pearl status(the second lowest) so no parking fees either. Also stayed at Bellagio and Vdara(nice studio condo units) during this time.

Now? Well all of it dried up again sometime in 2023. But today…we visited Vegas twice in 2023, twice in 2024, and our first trip this year will be over Labor Day weekend. Wife hasn’t put even $100 over a weekend into a slot machine since 2023 and I haven’t gambled at all save for the rare $20. Arriving Friday and leaving Monday, wife had 2 nights that weekend in her account comped at Luxor and 1 night at $20 of course plus resort fees of $40 a night and she lost Pearl Status a few years ago so parking fee of $20 a night. Nonetheless we are getting a room(albeit at one of the lower end hotels) on a three day weekend for under $250 total inclusive of taxes, parking, and resort fees. I dare you to try and get that anywhere else in the US. Maybe…..MAYBE….Motel 6 in a bad part of town. Sure I could whine and stomp my feet that I’m getting screwed by having to pay for parking and resort fees. Or I can look at the numbers and know that I’m getting an overall great deal.

Point of all this is things ebb and flow. The good deals from the 80’s and 90’s? It no longer exists and any casino employing those deals would go out of business. No more $4.99 steak and eggs, no more $0.99 shrimp cocktails, no one slinging bottles of beer for a buck. That stuff is so cheap it would be like giving it away. But I can still go there cheaper than anywhere else, get away from it. Eat some delicious food that is so much easier to access than in LA, and if I want a beer I walk into CVS or Walgreens and get a tall can of Modelo Negra for less than $4. Can’t beat that.

Patrick says

I don't remember Vegas ever not sucking.

But I've noticed other touristy places sucking more than they used to, like Michigan Ave in Chicago and Honolulu.

They all feel mafia-run to me, everything tightly controlled to screw the customers as hard as possible at all times.

I agree it sucks. For FTMM, I do agree lodging can be cheap the right time of year still, I think Patrick's point was the atmosphere and people. It has a bad vibe. There was only one night there I had fun and I'm not a club guy or prostitute (never would do that).

I just played roulette for 18 hours. That was about 13 years ago. They kept bringing me beers for free outside of a tip. It was at Hooters which the casino I think is no longer around in Vegas. But holy smokes was the dealer or what they called for roulette a perfect babe. Played for 3 hours, shift change and that hottie comes in and I play for her whole shift because she was that hot. Got some coffee at MGM played electric roulette. Won $100 there so went back to Hooters. I ended up even a two night trip but got a boatload of free beer. That was probably a 20 beer stretch.

As other have said it is a zombie city. When you keep most of the places open 24/7/365 at most casinos, no one gets any sleep. Employees, gamblers, street grifters, dealers, etc. I'm sure the casino managers and hotel managers are paid well. Attorneys probably do well.

Thing with Vegas is it's Bourbon street but waaaaay larger and a lot of the debauchery occurs indoors, though the sidewalk and litter are gross. My buddy is banned from New York New York because he peed on a couch in the hallway. Just a lot of drunk people that can't handle drinking that much because they're usually there for an event. Then blow is easier to get than water so everyone is jacked.

I'll go back at some point, more for warm weather, but at a classy place that has a nice pool that isn't a party. Generally I'd rather go to Florida or USVI for the beaches. Otherwise I'll just stick to airport layovers and look at all the people that seem to be suffering. It really is a depressing place.

Heading out to Atlantic City to enjoy the beach and boardwalk. I see all those people bitching about Vegas (comes up in my YouTube feeds because I watch a lot of Atlantic City content) and note that a lot of it either doesn't apply or is less bad in Atlantic City. I pay one time to park, like $10-$15 for as long as I want to stay (and I never use a car when I'm there). You don't pay to park by the day, it's per trip (except sometimes at the Golden Nugget where parking sometimes really is free), Parking isn't free at the beach, and that's always the case. Drinks are pricey just the same, but when you arrive in a car and go to a room that always comes with an empty refrigerator you can put all your drinks in it (unlike Vegas). You can drink on the beach / boardwalk / anywhere in the casino and I just bring my own. If you are paying $20 or more for a drink, you are dumb. The not having a refrigerator to use like they do in Vegas would a deal breaker for me. Resort fees are lower in Atlantic City as well. For food, you don't necessarily have to eat the expensive casino food, there are local places in walking distance or on the boardwalk. Sure I can pay $60 for 2 hamburgers (with tip) at the burger place in Tropicana, or I can pay around $30 for two excellent burgers at the burger place in Hard Rocks food court (Burger & Hops). The Hard Rock buffet is buy one get one free (55+ only) on Monday nights, so that's typically where I eat on Monday nights. That's too cheap to pass up, and it's a good buffet too. I only really only eat one meal a day anyway. I don't gamble either, I go to the beach. Off season I go to one of the adult only indoor pools. Rooms are normally reasonably priced (cheapest on the shore) as long as you don't stay on Friday or Saturday nights.

zzyzzx says

I don't gamble either, I go to the beach.

This is suspiciously bull shit. Not being a dick. There are way better places you can go instead of AC. I've only been once as a kid, but come on? For the cost in gas you could fly down to Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville, Panhandle, etc. Hell Biloxi, Mississippi. Be there in less than 2 hours.

The Atlantic coast is trash as well. @AD has it the best out of all of us to be honest. Most of you just won't visit. Unless you surf CA and the west coast have awful beaches. Texas sucks. Or Gulf Shores/Orange Beach and to the east to Apalachicola is some of the best beaches in the world. Not just the US. AD knows what I'm talking about.

WookieMan says

This is suspiciously bull shit. Not being a dick. There are way better places you can go instead of AC. I've only been once as a kid, but come on? For the cost in gas you could fly down to Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville, Panhandle, etc. Hell Biloxi, Mississippi. Be there in less than 2 hours.

It's ~150 miles drive each way to AC. Around 13 gallons of gas (round trip). Way cheaper than a flight to someplace farther away. No rental car needed either. I also don't see going to any of those other beaches and not needing a rental car and or rental chairs beach umbrellas which I won't be needing (I'm bringing those). The beaches in Atlantic City are fantastic. They have got some recent massive beach replenishment too. It used to only be nice near the Tropicana, and now it's nice (meaning wide) everywhere where the boardwalk casinos are.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y1VM_fz3Zc

The video might now even show the scale correctly since the dunes are pretty big as well (and block the view).

Ugh. Dude. I hope @AD can back me up. I'll try to grab some personal photos without me or the kids in them. Again not trying to shit on you, but AC is a joke as far as beaches go. Again to be fair CA sucks too. In this Hemisphere St. John, USVI is the best and then Panhandle, FL (PCB, Destin, Fort Walton, Navarre, Pensacola) is 2nd best. Best sand on the planet. Better than USVI.

Vegas had "better government" for a while. i.e.: lower costs and ability to have gambling and drinking. But, fundamentally, Vegas doesn't offer anything except the "better government."

Atlantic City, for all its problems, offers most of that as well as (non-scorching) sun and beaches with warmish water. Plus, AC isn't an isolated island like Vegas; for millions of people, driving to AC is convenient.

One thing to remember about casinos and gambling ... for every rare gambling winner (one described above by FTMSM), there needs to be dozens of losers. That's not good odds!

I have some friends who escaped silicon valley and landed there. They love their 6000 sqft McMansion that sure beats a 60-year-old 1400 sqft shack. Hit the downtown shows off-peak. They note the excellent flight options as the best feature: Easily can travel anywhere in the world.

"Vegas has always sucked."

Not so fast. I will relate my good old days of Vegas.

In 2009, I started going to Vegas with my brother and a group of his pals from where he worked. They always stayed Downtown and usually at the El Cortez.

For a few years, boy, were those some good times for a bunch of guys to get together and blow off some steam for two or three days.

The El Cortez. $5 craps tables, $5 single deck blackjack. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the subject of expected loss, these games had a minus expected value of less than $5 per hour. Now, Blackjack is as boring as it gets, but when you are with an agreeable crew of dudes, it can be a lot of fun. Craps, hey, slinging dice is fun.

Any other costs?, Okay, yes, so you would give the cocktail waitress a dollar for every drink (or maybe more if you thought she was cute), but, hey, try going to Disneyland and getting that hourly cost for some appreciated entertainment.

And then comes the time to eat. For about $8, at the El Cortez, you could get a Jackie burger and fries and your gut was full for quite a while. Good, cheap food. One of the hallmarks of good old Vegas. It does not exist anymore, but we would regularly go down to the diner at the Golden Gate casino at the other end of Fremont street for the breakfast. Just about more than I could eat and I would tip about as much as the the food cost.

Oh, for those who may not be familiar with Vegas, Jackie Gaughan, the owner of the El Cortez, was an old time, ridiculously successful casino owner/operator. At that time, he was towards the end of his life, and he would spend a certain amount of time throughout the day playing in the poker room (constantly cared for by a bunch of security).

I had the opportunity to play at the same table a few times. He was losing it, and I really had to control myself with my eyes because the failing fellow pretty much held his cards open. I play to win at poker, but I do not want to win like that. When he passed the card room shut down. They had kept it open just for him.

Those days did not suck.

I almost forgot, we would get rooms on the weekend for somewhere north of $30 per night. (No one is going to believe that statement).

And, Downtown is really great for walking to another place. Let me give you a tip if you are in Downtown kind of late at night and are hungry. Binion's. Steak and eggs. Oh, I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

Kepi says

And, Downtown is really great for walking to another place. Let me give you a tip if you are in Downtown kind of late at night and are hungry. Binion's. Steak and eggs. Oh, I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

Never had good food in Vegas. Quantity over quality is how I took it. I'm also from Chicagoland where food is taken pretty damn seriously.

Seafood aside in coastal areas, Chicago as much as I hate it has some of the best food in the country, if not world. Compare Michelin rated restaurants with Chicago on a per capita basis. LA or wherever. If you bring in seafood, it's tough to get to a high level in Chicago. Needs to be caught that morning. Chicago ain't competing with Maine lobster.

My homie Raiders and A's left the Bay Area for Vegas because local government here wouldn't subsidize their asses with taxpayer subsidized stadiums.

Nevada politicians were stupid enough to give the taxpayer subsidies to rich sports team owners. Good for them. Good riddance to our formerly beloved teams. Our region has tons of other recreation and entertainment stuff. We won't miss them much.

Enjoy your subsidies, Nevada Taxpayers!

WookieMan says

Kepi says

And, Downtown is really great for walking to another place. Let me give you a tip if you are in Downtown kind of late at night and are hungry. Binion's. Steak and eggs. Oh, I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

Never had good food in Vegas. Quantity over quality is how I took it. I'm also from Chicagoland where food is taken pretty damn seriously.

Seafood aside in coastal areas, Chicago as much as I hate it has some of the best food in the country, if not world. Compare Michelin rated restaurants with Chicago on a per capita basis. LA or wherever. If you bring in seafood, it's tough to get to a high level in Chicago. Needs to be caught that morning. Chicago ain't competing with Maine lobster.

Food in Las Vegas is fantastic nowdays and has been for some time. I can’t speak to michellin rated restaurants although Vegas has those. The highest end places I’ve ever eaten at are very nice steak places. But all those transplants did wonders for the low end places in the suburbs, particularly in Henderson and North Las Vegas/Aliante, Spring Valley, and the southwest part of town. I challenge anyone to find a better quality and variety of eats in the <$30 range.

As to El Cortez, aka the Sweaty Spaniard, both my friend and I got backed off there playing blackjack because they think we were counting(we were). I didn’t use a player card and didn’t produce ID and they only said we couldn’t play blackjack so enough time has probably passed that it’s not an issue. I’ve gotten backed off there, friend got backed off at the Plaza, and both of us had been trespassed at the old Barbary Coast. BC and ElCo are infamous for having an itchy trigger finger in regards to suspected card counters. Ultimately it’s rather dumb as neither of us was betting any amounts of consequence.

FuckTheMainstreamMedia says

As to El Cortez, aka the Sweaty Spaniard

Haha! Ain't that the truth.

I never wanted to do anything questionable there because it was where me and the boys liked to hang out.

But, still, I got some actual heat betting single red birds at Blackjack (and I was playing rated). I did not get backed off, but, still, too much!!

I remember a report about a couple of dudes getting backed off before they even played. Just by the way they looked, apparently.

RC2006 says

I think what bothered me the most was the nickel and diming, it's really bad. Everything is over priced and I just felt ripped off.

Agreed. I will never go back to Vegas, or Honolulu, or Miami Beach.

https://x.com/WallStreetApes/status/1964170875751846124

Las Vegas prices are beyond insane

American ordered this bowl of pasta at Park MGM. She shows the receipt, it’s $52.95 for this bowl of pasta and a water….

This is why nobody goes to Vegas anymore

Patrick says

Agreed. I will never go back to Vegas, or Honolulu, or Miami Beach.

Back in 2012 I stayed at The Palms (just off strip in Vegas down street from Rio)

Paid about $80 a night total, and it had a great breakfast/lunch buffet for $11

.

$53 for some noodles and a water at a food court? Why didn't they go someplace else? I would have.

For comparison purposes:

Late August in Atlantic City for 2 people:
Stopped off at the Egg Harbor Township Texas Roadhouse on my way in and spent $40 for dinner.
Spent $50 at the buffet in Hard Rock (was B1G1 free night for seniors, like it was every Monday night).
I paid $33 for two hamburgers at the food court in Hard Rock (I brought my own booze to the food court).
I bought a large pizza in South Jersey at a local place somewhere near-ish the Delaware Memorial Bridge. I forget what that cost, but not tourist prices.

I brought snacks, soda, and booze, and don't eat breakfast or lunch. I'm not sure if I could do that so easily if I flew in someplace, but most Atlantic City patrons drive in and can and will do that. The room refrigerators are always empty (no mini-bar), and parking is cheaper than Vegas too, because Atlantic City casino charges for parking by the trip and not per day. Now there are 2 hotels (Claridge and ShowBoat) that charge for parking by the day, and people often park at the casino next door to save on parking. Also, resort fees are lower in Atlantic City when compared to Vegas.

I think the difference here is that if places in AC tried to do some of the onerous Vegas crap, people can and will walk down the boardwalk and eat at a local place. People will park someplace else nearby to not get reamed on parking (Trump Plaza parking garage is still open and has cheap rates). One hotel that charges excessive for parking by the day is even connected indoors to a casino hotel that charges for parking by the trip. I have to wonder about their business model??

I haven't seen room rates go up much, or at all since I have been going to Atlantic City in 2009. what I have seen go up is the resort fee and parking. Resorts fees are as high as $35/night at some places (was $26/night in August at Ocean) and parking that used to be $5 per trip is now $10 (really up $5 across the board). Food and booze prices have gone up, obviously.

I did not gamble, however I did make good use of the bill breaker in the casino. I did make good use of the indoor/outdoor pool at Ocean Casino Hotel, as well as the beach and boardwalk. My next trip to Atlantic City will be to go to the Borgata to use the indoor adult only pool all day in the winter.

There is no beach or boardwalk in Vegas, and I have no idea why people anyone would go to Vegas now, unless you just like really hot weather and like to gamble (can't most people gamble locally now)??? So unless you really like to pay too much casino hop, I don't see the appeal to Vegas.

I also wonder if a lot of the overpricing on everything that we see today is because during covid everything got price jacked and people paid anyway. I mean if you were a business and discovered that you could jack prices and people simply paid more and kept coming, you would be incentivized to keep prices high because why not. I know in some sectors (Vegas, Disney, fast food) business is down, but is it really down enough yet?

Patrick says

RC2006 says

I think what bothered me the most was the nickel and diming, it's really bad. Everything is over priced and I just felt ripped off.

Agreed. I will never go back to Vegas, or Honolulu, or Miami Beach.

https://x.com/WallStreetApes/status/1964170875751846124

Las Vegas prices are beyond insane

American ordered this bowl of pasta at Park MGM. She shows the receipt, it’s $52.95 for this bowl of pasta and a water….

This is why nobody goes to Vegas anymore

I have no sympathy. Prices are posted. If someone paid $52 for pasta and water at Eataly, they are a moron. Wife and I had breakfast there about a year ago. It was fantastic and everyone passing by was commenting how great it looked. Total without coffee(which we got elsewhere beforehand) was about $30 and no need to tip.

It required walking to a couple stands…there’s about ten stands at Eataly…before placing our order. Simpleton idiots of course just think “me hungry” and go to the first place they come across. Actually happens to the wifey on a low level and she’ll wind up doing something dumb like paying $8 for a bottle of water at the hotel gift shop rather than wait 10 more minutes for us to walk by the CVS and getting the same bottle under $3 while I pay $4 for my tall can of Modelo Negra instead of $10-25 in the casino($10 at gift shop, $25 for two bottles of a beer I don’t want at a casino bar).

FuckTheMainstreamMedia says

If someone paid $52 for pasta and water at Eataly, they are a moron.

I agree.

Actually happens to the wifey on a low level and she’ll wind up doing something dumb like paying $8 for a bottle of water at the hotel gift shop rather than wait 10 more minutes for us to walk by the CVS and getting the same bottle under $3 while I pay $4 for my tall can of Modelo Negra instead of $10-25 in the casino($10 at gift shop, $25 for two bottles of a beer I don’t want at a casino bar)

I'm also guessing that this walkable CVS charges higher prices when compared to a normal CVS as well.

In my in basket from MGM today:
Subject to up to $55 Daily Resort Fee

Currently $30/night at Borgata Atlantic City (the only MGM property in AC).

zzyzzx says

There is no beach or boardwalk in Vegas, and I have no idea why people anyone would go to Vegas now, unless you just like really hot weather and like to gamble (can't most people gamble locally now)??? So unless you really like to pay too much casino hop, I don't see the appeal to Vegas.

Humid at times, but Biloxi, MS is a good alternative in the winter or fall and spring shoulder seasons. Usually not humid that time of year. Beaches, but not the greatest, you'd need to drive 2 hours east, but that's what my dad would do in the Panhandle of FL. My mom would watch us and he'd disappear usually 1 or 2 days over to Biloxi during a week trip and gamble for 10 hours and drive back to where we were staying. Or he'd golf.

Vegas can get cold in the winter too, but in Biloxi if you do October and November it's pretty perfect. Keep an eye on hurricanes in the fall. If you fly Pensacola would be the best landing spot. Could do NOLA but usually more expensive though slightly shorter drive. As someone in the Northeast(ish) area it would be an alternative in the winter if you want to gamble and have warmer weather.

With Vegas, every thing you book is cheap until you get there. Don't know if it's changed but you can gamble and get free drinks. Go to the bar and you'll be broke. That's why they give free drinks, keep you gambling. Cheaper on their end as they're probably getting 20-200k bottles of beer a day at something like .50¢ while almost any bet is gonna be $10 on average for gamblers. Again don't know if they still do but indoor smoking was a huge boon to gambling when most states outlawed it. Free booze and you can smoke. Not popular with the younger crowd, but was big when I was growing up.

Smoking and free booze while gambling are still a thing in Las Vegas.

I admit to heavy bias. It’s only a few hours drive. Wife maintains ok comps at lower end places mindlessly playing slots. Vegas to its credit has improved the comps as of late by including a small amount of free play as well as a $50 to $100 resort credit which buys us a breakfast or two. Can’t complain really but yeah costs will get out of hand if you don’t pay attention to what you are doing or if you have a family.

Reason enough not to go to Vegas:



Atlantic City doesn't do this.

Exactly.

Vegas hates you.

Never been to Atlantic City.

https://rudy.substack.com/p/the-increasing-economic-fragility



Wow, three mandatory tips, all of different names, adding up to more than 50%.

How could anyone possibly be so stupid as to even set foot in Vegas anymore? Or is it all newcomers getting ripped off? Or people who have so much money they just don't care?

zzyzzx says

In my in basket from MGM today:
Subject to up to $55 Daily Resort Fee

Currently $30/night at Borgata Atlantic City (the only MGM property in AC).

Not bad if it is $85 a night before taxes

Quick Answer: The free amenities at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City include access to the indoor and outdoor pools, fitness center (Pump Room), whirlpools, and gardens, along with standard in-room features like Wi‑Fi, flat‑screen TVs, and luxury toiletries. These are covered by the daily resort fee, so guests don’t pay extra at the property.

Those should be covered by the price of the room, the way it used to be until like 10 minutes ago.

No one with any self-respect should stay anywhere that openly insults its customers with "resort fees".

Patrick says

Those should be covered by the price of the room, the way it used to be until like 10 minutes ago.

No one with any self-respect should stay anywhere that openly insults its customers with "resort fees".

I guess they want to somewhat demonstrate price transparency to show what you are paying for during a visit.

Vegas should rethink their business model such as the Hilton use to have Star Trek exhibit about 25 years ago. They could now charge $3 for a coffee (add a $1 tip) that costs 50 cents in making (coffee grinds and life cycle cost for coffee machine) to have patrons visit the Star Trek exhibit.

Call me crazy, but I don’t get it. I don’t understand why anyone would ever take a vacation and go to Vegas. I suppose it’s great for city folk. I prefer nature settings and no sounds coming from human beings.

SharkyP says

Call me crazy, but I don’t get it. I don’t understand why anyone would ever take a vacation and go to Vegas. I suppose it’s great for city folk. I prefer nature settings and no sounds coming from human beings.

Agree. But you can't forget addiction and dreams of winning big bucks. I hate Vegas. I gamble once every 2-3 years. I've been to Vegas I think 12 times and have only gambled once there. Most of it was when I was underage and mom would take us to shows or something.

There can be some entertainment, but it's completely degenerate otherwise. Go to the Grand Canyon or hit the Utah NP trail up to Salt Lake City (Moab, Zion, etc.) if you're out that way. Hike the Narrows at Zion and get as far as you can and crack a few cold ones as a reward. The extra weight is extra exercise as well. I lose anywhere from 3-10 pounds on vacation usually which doesn't make sense.

SharkyP says

Call me crazy, but I don’t get it. I don’t understand why anyone would ever take a vacation and go to Vegas. I suppose it’s great for city folk. I prefer nature settings and no sounds coming from human beings.

Deprived people addicted to total depravity. There was a time in my life when Vegas had an appeal of fun. Glad those days are long gone.

Blackstone sold an $800 million preferred equity stake in Las Vegas’s CityCenter (home to the Aria Resort & Casino and Vdara Hotel & Spa) to Realty Income Corp. in December 2025. The move wasn’t an exit — Blackstone retains full common equity ownership and MGM Resorts continues to operate the properties — but rather a way to raise capital, lock in returns, and bring in a long‑term partner while keeping control of the assets.

FortWayneHatesRealtors says

Deprived people addicted to total depravity. There was a time in my life when Vegas had an appeal of fun. Glad those days are long gone.

The Vegas hotel resorts each should have their own attraction like Hilton with its Star Trek Experience, the Bellagio with Italian Art exhibit, Mandalay Bay with its aquarium, etc. Make it diverse like Disney World and include educational experience as part of it. Then offer visitors a pass to go to at least 5 resort exhibits.

That is one way Vegas can resort itself and make it affordable like $3 coffees and $13 brunches.

.

AD says

I guess they want to somewhat demonstrate price transparency to show what you are paying for during a visit.

Resort fees are the opposite of price transparency.

They took one clear price, the cost of staying at the hotel, and broke it into random parts to deliberately obscure how much it really costs.

Patrick says

Resort fees are the opposite of price transparency.

The problem with some fees is you don't know them until you arrive. I don't know how they get away with it.

I do all my travel shopping online. I always go to the checkout screen and see the bull shit. Takes more time, but on a week long trip not just to Vegas (hell) that could be $500-1k. Gotta do your due diligence when traveling now. Don't trust a travel agent either unless it's across an ocean. Even then I'd self plan. Spend 4-6 hours and you'll save solid money and it's fun like bull shitting here. Vegas or beach vacation usually all the sites have soft porn of scantily clad women to sell you so it's a win win.

Everything Millennials touch turns to shit.

https://rudy.substack.com/p/3-inflation-is-not-low-inflation

And that’s what Corporate America misses every time. They look at simple numbers. I can make the idiot give me money faster so I make more money in the same amount of time. But they ignore things like the fact that if I’m not having fun, I won’t come back. If I’m not having fun, I will spend less time in your business buying other things. If I’m not having fun, I’m not going to tell my friends how great it is at your place of business.

Yeah, corporate America. You won. You got my money faster that one time. And now you won’t get more of it there.

What kills me is that this isn’t limited to the casinos. It’s everything, everywhere. Everything is so much more adversarial, predatory and it always just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Our movies are bland, our music is bland, our real estate market is fucked, our job market is fucked, our stores are poorly stocked, online businesses are filled with poor quality knock offs, scalpers get the items like anticipated electronics and event tickets we actually do want and sell them to us at horrendous markups. And yeah, I know there was never really truly a golden age and that all of those things were around before, but they’re all being pushed to their true horrendous end stage. The logical conclusion. There is always just little more to wring out of us.

Except there isn’t, and then the whole thing falls apart. And the people that caused it because somehow having the most wealth in human history still isn’t enough will be completely fine.

Patrick says

And that’s what Corporate America misses every time.

Panama City Beach and Florida panhandle is trying to be the best-value vacation location for the working and middle class. It promotes it beaches and local parks as far as ecotourism appeal.

Its cheaper to stay in a condo on the beach at $300 a night for a family of four and enjoy the ecotourism features then to go to other common vacation locations like Disney World every year. Can fish and snorkel and see all types of wildlife like dolphins, sea turtles, herons, ospreys, etc.

Casinos have added another losing slot on the roulette wheel, 000, to boost house revenue. Bets like red/black, odd/even now have another way to lose: when the ball lands on 000.

https://rudy.substack.com/p/the-art-of-the-absurd

Vegas seems to have exported its triple-zero philosophy across the Strip. Another casualty is blackjack, which remains the most popular casino attraction in the city. Historically, the game has followed a golden rule. If you are dealt 21—an ace and a 10—you’ve hit blackjack, and your wager is paid out on a 3-to-2 ratio. (A $100 bet nets $150, and so on.) But Vegas has since altered the rules. Now, on most tables, blackjack is rewarded with a 6-to-5 equation; that same $100 kicks back only $120, significantly curtailing just how lucky someone is allowed to get. Again, it’s not hard to see why Vegas casinos made the change. “They’re tripling the house edge,” John told me. “It went up from about 0.66 percent to 2 percent.”

Even if a gambler is willing to tolerate these perversions of tradition, the price of admission in Vegas has skyrocketed. According to John’s research, in 2020, 38 casinos in the greater Las Vegas gambling market featured tables dealing 3-to-2 blackjack capped at a $5 minimum bet. (As in, to play, you need to risk at least $5 per hand.) These days, that group has dropped to six casinos. Prowl through the Strip after dark, sift through the pits, and you’ll feel the difference. Most table games in 2025 force patrons to sacrifice painful amounts of cash to its maw—$25 minimums are basically standard. Fifty-dollar minimums aren’t uncommon either. Even more deviously, some Vegas properties force customers to pay a premium to access friendlier rules. I came across exactly one ultra-rare single-zero roulette wheel on the Strip, which felt a little bit like uncovering the hutch of the last surviving dodo. Naturally, it was stowed away in a high-limit room.

I flew right over Tuesday and it looked dead. People were out but not that many. It was Tuesday at around 5PM though so maybe that's why.