Bob Dena wrote on June 15, 2008 10:50 AM: I agree 100% with Vegas Frequent Visitor. I am at the other end of the Country in Florida and I used to travel to Vegas 3 & 4 times per year. I no longer will subject myself to cross country jaunts and escalating air fares,
only to be subjected to 6/5 blackjack
and "tight" slots. I am a recreational gambler, but I know how to play the games I do play. I can play several video poker games close to if not perfect, yet I can't honestly tell you the last time I won any money in Vegas!

I am fortunate in that my rooms are normally comped based on my level of play, but I feel for the average "Joe"
who has that expense as well as the normal costs associated with a vacation.
I am also fortunate that my frequent trips have allowed me to discover many off the beaten path values that the infrequent visitor may not be aware.
Unfortunately these "values" are getting more difficult to find and are vitually nonexistant on the "strip".

In my opinion, Vegas has reinvented itself as a high end destination for that individual wanting to wade into the pool scene and "hot" clubs. Vegas Frequent Visitor may want to scale down to one Vegas trip a year, but this casino patron has the option of spending his money in the Florida and Mississippi casinos with much less hassle and better winning probability.

See ya Vegas, I think you are going to miss guys like me!

Vegas Frequent Visitor wrote on June 11, 2008 09:10 AM: My husband and I used to visit Vegas 3+ times a year--It was our favorite vacation spot (we live in Washington St.). But the cost of visiting today has skyrocketed. It's not just flights, but room rates and food have shot up. We are not whales, nor even sharks. Just ordinary middle-class visitors who love Vegas and the fun, relaxing atmosphere, the gambling, some shopping, people-watching, etc. But everything has gone high-end. Shopping is now for the uber-rich label-conscious. Gambling sucks--the machines are tighter, the tables at 10-20 bucks a hand, and what happened to $2.00 craps? We used to enjoy going to the locals casinos, but now even those have become frustrating. The new casinos on the strip are beautiful, but there is no substance to them. Beauty fades. What was once a $10.00 buffet is now $30. Vegas used to be a fairly inexpensive playground. Not so anymore--we have had to plan our single visit this year very carefully, and budget for it. That never happened in the past.

If the powers that be want to know why Vegas is losing visitors...look back a little. 4 years ago, it was an affordable vacation every few months for the average visitor. Now it requires considerable planning and economic investment. The people who came in droves are sticking closer to home, and the Indian casinos, where slots are looser, food is cheaper, and you don't have to walk 10 miles from one end of the casino to get somewhere. Now that everyone's on tickets, even that thrilling sound of coins in the tray is gone...even in Vegas.

What a sad change.

NLV Resident wrote on May 17, 2008 09:29 PM: For all the glitz and glory of the "new casinos," there is a certain charm that is now missing from Las Vegas. I can wax poetic about the good ole days, but the truth is that the moguls weren't thinking about locals when they imploded older buildings for luxurious new ones. Instead they focused on the celebrity elites. Well, in down times, its the locals who keep the machine running. Only now its too expensive for them, so the casinos are feeling a crunch. Oh well. They gambled. And for right now, the house is losing.

greedy local business owner wrote on May 17, 2008 02:09 PM: Is it possible the local casinos will eliminate so many of their employees, there will be no locals to play in their casinos? Do they not understand that some of their best players are their own employees? Apparently not, as Station Casinos continues to build and slash.

TimeRanger wrote on May 17, 2008 01:56 PM: Susan Polyak - If you want better payouts, you have to play the higher denomination machines. The casinos look at it this way: Each machine has to pay its rent, and in order for a lower denomination (penny, nickel machines) to pay its own way, the payback must be lower. On the flip side, the higher denomination (quarter, dollar, 5-dollar) machines can earn the same amount of money for far less play.

tim wrote on May 17, 2008 09:12 AM: they have tightened up the machines so bad its ridiculious.i have been here forever and i have to laugh.but you cant build all those fancy hotels with people acually winning money all the time,can you.like p.t. barnum said, there,s a sucker born every minute and the hotel owners are taking full advantage of that.buffets have to cost a lot because when you run out of money in the first hour,the only value of your dollar is at least you get to eat.see if people win they wont eat,so knowing that wont happen,hence the overpriced buffet.

Richard wrote on May 17, 2008 08:51 AM: Where is my old Vegas? It moved to Macau. I remember a Vegas where any drink was 50 cents and a good buffet for $1.29. Who could stay sober and thin at those prices? It was a time when columnist Forest Duke called Vegas "The Best City of Them All", and it really was. But nothing lasts forever. Too bad.

douglas wrote on May 17, 2008 07:24 AM: since the first writer claims to be for "bio diversity", he best add a few more "victims" to the law suit... mebbe threatened weeds, protected scorpions, and endangered fire ants.

meanwhile, the writer if honorable, must instantly dismantle his home so as to enable those "victims" to regain their original habitat.