There are quite a few U.S. cities that are complete and utter economic disaster zones in 2010 (Detroit for example), but there is something about the demise of Las Vegas that is absolutely stunning. In recent decades, Las Vegas has become a symbol for the over-the-top affluence and decadence of America. But now it is a microcosm of the economic nightmare that has gripped the entire nation. When the subprime mortgage crisis stuck, no major U.S. city was more devastated than Las Vegas. When the recession went from bad to worse, Americans decided that they really didn't need to gamble so much and casino revenues plummeted. Suddenly unemployment started to increase dramatically in Vegas and even today it continues to soar. Like so many other cities that are highly dependent on tourism and entertainment, Las Vegas has gone from boom to bust. Local officials are hoping that the worst will soon be over, but the truth is that the worst is yet to come. As the U.S. economy continues to unravel, average Americans will be spending what little money they do have to put a roof over their heads and to feed their families. The truth is that the glory days of Las Vegas are over and they are not coming back.
Already, the number of unemployed in Las Vegas is reaching unprecedented levels. Unemployment rates for the state of Nevada and for the city of Las Vegas both set new records during the month of April. In Las Vegas the unemployment rate in April was 14.2%. For the entire state the unemployment rate was 13.7%.
Of course those are just the "official" numbers. We all know that the "real" unemployment numbers are much higher.
For example, the "official" unemployment figure is about 14 percent in the state of Michigan right now. But if you actually believe that 86 percent of able-bodied workers in the state of Michigan are employed, then perhaps you would be interested in an offer to purchase the Golden Gate Bridge as well.
Elliott Parker, an economist at the University of Nevada, Reno says that the record-setting unemployment numbers in Nevada are just part of a larger trend....
"Nevada has been losing jobs since March 2008, and we are continuing to do so."
But where the state of Nevada and the city of Las Vegas have really been hammered is in the housing industry.
It is estimated that a whopping 65 percent of all homes in the state of Nevada are underwater.
Let that sink in for a bit.
65 percent of all home owners with a mortgage in the state of Nevada owe more than their homes are worth.
Talk about an implosion.
Nationally, the number of homes that are "underwater" is about 24 percent. That is an all-time record for the entire nation, but it doesn't come anywhere close to the nightmare that is unfolding in Nevada and in Las Vegas.
And the number of foreclosures taking place in Nevada is absolutely breathtaking.
According to RealtyTrac, Nevada is still ranked number one for foreclosure filings. In fact, one out of every 79 Nevada homes received a foreclosure filing in the month of May alone.
Nevada’s foreclosure rate is now five times the national average.
By just about any measure, the economy of Nevada is a complete and total disaster.
A reader recently sent an email describing the economic horror that is unfolding in Las Vegas. No matter what you may think about the city, the truth is that it is sad to see any great U.S. city fall to pieces like this....
"Las Vegas is a goner. The homeless population is out of control. The real estate is far worse than I have seen in the media (no surprise there). The towers of condos are ninety five percent vacant with zero activity. The streets and parks are in decline. Local governments are busy making cuts and fighting unions. When I ride the streets they are deserted, a big change from 2006. The major casino companies have all but moved the casinos out of Nevada. Rooms and restaurants have been closing for years, even while they finished the new projects. The entire town is a skeleton staff providing substandard service and decaying properties. I still work for one of the majors which is in bankruptcy. When the next wave hits there is nowhere to cut. It will be a game of dominoes with the Wynn properties the only ones left standing. I see the ninety nine cent breakfast making a comeback. The bullet train a day late and a few billion dollars short."
So is there any hope for Las Vegas?
Well, if the U.S. economy gets back up off of the operating table and roars back to life there is little doubt that millions of Americans would once again soon be flying there to gamble away their discretionary income.
But the truth is that any "revival" that is going to happen in Vegas is going to be very short-lived.
The U.S. economy as a whole is caught in a death spiral, and we are about to see a repeat of the housing crash that devastated Las Vegas so badly the first time around.
No, there really isn't any way that the death of Las Vegas can be avoided. Just like the U.S. economy as a whole, it is inevitably doomed. The numbers don't lie.
The grand total of all government, corporate and consumer debt in the United States is now equal to 360 percent of GDP. That is a far greater level than the U.S. ever approached during the Great Depression.
The entire U.S. economy is a house of cards built on a gigantic pile of debt and paper money, and it is only a matter of time until it all comes crashing down.
But of course that isn't stopping the U.S. government from spending even more money and getting us all into even more debt.
According to a recent Treasury Department report to Congress, the U.S. national debt will top $13.6 trillion this year and climb to an estimated $19.6 trillion by 2015.
But as many of you who have experienced this on a personal level know, getting into continually increasing amounts of debt never ends well.
So do any of you have a tale to tell about the city where you live? Do you find yourself caught in the middle of an economic nightmare? Feel free to leave a comment telling us what is happening in your area of the United States....
****UPDATE****
A number of readers have chimed in with some very insightful comments. A sampling is below....
Vegas Bob:
I lived here in Vegas from 1998-2006 and moved back at the beginning of 2010. I worked in Corporate Finance for one of the largest casino operators up until I retired.
The article is spot on. Compared to its heyday in 2005-2006, Las Vegas today is an economic disaster zone. The condo I sold in 2006 for $172,500 now goes for $48,900 – a 72% haircut.
It’s not getting any better. Real estate prices are resuming their descent, now that the $8,000 homebuyer tax bribe is gone.
The so-called economic recovery is for wealthy people only. Everyday people just keep getting the shaft. Obama is just another Republican with a ‘D’ after his name.
I’m glad I was smart enough to rent a place instead of buying one. I’m getting the hell out of this hellhole when my lease is up at year-end.
Tiara:
I am born and raised Vegas. When I say I was raised in Vegas I don’t mean a casino. I mean the middle of the dessert 30 miles north from the strip with the lizards and tumbleweeds. Vegas and I have a love hate relationship. I have seen this the growth in this town blow up in my face and now it is imploding just like an old worn out casino. It has been a crazy ride but due to the economy I will most likely be leaving Las Vegas soon. Growing up in this town has been interesting and leaving it will be bittersweet.
Craig:
I lived in vegas in 2006 and have been back to visit many times. I was there recently for the first time after the economy imploded in late 2008—That town is a shell of it’s former self.
On any given night there are half the people on the strip that there used to be. The service even in the 5-star hotels has declined. You can see the lack of morale, sucked from the faces of the wokrers.
I loved this town in its hay day. Right now, it’s pretty sad.
Dolly:
Vegas was, and is, easy to understand. I’m in the musical equipment business– audio– and we go to Trade Shows.
These are held all over the world, but let’s contrast just two places, Los Angeles and Vegas:
If you go to Los Angeles, you will visit with the worlds best engineering talent, and a solidly-grounded people that are there to PRODUCE something OF VALUE. You have small manufacturers, Farm and Ranch people, Oil people, the film industry and plenty of unspoiled, honest, clean-living young people who work hard, and then play hard. Many are Surfers, etc., and are a breath of Fresh Air.
In short, a business convention or trade show in this city is a TREAT.
Now, let’s look at Las Vegas. Everything that’s big there is built around money manipulation and power. No one gives a damn about anybody else. Got a brilliant idea? One that Los Angelinos would want to encourage you to develop and succeed at? NOT in Vegas! Any Casino in town handles more money than that in a microsecond. Besides– who are YOU? YOU don’t matter. Vegas gets all the big shows and all the big stuff– so YOU DON’T COUNT.
Want to hold a convention in a DECENT CITY– say L.A., or Denver? SORRY– Vegas will move right in– bribe the show principals and it WILL be held in Vegas. Look at what happened to the National Finals Rodeo– Oklahoma City was GREAT, but VEGAS has STOLEN it.
Vegas deserves the worst that can happen to it– GOOD RIDDANCE!
Bob:
LV was built by losers. I’ve lived in & near LV since ‘89, watched it grow cancerously, and now the tumor is shrinking… good riddance indeed to a grand delusion. This city is not electrified by the dam — it is fed with coal-generated power from Moapa. Fake Lake Mead is dying too ( and the city is fed by one old pipeline that can break down at any time … There is no primary industry here, just gambling and military — everyone here (except me, of course ) is living the Big Lie. The place is a death trap… stay away!
BD:
I recently went back to visit my old neighborhood (moved out of vegas and sold my house in summer of ‘08) and talked with a few of my neighbors. Apparently its so bad they dont even park their cars on the streets anymore because “these damn people siphon gas out of your gas tank”. No lie. And this is a nice gated neighborhood in Henderson….
“The fall of Rome all over again-a culture of greed, sex, and crime. Such societies decimate over time. History has a tendency to repeat itself.”
Yes, history really does repeat itself because those in charge make sure that we never find out what really happened. So we seem doomed to repeat, by design…
The party is now over.
Now what will you do?
I’ve been living here in Vegas since March 2007, and can honestly say that the truth is someone in the middle between what Ted NewKirk described and all of criticism frm everyone3 else. It’s not a total disaster yet. It does have it’s share of many problems (all correctable) as well as alot of upside. There is a new world class art museum called the Smith Center under construction. The Fontenbleau hotel/casino was bought not too long ago and will eventually employ 4,000 people once completed. There is talk of a high speed train connecting the LA area to Vegas which ought to bring in alot of people who otherwise would spare themselves the long car ride over the desert. The are also serious plans to build a new state of the art 20,000 seat sports arena to host an NBA and/or NHL team as well as a new Pro baseball/football stadium. There is still construction going on here and there. It’s not totally dead in that area either, albeit nothing like it used to be. We have a new bridge that is going to be completed by the end of this year that will go over the Colorado river and by pass the hoover bridge.
It’s true the city is filled up with alot of corrupt assholes, but there are a good number of nice people who live here too. It’s just that they are a little standoffish and afraid to open up and talk with others because of all the con artist and predators ought there, So brush up on your telepathy. By the way, does your City have one of these? It just opened up. http://www.atomicnumber7.com
Vegas is Awesome. Go see the following, they will make you happy!
1) Le Reve, at the Wynn #1.
2) Ka, MGM Grand.
3) Love, MGM Mirage.
4) Viva Elvis, Aria Hotel
Yes it is sad what is happening here. My family has been here since the 50′s and I hear the stories of how things are dying here. Yes, the water is going down and true we get our energy from coal stolen from the Navajo Nation. We shouldn’t be here. But I was born and raised here and it is my home. I always hope to leave but I always meet some good people. We of Las Vegas are not swindlers.It’s always some jackass who screws it for us. I do hope more people leave this place. Have a small vacation here but don’t move here.
Good riddance to the thieves, whores, and sodomites
I’m in Vegas now, and I agree with what “Access Vegas” have said about what’s really going on here. Other negative comments might contain certain truth in them, but they’re overly exaggerated.
@ Steve You said :
Steve
“June 12th, 2010 at 2:39 am
I used to go to Vegas with friends and family usually twice a year for 15 years. We stopped going a couple of years ago because most of the friendly white faces have been replaced by cold brown faces. The casino we used to stay at replaced most of the White counter staff and black jack dealers with Mexicans and other foreigners. We didn’t feel as safe as we used to when walking around Vegas at night. White people want to be around White people while on vacation, not in a multi-racial hell.”
Your a dinosaur mate. There are more brown people on earth than whites and they are becoming wealthier than us whites.Infact if it wasnt for those brown people in China lending our country money then the USA would have gone bankrupt many years ago.Dont discriminate because you will end up demonising those who would wish to help you just because they are brown skinned and embracing those who could not give a damn about you just because they are the same colour as you are.
Man, I gotta get out there!The deals and comps have got to be outrageous!Where’s my travelagents number…..
The people who think that it will ever return to the way it was are morons. The American “dream” was destined to fall because it was built on fantasy. The chickens have come home to roost and Americans are getting one big reality check now and they don’t like it. It will never be the same again so get used to it!
That is the ebst news I’ve ever heard. I hope the place falls to the ground. It’s the most filthy place on earth. Gambling, whores, drugs and all kinds of crime. People making money dealing cards and the worst are the put bosses with their slick back hair. Hopefully Atlantic City will fold and the casinos used as warehouses. But what hurt them a lot had to be the casinos opening in other states. Because the high rolelrs will go to Vegas, but the small town gamblers which the casinos need stay home to the local casinos. So the popularity of the casinos lead to Vegas to fold.
This coutnry really has nothing has nothing. It has no culture, except hip hop and rap. Europe is the place to be they have culture and they have beautiful cities. This country has nothing but skyscrapers. You can walk around European cities. Here you can’t even walk around a small town. The way they have laid out these cities here is awful. I can walk around small cities in Europe betetr than I can walk around large towns in America.
I have lived in Las Vegas since 1999 and it was a affordable to live when I first moved here. Then in the early to mid 2000s the affordability was replaced by Los Angeles like cost of living. Unfortunately the housing prices was artificially inflated by the great white,black,and American Hispanic escape of California. They sold their over inflated houses in southern California and came here to become little Donald Trumps buying three and four houses for the price of 1 in California. That started the home flipping craze also. In 2005 65 percent of all home sales in the Las Vegas area was speculators and investors. The new homes that was going up back then was being pre-sold 4-10 at a time to these speculators with bad loans. Due to reckless crooked buyers, mortgage brokers, appraisers, and real estate agents the prices was artificially inflated. The home prices today are the actual prices should be for this area. The home buyers today are for the most part are single home buyers. I don’t think Las Vegas’s best days are behind us. I do think a Smarter,Leaner and more Common Sense days of Las Vegas will help us recover.
Been to Vegas twice this year. Must of been unlucky because both times it was packed every where I went. Or person who wrote this article is trying to sensationalize it with half truths rumors and manipulated data.
And you haven’t even mentioned the draining of the aquifers out West either, upon which cities like Las Vegas depend (the Colorado River as well.) Water may turn out to be an even bigger issue than financial crisis or Peak Oil. Water could be the ultimate renewable resource, but we blindly keep trying to irrigate deserts into gardens and crapping into drinking water and pouring agricultural chemicals into the rivers faster than nature can repair it. We are only screwing ourselves. The Earth itself could care less if we die of thirst or not and will simply shrug us off like so many fleas. For an incisive and humorous take on this subject, check out the George Carlin: The Universe Wanted Plastic video.
For the “shake us off like fleas” reference from George Carlin, see his Saving the Planet video, which includes the previous part about Plastic. Excellent.
Las Vegas is a pathetic cesspool of hedonism. The place makes me sick, and I’ve never gone there and not left wishing that God would just smite the whole damn city(and I’m not even religious.)
What does Vegas have to offer? Gambling, whores, drugs, transients? WOO-*******-HOO!!! Go crazy! Spend the kid’s college fund! Cheat on your spouse! DO SOME CRACK!!! After all, “What happens in Vegas…”
Such a lovely place to live. I know I damn sure wanna raise my kids in Fantastic Las Vegas! Maybe my daughter could become a stripper and help dad out with the mortgage!
We would be doing the world and the human consciousness a favor if we turned the whole place into a glass parking lot. Again, not religious, but Satan is alive and well in that hellhole.
Screw Las Vegas.
I love Las Vegas. I stay at the Bellagio, and it isn’t empty. Las Vegas bit off more than it could chew a few years back. Yes, the quality suffered.Some of the apartment buildings are flimsy. I watched them go up. There are bargains to be had right now in most every department. I stay away from the trendy “in” places, and aim for quality. I wish I could live there. The shopping is better. Vegas will survive.
@Steve. Why exactly are you a racist. Why would someone be dumb enough to gamble their money (savings) away in the first place? You making this about race while the government continutes to steal from you. You fight against “brown” people, but not “white” people in the government. Were were you during the Bush and Regan years?
I live in So California. Ive been in the same house for 22 years in a town of 40,000. The last 6-7 years everything has changed here. Everything is in Spanish. All my neighbors give me a blank stare when I say hello. I think I’m one of a few who actually speaks English here.
As far as the US goes,GODLESS nations will fall.
We are on a slippery slope of no return.
GET RIGHT,ITS ALMOST MIDNIGHT.
All Vegas needs for a real comeback is ONE good rock and roll revue show (not an established limited audience oldie act) with rock hits from the 50′s to current, featuring a band with TWO Vegas reality-based TV shows running, one reno HGTV based where the band rehearses and lives in a trashed Vegas mansion and the other show about putting together the live show. Oh, the band has to have a major Oscar-winning movie star with three decades of pop music fans for all-ages across the board appeal. That tie-in triple-threat combo would bring tourists from all over the world back to Las Vegas in any economy and eventually with enough worldwide hits recall the years of Elvis at the Hilton. I’ll bet my life on it.
Look at it this way – a dead American city is still better to live in than a live Russian city.
That’s why they still flock here like lemmings.
Access Las Vegas is wrong. The article is spot on. I have no doubt that Access Las Vegas loves the city and is talented at promoting tourism, and will in fact probably be one of the last tourism promoters standing. But you WILL be one of the last ones standing.
I am totally in shock of these California native bashers of Vegas. This town still OWNS anywhere in Kalifornia (The land where everything but dope is illegal)
I will stay here for the rest of my life.. the town has everything. Fools bet against Las Vegas.. lol and we will be laughing as NYC and Kalifornia go bankrupt.
32 American states are insolvent
the rest of the them save 2 are floundering on insolvency.
The worse has yet to hit them.
in a year to 18 months things will be much worse and in 2-3 years even the last to know Americans will be aware of their plight.
lost wars , oil stained beaches for decades if not more and no jobs.
its going to be a mad max situation I feel bad for the Americans they are my neighbors but they have been living too long in the shadows of reality .
I lived in Las Vegas for 2 1/2 years in 1991-93′ and really loathed the place in the end. Too many transients from everywhere else, the constant gambling, the ugly brown landscape, the corrupt government(mayor is a jewish mob lawyer, “Call Saul!”), the fascist cops, the melting heat.
Rents then were expensive, which is unreal since Vegas is in the middle of a desert and one could build a city 20 times the size of Houston if they wanted too.
I do not understand parents who would raise children in that pesthole. I wouldn’t raise a dog there.
Nevada is number one in alcoholism, consumption of cigarettes and suicide. It is the only state with prostitution.
I left “Lost Wages” in June of 1993 and never went back. Don’t want to go back.
The problems with Vegas are going to be VERY long term. Their main source of sucker money came from the baby boomers of southern cal.
These boomers have their own problems now and need to prepare for retirement. Putting money into tight slot machines is not part of the plan.
RIP Vegas, you had a good 30 years or so.
I’d like to know where all these deserted streets are too. I remember driving around here about a year ago thinking “we’re in the middle of a recession? It sure doesn’t seem like it with all the traffic and shops and restaurants full of people.” That hasn’t changed. The people who wrote the article and many of the ones who commented after the ‘update’ (which is most likely written by whoever wrote the article) obviously do not live in this city.
Like the one guy who said he came here expecting to find a ghost town, reading the article would lead me to the same conclusion. There has been some stores closing, yet it is nothing at all like what the article would lead someone to believe. But hey, media likes to scare people so I suppose they’re just doing their job. Good work, buddy. Hit me up next time you come here to visit in all the “deserted” clubs and casinos. Peace out.
Wow! Certainly not a diverse group of responses here. Let’s see…we have major bible thumpers, lots of losing gamblers, tons of mommys who thought they could bring their kiddies there and sip a few while the kids were playing…
C’mon! Be for real people. Let us not forget that there are many families that live there, for many reasons other than gambling or drinking or sex. Some are military, some are gov’t, some are teachers for the children, doctors…believe it or not there is life beyond the Strip. So, all you thumpers and losers…BACK OFF!!!! And if you are REALLY into the “word” you would have compassion for the lives that thrive there. The lives that depend on their jobs (whatever they are). Because…thumpers…who are you to judge? Isn’t that somewhere in your “good book”? Or is it that you cannot practice what you preach???
If you don’t like the Strip, don’t go there. Period. Not hard to avoid. Don’t go there. But don’t be so quick to judge the residents of a city and wish it to sink into a big hole because you don’t agree with some parts of it. There are casinos, prostitutes, smokers, drinkers, gamblers, liars, homeless, thiefs all around you….Go easy on one individual city there, buckaroos. What happened to brotherhood? If Vegas gets “blown up”, “sinks into a big hole”…or any of the other rotten things said, you kill a lot of innocent people.
You are no better than Hitler.
–”I’m Indian, spent 12 years in the US and saw the Boom-Bust period from 1995 to 2006. What a ride. Feel bad for the programmed population at large, caught like deer in the headlights of what is coming straight at them.”
–
Feel bad for yourself -you’re included.
I agree with Ted Newkirk’s comments, well said sir! Vegas is doing quite well. Wife and I were in Vegas April 26 to May 3rd and were amazed at how busy it was. We arrived on a Monday afternoon and it was already quite busy. We visited many casinos and hotels and all of them were packed! Freemont street on a tuesday night was super busy. We stayed at the Riviera and it was also very busy, lots of people even at 5 am! I know lots of good people were hit hard, I lost 1000′s on my mutual funds and my place of work suffered as well 40% loss of business, as did many fields of industry. But the worst is over and the economy is starting to thrive again. Prices have stabalized and are now reflecting current economic reality. I live in Canada, and if I could Vegas would be the place I would move to. Already planning on comming back!
G Nichols
I moved to Vegas in 2006 and there is definitely a change. Gone are the days when strippers and valets made $200,000 a year(pretty much tax free); now they make about $100,000. It is certainly not a ghost town yet driving down the strip on any given night and you will be bogged down in traffic unable to make a right turn because of all the tourists walking down the sidewalk. Check out the clubs on industry night and the chicks are still outrageously hot, but definitely less stuck up as the income has dropped.
Lennie Pike thanks for the laugh. My wife has dealt blackjack for 20 years, the last 14 at a major casino I’ll leave unnamed. The dealers WANT to see the players win most of the time that is when they receive tips, not when your losing. You think they care about the houses money? BWAHAHA Trust me, my wife can’t even cook a hamburger properly let alone “stack the deck.”
I recently purchased a condo in Vegas. 0 income tax, a capitalist and conservative frame of mind, great winter weather, and all the shopping conveniences.
I looked at New Mexico -way too liberal, already high state tax, and everybody seems to think govt is the answer.
I looked at Arizona – too close to Mexico, with Phoenix now the kidnapping and car theft capital of the country. With Obama saying he is going to sue to prevent them from protecting themselves.
Cheers to Vegas, they attracted my capital and my physical presence.
Lived here since 2004. This city will thrive to the degree that it leaves businesses alone to discover what people want. There will surely be an adjustment due to the ravenous mouths of the public sector. The decline that is being spoke of can be likened to Elizabeth Taylor’s “decline” in beauty from age 20 to age 25. They’re both still pretty attractive. Miami is in some ways an up and comer. If the powers that be in LA Chicago Detroit and so on ever started to serve customers actual wants this whole country would be better off.
My contrary instinct is saying Vegas is a buy.
just left vegas last night. things get bad, they will likely get better. Steve who wrote he wants to be around white faces…stay home you friggin racist. I can’t believe you would even say that. OH, and to the guy who thinks the clubs in other cities are better – you’re just a European who wants to talk down to America because it makes you feel good. I’ve been to clubs in Paris, Berlin, Ibiza, Rio, Mexico, Canada, Thailand, Bombay, Singapore, and Moscow….not a single one holds a candle to the vegas clubs….not even close.
Funny thing about Vegas. My great-grandfather was one of the first to build a casino there, the Pioneer Club. This was in 1946 or so, when Vegas really was a ghost town in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Now I get to watch (from a safe distance) the collapse of old Bill Curland’s empire. Ah, well.
So long, Las Vegas, it was nice knowing you.
I have a job here in Vegas. I am not going to get laid off. I rent want to buy at the bottom. I can see shows cheap,eat cheap,drink cheap,movies cheap. Shop cheap,supermarkets cheap. Weather great,own some guns,go shooting,go swimming at any hotel,just walk in! Play golf cheap, go fishing, sightseeing easy. Roads good.Can go to three national parks in a half day travel . Can go to California and go swimming in 5 hours! Can go to Arizona,go to Mexico,go to Utah all at about 80 mph,no trouble! I can swim in my pool ,go to my gym for 21 dollars a month. The women are stupid but hey you can’t have everything. Lost in Paradise.
WE SHOULD BE JOYFUL! THE DEATH OF CONSUMERISM!
I always watch for news from Vegas so this article caught my attention. The
gaming “industry”, casinos, clubs whatever you want to call them are a
psychological mirror of our culture (or lack of) and as such are interesting to
watch evolve/devolve. I worked at Harrah’s Tahoe for a year in ’70s and it was a different world indeed. Bill Harrah would never allow hucksters to stand at a podium near the entrance to hassle his customers into a timeshare. You’d never, ever find a nasty stain on the carpeting, the wonderful chrome (manual) slots were polished every night and you’d always be welcome to just stand and watch / listen to the secondary entertainers like Paul Revere & the Raiders from outside the lounge. Sadly, it’s not like that anymore, it’s a WalMart mentality in every club you go to now. Even the Stardust on the strip used to have some friendly people in the ’80s and felt classy in a comfortable way. I have no desire to see the Bellagio or any of the other “high-end” clubs. The catering to the bottom fishers and the high rollers has aced out the average guy, he/she’s got no Flamingo, Pioneer Club, Harvey’s, etc. to go to anymore.
@Awake, DK, and Xander Cross, I wish people could state an honest opinion without you fascists denouncing the person as a racist. America use to be a land of freedom of speech and association until you Marxists ruined it with political correctness. Not only is Vegas going down, but the rest of the U.S. is too, thanks to people like you three.
Rick:
The casino your wife works for trains her to shuffle the decks a certain way using a procedure that she must follow designed to stack the decks causing the cards to wind up in large clumps of small cards and high cards. She is not allowed to shuffle the cards any old way she pleases.
This practice thwarts card counting because when a large clump of small cards comes out the dealer will hardly ever break with a total over 21 which is abnormal due to the intentionally STACKED DECKS! and the player will lose a lot more hands than normal. When a large clump of high cards arrives there will be an abnormal amount of ties between the player and the dealer because most of those cards will be 10 valued and the player will also lose a lot more hands than normal.
Not only does this cheating by the Casino Management thwart card counters it also decreases drastically the house edge over players who are not card counters. This is the sad part because before this practice came into being a non card counting player had a lot better chance although still lost in the long run. He did have a lot more time playing to entertain himself though – the reason he went to Vegas. Now he loses his bankroll a lot quicker and has to wait around playing $1 keno with the little his wife gives him from her slot machine bankroll and is depressed until the plane leaves. The saddest part is most don’t even understand what is being done to them.
You can leave the name of the major casino your wife works at unnamed because if what you say is true I will find it quickly and take the game back up for a living. She will be dealing at the table where there are seven players playing a face-up game with over 40 cards exposed and not a single card over the value of 6.
I would like to know the name of the casino you work at though and your name. Just kidding, you know how it was between you and us long ago – all a game of cat and mouse in good fun. I do understand though why you needed to post your comment. I have seen that reaction many times by other casino personnel when I have exposed what casinos do. I suppose it all depends on which side you are on. I was fishing for someone on your side and got a bite.
Back to the topic of the article, good luck in your efforts getting Vegas back to the way it used to be.
Meant to say Increases the house edge, not decreases. It’s just that I am still programmed to think in terms of decreasing the house edge.
She will not be dealing at that table, I meant. Maybe I should think twice about finding that casino.
flush the toilet bowl of Ameroca……
I visited City Center for the first time today. It is basically a glorified hangout for rich tourist. Just another casino, some high end stores, and a few restraunts and nightclubs. Personally, I have found other places much nicer to visit for shopping, gambling, and dining both on and off the strip. It’s nice but way over hyped. Im not looking forward to go back there again. The walk ways that allow people to cross the strip are gross and even smell like **** and uron. That would be an area worth improving to get people to come back since they are used by so many. For the most part Las Vegas is pretty gross. If people and city collectively took more pride in being clean it would make a difference.
Scary times indeed.
I wish we had the real figures for unemployment. I also heard it’s a lot higher than 14.2%.
I was there last year and the timeshare people really pissed me off. Took literally around a dozen “no’s” to get the **** out of there. Other than that, had a great time, but noticed that already things were a little bit depressed. Must be way worse now.
My story:
I am from San Francisco. During the early 2000, it was impossible to buy a home here. Therefore I purchased my home in Vegas in 2002 for 165,000. We put 20% down. At that time, there were only a couple of loan programs available. Again, remember this was before the boom. I saw my home go up to $350,000. My wife didn’t want to sell since it was her home. Present time, we have homes on our block selling for $75,000. What a bad decision!!!
There are a couple of things I learned from this journey:
1. Schools in Clark county are terrible. My son was taught 6th grade work while he was a senior in a high school. This explains why Clark county is rated close to last in the United States.
2. Jobs are impossible to come by. You really have to know someone to get a job in a casino. Currently most of the strip casinos have their employees work part time to avoid benefits.
3. Pay scale is low compared to the bay area.
4. Electricity ranges $300 to $500 a month during the summer months which last about 4 months.
5.My neighbors were rude and didn’t care to associate.
and
6. Investigate before you relocate to this area.
As of June 18, 2010, I moved my family back to the bay area where i had no problem finding employment.
Good Luck Las Vegas!!! I hope things come back but I highly doubt it.
Buy banknotes (world collectible paper money), cuz they are better investment than gold or real estate. One banknote’s value can go from $1 to $200 injust a few short years due to demand, destruction or sudden scarcity.
i was in vegas a month ago… on the strip. you could have squeezed some more people in, but it wouldn’t have been easy. I know about all the problems, but in the 3 days i was there, the problems weren’t evident on the strip.
Sad to see disaster overtake any American city. Although I’ve never been much of a gambler and have never been to Vegas, I feel the pain of the populace who, like the vast majority of Americans, simply lived their lives and trusted the government & its corporate owners to keep the economy on-track.
Las Vegas is ruined but the rest of us aren’t all that far behind. I live in what remains of Dayton, Ohio, which was once one of the premier industrial cities of the world. I have seen decades of slide turned into a drop off the cliff in the past few years.
But be ready for another drop for the economy. Congress appears ready to let the long-term unemployed twist in the wind without extended benefits. When those millions of former workers begin to default on their bills, the crash at the end of 2008 will look like good times in comparison.
Elvis has left the building!
Las Vegas needs to legalize prostitution, regulate it carefully and tax it. Although legal in some parts of Nevada, prostitution is not legal in Clark County–and as a result, The City of Las Vegas is losing out on a potential source of tax revenue. But in order for prostitution to be legalized in Clark County, Nevada state law would have to be changed (under Nevada state law, prostitution can only be legal in counties that have less than X amount of people). So prostitution will remain illegal in Vegas, draconian “austerity measures” will be imposed on residents who are already struggling, and hookers on the Strip will continue to be carried away in those restrictive hinged handcuffs that the Vegas police use.
I am from Las Vegas..Let me tell you PEOPLE ARE VISITING VEGAS! The city right now is just readjusting itself from 20 years of boom.
** For the prudes on this site who say God will/should destroy such a filthy city like Las Vegas..Tell me why God hasn’t destroyed cities/countries that allow child prostitution, abuse of women, etc? Also there are religious, charitable people here that help people in the community. There is life beyond the strip.
** For the jerk who said he won’t visit because of brown skin people..I am glad you are staying home. I met many fabulous “non-white” people in Vegas. Yes I am white.
Vegas does have problems with their education system and crime. Also I think they need to have a more diverse economy. Vegas isn’t for everyone but many pre-boom, boom, post-boom residents call home it home.
I live in Vegas and love it here. I know from my friends across the country that things are still bad everywhere. The writer of your article obviously knows nothing about or has a bad feeling towards the city. Compared to the Vegas I used to visit in the early 80′s, it is still a thriving city. 6 years ago 8,000 people were moving here every month. Yes,the builders got crazy and overbuilt and overpriced. The availability of homes on the market became scarce and existing homes also were overvalued. Highrises, rediculously so. But anyone that is ready to count Vegas out, does not get the city and it’s appeal
I moved out of Vegas in 2009. I’m not going to gamble with my future anymore. I wish you luck Las Vegas. I hope you are luckier than I was.
Ohio is in distress, despair, and stress due to lost of work. Muslims are buying homes in Parma, Ohio. Walmarts have stopped selling
American flag print fabrics at there Parma, Ohio store where a large number of Muslims live. What is happening here in America ?
OK, Bye, Bye Las Vegas.
Nevada has always gone through boom & bust cycles. Virginia City, NV went from 33,000
to about 700 people. The west is littered with failed dreams. Vegas will decline, but how far is anyone’s guess.