Is Vegas Getting Better for Anyone?

LOL. Vegas has to make money somehow, because of the need to give shareholder return. Look on the bright side. In Singapore, the Marina Bay Sands Casino represents one casino (forget about the one in Sentosa Singapore) that is apparently taking as much gaming revenue as all the vegas casinos now combined. For a Singaporean to enter the casino in their own country, they have to pay S$100. That's about US$70 (foreigners don't need to pay. Singapore doesn't mind the tourists losing). Rooms? Start at US$300 usually. You're lucky if you get comped rooms at all (you're rated play would need to be significant).

I love the variety that Vegas offers in terms of hotels and rooms, however I always stay at the same casino due to my host and the fact that I'm comfortable with staying in the same type of room and venue every time I go to Vegas. Visiting so many other hotels however is exciting and when friends are all spread out across the town, I love the difference that each place has to offer. I still look forward to every Vegas trip, win or lose (and it's pretty much always the latter as the time spent in the town really burns you through the house advantage).

 

To me? No.
Obviously, to many, it is worth it.
I feel the same way about bottle service, dance clubs & high-end celebrity restaurants. I won't buy those things either.

Great thing about Vegas? We all have options! I know that the Strip is no longer for me, and I am no longer for them. We are incompatible.
But I am certainly guilty of immersing myself in nostalgia from time to time. I do indeed miss many things about my Vegas-Strip-of-old - the 80s & 90s.

I have a reasonably close facsimile in downtown.
Options. People just need to do a bit of research & they will find something close to what they're looking for...even in 2016/2017 Vegas.

 

As someone who went in the early 1990's, and then just recently I would say it is much better than it used to be. Certainly It is much different now. Some things are much nicer. When I went there in the early 90's I was badgered by homeless and others begging for money. We got stuck in downtown and had to ride a bus but had to walk off of Freemont to find the bus station and did not feel safe at all. We just had this feeling if you were a High Roller then they wanted to treat you like a king, and forget about everyone else.

Now everything is designed for the tourist to get around safely. The Fremont experience is an acquired taste but we did feel very safe while being there. Also hey if it is the only or best way to preserve the old casinos there than it is great. The bus stops at the end of the downtown by the Heart Attack Grill. The strip has beautiful buildings and wonderful shows and attractions. It is also catering to everyone not just the high rollers. We utilized the monorail to get around the strip and saved many footsteps that way. The food although expensive on the strip was wonderful and enjoyed many meals. We did lots of gambling. It was everything we wanted it to be on a vacation and that is more than you can say about a lot of other destinations.

 

arizona??? I have a niece that go to school there. Any recommendations?

 

Just a low down for me...

Im 32, middle class at best, and "attempt" to go to Vegas once a year, sometimes twice. Penny/nickel/quarter machine gamble and 25 cent VP. I just went for my 17th and 18th time this past summer. Started going when I was 16, didnt go back til I was 21 so the base of all my trips occurred in last 10 years.

Unless the rooms are "comped" I wont go out there. In the end a comped room isnt comped (to me) if I have to pay the resort fee which I always have to. $160+ is just less money I have to gamble, eat, and drink with. Pennies to most but not to me. I know, I come off as cheap. The only real reason I will go back is because my girlfriend has one been there once (this past summer with me). Its always fun experiencing it with someone knew and figured we have another 2-3 trips to see/do most of the things we enjoy doing as a couple.

We enjoy the same types of gambling, food, alcohol, and shows. If it wasn't for her, I really wouldn't want to back. Ive been there with friends and family and done that one too many times. I've covered enough shows over the entertainment spectrum that that is no longer a draw for me. Im not and never was a nightclubber. And outside the Strip and downtown, there is not much more I want to do. Not interested in tours or the Hoover Dam. I think if I can afford more, I may enjoy it a little more. Mostly a Ballys/Flamingo guy. Food as always and just like in any other city or town has increased....$5 for a soda or iced tea in an restaurant makes me think its run by assholes. I dont skimp on food while Im there though, I eat what Im in the mood for an do at least 1 or 2 upscale meals which better be god damn good for the price.

Living 10 mins from the Cleveland airport and with budget airlines offering more and more options, Vegas is less desirable. I love flying down south and love the option to fly in Savannah next year (which I really really enjoy and is more laid back and more like a vacation) and also numerous cities as well as New Orelans, the options are plentiful. I will ALWAYS love Vegas, but sometimes its too much. I am also getting more and more crotchety as I get older....HAH!

 

Well, I have two kids now so it pretty much makes it impossible. It was tough enough last summer with the one kid while my wife was pregnant, but it looks like we might be skipping the next few years.

 

I should clarify my wife's refusal to go anywhere without our kids makes this extremely difficult moving forward.

 

I can think of a really simple solution to this problem. At least it solves the problem for you.

I have three kids ages 6, 9 and 11. I've remained a once a year-ish Vegas visitor. My wife? She's probably been twice total in those 11 years.

 

Ha! Still sounds expensive.

We are usually a once-a-year duo, but my wife's brother and sister both live out there, so it's more than just a "vacation" for us. Maybe that's my problem

And of course I can never get out there without her knowing, either. Sheesh.

 

I'm on the road. PM me and I'll follow up.

 

For years the only reason I went to Vegas was directly related to business. The company paid for the flights, rooms and food. We were always working long hours and gambling/drinking (sometimes drinking/gambling) was a thing you did with some extra money you had. We always justified our losses with the equivalent value of drinks at a cash bar...... and we usually drank enough to come out ahead.... in our minds. We had great fun.

Over the past few years, I started boning up on casino loyalty programs, getting rated, playing for profit / comps / both, etc. So now Vegas is a different kind of place. They're a bit more disciplined (stingy?) in their business practices as I am in the way and amount that I put at risk.

I kind of miss the old way.

 

You make some good points about the overall experience. I first visited in 1992 and the Strip was about a half dozen casinos I could walk to from Holiday Inn Riverboat (Harrah's). Every property 'seemed' unique, but they all featured cheap booze, cheap eats, and any possible lure to draw you into the casino. The high end experience was two costumed characters walking through the dollar slots banks at Caesars, and the most interesting attraction was the volcanoes at Mirage. High rollers ruled because low rollers didn't exist before slot cards. I learned the rules for comped drinks, but nobody ever offered me a meal or a room until year 2000. As a VP player I could be nostalgic about occasionally having to carry two buckets of quarters to the cage, but I sure don't miss the hopper fills and the cigarette ashes in the coin bins. Okay, I do miss the hopper fills a bit.

 

FullPay - really?
I remember 1992 differently... half dozen casinos? Hmmm... Sahara-Riv-Stardust-Westward Ho-Frontier-Desert Inn-Circus-Mirage-Sands-Dunes-Harrah's-Barbary Coast-Caesar's-Bally's-Excalibur-Trop-Flamingo-Imperial Palace-O'Sheas & Aladdin. Hell, that's 20 right there... add in the LV Hilton, Vegas World, Hacienda & Ellis Island and you've got two-dozen!
As for "high end"? Everything is relative. The Mirage was "high end" in those days...as was Caesar's, Desert Inn & the Flamingo-Hilton.
No, there wasn't anything like Wynn or Venetian, but for many of us - that was just fine.
You can rightfully complain about coin-droppers, but I can complain about the 2016 absence of double-deck blackjack, 3:2, S17, DAS, with $5 minimums. Try finding a $5 minimum crap table anywhere on the strip today...in 1992, they were everywhere.
As for meal & room comps? I'm at a loss...while you couldn't get them, I was getting them regularly for my $5 & $10 blackjack action - at the Stardust, Riv, Ho, both Hiltons, Harrah's & even the Mirage...with no resort fee, and an automatic line-pass with a hand-written meal-comp slip.

I suppose that some of our differences in memory have to do with where our minds were at in 1992, but I miss those days terribly... Vegas is still a LOT of fun today, but back then? My trips were far more likely to be "epic"!
(Perhaps being 34 years old had something to with it too!)

 

How about Casino Royale, the Boardwalk and, most importantly for me, Silver City!!!!

 

I have to admit - I deliberately omitted Silver City...because I made it a point to never set foot in there. A Las Vegas casino that doesn't permit smoking isn't really a Las Vegas casino! (Just kidding...sort of!)

 

"Is Vegas getting better for anyone?"

Vegas is and always has been my happy place, but do you know how Vegas has gotten better for me?
Finding Vegas Message Board! I thought our 16 years of coming to Vegas and my diligent research through the years qualified me as 'experienced' - haha! VMB opened a whole new world of things to see and do, places to eat, etc. by folks so willing to share and offer tips, suggestions, critiques, encouragement, and contrarian views. The occasional flaming burns out quickly so I don't feel intimidated when asking a seemingly mundane or downright stupid question - so many folks genuinely want to help fellow Vegas goers have a great experience whether newcomer or old fart like me.

Some things I find better today - food options are unlimited - I like that I can grab a pretty decent sandwich for $7.00 at Earl of Sandwich just as easily as a $150+ dinner at Le Cirque. There's Shake Shack or Holsteins depending on which burger fix I need at the moment. Etc.

If I had to pay for the new parking and resort fees when staying on the Strip, I would be as upset as others; after staying one night at GVR on a comp, I paid the Resort Fee so I get it. But it won't keep me away from Vegas, as I've experienced those fees and addon's in every city we stay. I'd just as soon have them 'hide' the fees in the initial cost so it would be one less thing for me to stew over, lol...

Did I mention? Vegas is my Happy Place

 

One man's food is another man's poison. I know, many if not most people who like to gamble, like to smoke, so if someone wants to enjoy fresh air, he should not go to a casino but rather to some remote babbling brook in Scotland. Still, after walking around the Strip visiting many casinos, my alveoli felt so happy at Silver City. By the way, I just remembered other dives you did not include in your list, Slots-a-fun, the Algiers and the Aztec.

 

I must admit - I never visited the Algiers or Aztec... I would stroll through slot-a-fun on my way to Circus, but never played there...I always considered it a part of Circus.
...and, yeah - I get it about Silver City... as a current non-smoker (except when I'm in Vegas), I can certainly see the appeal that a non-smoking casino would have with many.

 

A few things have gotten better in recent years: 1. Much less smoking in the casinos. 2. Downtown has gotten much better. 3. Twenty-four hour buffet passes. 4. Improved transportation options (uber/monorail).

 

I often tell people that Vegas is what you make of it. That can be said about a lot of things, but I think it's especially true for Vegas. The people/corporations that run Las Vegas aren't going to make things better for any individual(s) unless they are a big spender/whale. I've been going to Vegas since December 2009. Trip #14 is tomorrow. I think I do Vegas better now than in 2009. I plan better, eat better, do attractions better, do shows better, do tours better. I look back on the way I did things in 2009 & shake my head.

xman30