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Realistic Theory: No Gambling in Nevada?

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by TIMSPEED2, Jan 10, 2015.

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  1. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    Just in theory...if for SOME reason, Gambling was no longer allowed in Nevada (the entire state), do you think it would go belly-up?

    Personally, I say YES, because there are SOOO many people in the state that are employed in SOME form of gaming (dealers, cashiers, slot techs, cocktail waitresses, etc).
    I think at first, it would FLOOR the job market, to the point of over-saturation...which would cause a good 70%+ to go back to their home countries.
    Now, once the population has dwindled down to almost 20% of current, it would look more like Reno (I think)
    Aside from that, even though gambling ISN'T the #1 revenue of the state, I think it IS what draws people in (anyone can do any of the other stuff, other places; but to ADD gambling IN to the other things, is what makes it happen)

    What is your opinion?
     
  2. meyers67

    meyers67 VIP Whale

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    Look at what happened in Atlantic city. And that's just from competition. who would actually go there? For the cons? Shows? Concerts? The numbers wouldn't work for them to stay open.
     
  3. matti

    matti Low-Roller

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    I think they'd have to go up to Area 51/Groom Lake and give "tours" of the night sky, looking for UFOs. Or looking for ghosts up in Tonopah or Goldfield.
     
  4. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    That's a good point..and AC has the beach boardwalk going for it!
    Vegas is "In the middle of the fucking desert!" lol
     
  5. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    That's sorta like asking if there was no betting on horse racing would the tracks still survive?
     
  6. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    .....duplicate
     
  7. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    As it's currently configured, Nevada's state government minus gaming taxes would be devastated. Gaming and sales taxes are two-(2) main income sources. Gaming is a golden goose! There's still no personal income taxes and property-taxes, by and large, remain a revenue source at the local (city & county) level. Very little goes to the state.
     
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2015
  8. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    Sales tax is only 8% right? (didn't look it up, just going off of memory)
    I think CA is 7.25%...
     
  9. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    It varies a bit by county, but 7% to 7 3/4% for the most part I think... the base is still under 7% and there might be parts of Clark County that have some special levy up to 8%
     
  10. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Adios Vegas. Reno would survive in some form.

    Vegas isn't the Coachella Valley or the Valley of the Sun, two desert locales that despite having a modicum of gambling have long prospered by virtue of being tourism Meccas (and in the case of PHX, also a major metro economy). For instance, I'm a golf junkie, and while I love the Vegas golf scene, if my goal is to play golf, I'm out in the McDowell Mountain foothills or beating it around near sea level in La Quinta. And of course with no gambling there would be no notable Vegas golf, anyway. Outdoor attractions? Not up there in the high isolated Mojave when compared to the Sonoran. The other desert locales also win the winter weather game. Enticing resorts? They'd not be there, either, without gambling. Etc.
     
  11. chitownjohn

    chitownjohn High-Roller

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    Short term the loss of gaming would be devastating, due to the loss of jobs and revenue from the gaming industry.

    Vegas has good weather, good infrastructure, good airport, decent university, and logistically close to CA. Over the long term it could transition to a manufacturing/distribution/financial services hub in addition to a scaled down resort/convention industry.
     
  12. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    LOL, you just 100% described Reno.
     
  13. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    Belly up is a bit dramatic. Tourism wouldn't completely die but it would be hurt. They would have to promote the national and state parks. Many of those hotel concepts make no sense without the casino. I can see something sticking with the clubs, pools, weddings and shopping but that would probably only drive a quarter of the strip as it stands right now.
     
  14. chitownjohn

    chitownjohn High-Roller

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    Okay, if I described Reno I did a poor job, it would take an apocalypse for Vegas to turn into Reno. Vegas is one of the few cities in the world that can easily host conventions / festivals for 50,000. That wouldn't change if gambling went away, it some ways it would be appealing for the non-gambling types.

    Vegas is a major metropolitan area with a major airport and infrastructure to support the city. There's always corporations that a looking for favorable tax advantages and economic conditions. It would take a while but Vegas would transition to an economic hub.
     
  15. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    I wouldn't bag on Reno too much here, while it's true the Reno gaming scene is a shell of it's former self, most agree the "quality of life" in the Reno/Sparks/Carson area is significantly above that in Las Vegas.
     
  16. LV_Bound

    LV_Bound VIP Whale

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    Population holds until unemployment benefits run out then population drops 50% within 6 months afterward.
    Great place to buy huge home dirt cheap.
     
  17. Electroguy563

    Electroguy563 Vegas Joker

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    Vegas is in the middle of a fricken desert.... I doubt visitor numbers will increase if there were no gambling. Visitor counts will dwindle and everything will spiral downwards after that.
     
  18. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    You're right abiout the conventions. But without the casinos, is there enough going on that someone would want to still go there for a convention? I don't think conventions are enough to drive the dining and club scene and vice versa. Vegas would have to invent a new tourist draw to keep that business.

    As to drawing other industries, Nevada has needed to do that for along time anyway. Doing it because gambling was gone would be too late of a move.
     
  19. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    A couple thoughts (good thread, btw):

    Reno and Vegas are not interchangeable. As Tim wrote, that description above nailed Reno as it exists. Reno wouldn't change gobs sans gambling because of that. And it's not a question of Vegas becoming Reno. Vegas would not. I would become less than Reno. It's not a rail town of significance. It's not a manufacturing hub. It won't support much tourism or conventions if there is no gambling (revenue and tourism magnet).

    Desert towns do very well, indeed. Gambling is a blip to central Arizona and the Coachella Valley, and yet both thrive on tourism and have for a very long time. Plus, greater Phoenix is an every-sector modern megalopolis. The high Mojave is not the Sonoran Desert. No one is going to do a golf and spa and shopping and sun vacay to a deflated Vegas because those tourism attributes largely would disappear without ... gambling revenue. It wouldn't even be a St. George.
     
  20. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    I think that it's very difficult to imagine, since the town was "built" on gambling.

    There is not enough industry to support the amount of employees displaced by the loss of gambling. It would become a shell of it's former self.

    Ask yourself, "would you go to las Vegas if you couldn't gamble there?"

    Of course, I'm jaded because I made 12 trips there last year.

    I can't see it happening in my lifetime.
     
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