Why don't locals like going to the strip?

I haven't met too many locals who enjoy going to the strip.

 

And local New Yorkers don't like going to Times Square. Because they don't see their city as vacation, they see their city as typical life and who wants to put up with a bunch of drunken assholes, traffic, noise and 3x longer to get anything done when you can just stay in the local neighborhood and not have to put up with all of that. Now, when you're on vacation and trying to blow off some steam you want to be in the drunken asshole mix...at least I do.

 

Agree completely, and I believe this applies to Bourbon Street in NOLA, just to offer what I see as a similar example.

 

And the ones that gamble tend to prefer the better odds and values that can be found off strip.

 

I used to live in New Orleans so I see your point although I do enjoy bourbon street.

 

Go to the local casinos and you'll know why. They are regulars at their local spots with their comps and local friends. My sister has lived there for 20 years and won't even visit me on the Strip. We'll meet at their local spot and it's worth it. I've been there so many times I feel like a local. They are top of the line local gamblers and I'm even comped with them. They are in the neighborhood of Santa Fe Station. Pool sucks, rooms suck but a fun casino to hang in. Look forward to visiting in June. Oh by the way, locals don't want to deal with the bullshit traffic, parking fees, inflated costs, shitty comps, poor drink serve etc. for what???? They go 5 minutes from their door.

 

Almost all of the bartenders I've talked to in town who work on the strip (and I've talked to a LOT of them) say the only time they go to the strip in off hours is when family or friends from out of town drag them out there.

As smerrian said, it's too expensive, too many drunk idiot tourists (like us!), too much traffic, and most of them have restrictions on gambling at resorts owned by their employers, so it makes sense.

For us it's 5 days two or three times a year, for them the strip is every day. It would wear me the hell out after a while too.

 

San Franciscans don't go to Fisherman's Wharf.

Etc.

If we lived in Vegas, we'd not hit the Strip -- except to eat from time to time -- and not downtown.

 

I understand the above( we lived in Paris for five years and never went up the Eiffel Tower until one of our last days there) but do you(in the plural sense) really believe that you'll come home with more money if you gamble downtown vs the Strip?

 

I don't think it's much different in Vegas than it is in any other city. Unless you're someone that chooses to live in the heart of downtown and enjoys all the good and bad that comes along with it, you'll probably avoid the touristy parts of your city. My buddy that lives in Chicago avoids Michigan Avenue whenever possible. I have a buddy that lives in Nashville that does the same with Broadway. I go out in downtown Columbus maybe once a year despite living in a local suburb.

 

Go Bucks!

 

Locals on Oahu don't visit Waikiki. Only on special occasions like dining at a nice restaurant. Even doing that is very rare. There's lots of nice restaurants other than in Oahu's tourist trap.

 

I'm probably an outlier... but since I believe the Strip to be the heart and life-blood of Las Vegas, I go there on a weekly basis not necessarily to gamble but to explore and to hang out. As a local citizen, I feel that it is nice to be informed of what is going on in and around our city... especially on the Strip.

 

I have family that have been born and raised in Florida and yet haven't been to Disney World. As a matter of fact when we were younger and visited them and we wanted to go, they would just get the tickets and send us there, on our own. They didn't want to be bothered with the crowds of people as well as the traffic...

 

Let's see here. It's a hassle driving the Strip, it's a hassle parking, the tourista crowds are zooey, the gaming odds are worse ... why bother?

 

As a Native New Yorker I would NEVER go anywhere near Times Square unless it was an absolute necessity, and except for people who live or have to work near there, I doubt many New Yorkers would. It is a crowded tourist trap with overpriced restaurants and souvenir shops. At least The Strip is mostly tourism and the only locals that really have to deal with it are those who work there or those who choose to go of their own free will. In many other tourist destinations (like Times Square) the tourists are smack in the middle of people trying to go about their daily lives and many of them do the same rude things that tourists do on The Strip - walk in a row of five people at a snail's pace so no one can pass or get around them; stare like robots into a phone while they are walking at a snail's pace, occasionally drifting right into your path unpredictably because they are glued to said cell phone; stop dead without warning to snap a photo or send a text; it is really quite annoying. Now on the Strip there are idiots who rent motorized scooters (and are not in the slightest bit in need of them) so they can zip up and down the Strip sidewalks like animals. At least I haven't seen that in New York yet. All these things are why I like to rent a car in Vegas so I don't have to walk through all of that and can just get to where I want without dealing with any nonsense. I can't say I blame Vegas locals for not setting foot anywhere near the Strip because when I go to Vegas I spend a lot of time off strip - there are many great reasonably priced restaurants and things to do and see away from the neon lights. Of course I do like the Strip but I also really enjoy the other things Vegas has to offer.

 

I live in Lexington Park, MD and didn't go to Point Lookout at all last year. I rarely go to Solomon's Island.

 

As most Chicagoans don't go downtown (stroll State Street or Michigan Avenue - Magnificent Mile) other than for work.

 

I rarely if ever visit the nearby Perth Mammoth Cheese replica. Maybe if relatives are in Flusherville.