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Article/Rant About LV Changes on Vegas Bright by sammasseur

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Sonya

Sonya

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@sammasseur wrote a great piece on Vegas Bright about the changes to LV and the impacts.

http://www.vegasbright.com/2016/10/11/goodbye-themes-hello-fees-is-vegas-becoming-a-turn-off/

It’s no secret that Vegas casinos have seen a drop in revenue, resulting in actions to make up that money elsewhere. Bottle service, admission fees, higher show prices, fewer free drinks for video poker players, rationed complimentary cocktails using less alcohol and cheaper spirits, cutbacks on Player’s Club rewards. Maybe if they never rolled out the universally-hated 6:5 Blackjack odds, a bottle of water wouldn’t cost seven dollars?

I know that there are those of you out there, reading this now, who say “Things change. Vegas moves forward. The days of old Vegas are over”. To you, I respond “That’s true if you accept it”. But why have we as a collective group of Vegas-goers allowed this to happen?
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Interesting read!
I don't see myself ever being "turned-off" from Vegas.
I may find myself joining the beggar-entertainers on the pedestrian bridges to afford future visits, but I will still go!

Vegas, I wish I knew how to quit you...NOT!

RICHARD
 
Thanks for the link Sonya. I like how he called out hypocrites like the Stratosphere and named some specific sources of gouging like the CNF fees. Didn't Sam use to be a fairly regular poster here? (If you're still here Sam - great article!!!)

:peace::beer:
 
The problem for those of us who don't like the fees is that hotel occupancy rates are up. They're filling the rooms. Yes, gambling revenue is down, but that's more of a sign of the times than anything else. More and more people are going to Vegas for reasons other than gambling. I love the strip, but I take most of my business elsewhere because I like good gambling and I don't like paying $20 for a Carl's Jr quality cheeseburger. Vote with your wallet.
 
My wife and I find more value in Downtown and Off-Strip properties. We only venture to the Strip if we want to see a show. Even the Strip buffets are over-priced for what they serve.

But the Strip side of Vegas will always thrive. Simply because of the millions of 1st timers who are willing to do Vegas at what-ever prices because they really don't know any better.

Corporate Vegas knows this. As mentioned by aaisack above, we need to vote with our wallet. But I'm afraid our numbers are nowhere near those of the newbies coming in year after year.
 
Electroguy563 said:
My wife and I find more value in Downtown and Off-Strip properties. We only venture to the Strip if we want to see a show. Even the Strip buffets are over-priced for what they serve.

But the Strip side of Vegas will always thrive. Simply because of the millions of 1st timers who are willing to do Vegas at what-ever prices because they really don't know any better.

Corporate Vegas knows this. As mentioned by aaisack above, we need to vote with our wallet. But I'm afraid our numbers are nowhere near those of the newbies coming in year after year.
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Bingo. +1.
 
I thought it was a silly article. Don't like it, don't go. Pretty simple.
 
I'm a relative Vegas newbie (started going in 2011) so maybe I don't have the lengthy perspective to be so affected by all the long term changes, but I still feel like Vegas is what you make it.

I get the tightening of the belts by the resorts. They have shareholders they are legally bound to maximize profits for, and if gaming revenue is so clearly down, they have to meet bottom lines somehow. I do find certain things (like the CNF fee especially) to be heinous, but we are all still able to vote with our wallets on things like that.

On other things like resort fees, look, they're here to stay and whining about them years after they came into effect just seems self-indulgent and silly. The Strip is an expensive place. It's the land of $20 burgers and $18 cocktails...it just is, and is always likely to be now. We can't roll it back any more than we can get the Rat Pack back.

So that leaves us all with a choice. Continue to pay the cost of entry and enjoy the hell out of your trips in an adult Disneyland (as most of us do) or vacation somewhere else and stop whining.
 
MikeOPensacola said:
Didn't Sam use to be a fairly regular poster here
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Yes, but he's been gone a long while now. He writes pretty regularly there.

I think he makes a good point in the article about hotels that buck the trend, although they are all off-Strip.

I think it's a good point that voting with your feet is an option but many of us don't do it.

I didn't stay at a Mlife property as usual this trip because of the parking fees. I gambled a little bit to reactivate my account there, but only a little. I dropped a comment card to tell them why. I doubt they care much, but I feel better for telling them.
 
FYMYAWF said:
I'm a relative Vegas newbie (started going in 2011)
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I've wondered if people who have been going less than a decade notice the changes. My first trip was 1995 and I think it really started to change in the last 8-9 years.

I'd guess that anyone who was regularly going pre-2006 may be the ones who notice it the most about it because it's so different from the "good old days". I know I do. :)

My dad went in the Rat Pack days and his mind was blown when I was telling him about all the fees.
 
Non gambling revenue is way up compared to the Rat pack days.

Gambling isn't some special thing only legal in Nevada anymore.

People go to Vegas for lots of reasons besides gambling.

I see very few 20 somethings banging away at VP or slot machines for hours.
 
I get a little bit disheartened when I see changes that remove average or lower-priced options for food/drink, lodging, shows or gaming.
I see more beige - less themes....more franchises and less quirky, kitschy Las Vegas.
Makes me sad.

Unlimited funds for Boutique shopping sprees, 7 course tasting menu chef's table dinners and thousand dollar Bottle Service Clubs followed by going full-on TILT in High Limit Slots or VIP Rooms.
I know that I treat Vegas like a playground...but that's simply too rich for my blood!
I like the VARIETY Vegas can offer. Where else can you go from penny slots with dollar hot dogs to a $95 Caviar, Lobster & Champagne Brunch all in the same day?
 
I've been going to Vegas for over two decades, so I have seen some of the changes that Las Vegas has gone through over the years.

Why have things changed? I feel like it's a result of two things: The acquisition of pretty much half of the Vegas strip by CET and the other half by MGM, causing less competition between individual hotels, and a new crowd of Vegas-goers with different priorities making the old crowd less relevant.

Do I like all the changes happening to Vegas? No, and I'm going to spew some unpopular opinion here: I hate companies like MGM and CET that don't have even an eighth of the taste and style of someone like Steve Wynn, and I think CityCenter and all "skyscraper-themed" hotels are a blight to the Las Vegas strip. The bottom line and the statistics are all that MGM and CET care about these days, not the experience of Vegas goers (not to say that Wynn doesn't care about those things, but the service and experience are still top-notch). However, the number of people that continue to patronize these hotels only justify their beliefs in their eyes.

I'm going to spew some more unpopular opinion: El cheapos that are wondering why Las Vegas is changing and not taking their feelings into consideration are funny to me. They aren't the target demographic anymore, so if they really think that MGM and CET (and many Vegas hotels) care that much about losing the paltry sums they spend, they should think again. Money talks, and a new generation of Vegas goers that is willing to spend hundreds on dining and clubbing is quickly outclassing and outnumbering the old crowd that wants to spend $5.99 on prime rib. It's not ideal, but it is what it is.

Am I going to stop going to Vegas? Probably not, unless the Wynn/Encore suddenly takes a dive in customer service and providing a great experience, and I feel like that is unlikely to happen while Wynn is still alive. If that day does come, then I won't be going anymore.
 
iamsomedude said:
They aren't the target demographic anymore
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Ah Vegas, so fickle! You only wanted me for my money. ;)

CET vs MGM causing less competition - similar quality range to both I'd say.
Both are 3-4 stars pretending they are 4-5

I think there's room for a mix of blight and bloat on the strip.
But, Wynncore....I miss the red chandeliers! It feels sterile in there without them now.

I'm "old crowd" and less relevant - Sure, it's what they call "churn and burn".
Am I El cheapo? - Well, I know what a budget is, but I don't care if people think I'm low brow for using a Groupon.
While my sums may be paltry to some....they are surely appreciated somewhere by someone!
Luckily, a great experience with top-notch customer service is not exclusively found at the highest price point.

I'm willing to spend hundreds on dining and other things, just not on EVERYTHING all the time.
Outclassed and outnumbered? Sure, sure...god bless you. :noangel:
I refuse to feel bad about myself because I'm not living up to some arbitrary standard set by other people.
OTOH....I'm not going to knock you for your preferences or opinions. You are certainly entitled. :thumbsup:
 
ken2v said:
Yet the visitation numbers increase year after year.
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The gambling revenue continues to rise as well. Yes there was a dip during the recession, but for the most part Vegas has seen 6 straight years, except one, of gambling increases. They have also figured out that the new Vegas visitor will spend their money on other things as well. Gambling revenue is down as a percentage of overall revenue, but to say it is down is just not true. While we haven't reached the highs of the mid 2000s, we are getting closer to that $10B mark again. Increase from 2014 to 2015 was over $62M.

We all value things differently. I still find Vegas to be a very good value, or maybe I'm just not a frugal traveler. For the foreseeable future Vegas will still be a place I go to 3-4 times a year. I will stay and gamble at the places I feel comfortable and feel I am being treated fairly. I've been Platinum at MLife for the past several years and by no means am I a high roller. I could probably be treated more like a VIP if I chose to stay at their lesser properties but I like Aria and stay there. It's all a value proposition, if you don't think you are getting good value for your dollar don't go.
 
Electroguy563 said:
My wife and I find more value in Downtown and Off-Strip properties. We only venture to the Strip if we want to see a show. Even the Strip buffets are over-priced for what they serve.

But the Strip side of Vegas will always thrive. Simply because of the millions of 1st timers who are willing to do Vegas at what-ever prices because they really don't know any better.
Click to expand...

The Strip is filled because of dumb first time visitors? Seriously?
 
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