Is Vegas Getting Better for Anyone?

So I have seen a few threads this past year about Vegas not being what it used to be. Several folks have started threads on being 'over' Vegas. Some common themes are high resort fees, paid parking, bad service, 6:5 BJ, etc.....

Just wondering if anyone here isn't caught up on the 'good old days of Vegas' and thinks the city gets better each year.

I understand those who have gripes like the ones listed above and why they would have them - but personally I don't look at specifics too much, Vegas is more about the feeling for me - each year in that respect it gets better. If the excitement ever wanes then I might think differently. Of course we all have a breaking point financially as far as the fees go but luckily I'm not there yet. I think the experience has gotten better for me over the years because I am able to enjoy more things than I did when I started going 20 years ago - those trips where mostly a 2-3 day bender. Today I take the time to enjoy other things and I have the means to do more.

So yeah - it gets better each year... anyone else feel the same?

 

I think some things get better, some worse and so I feel the experience stays about the same. Some things that have gotten better...beautiful sites like the Bellagio fountains and conservatory, tons of rich marble like the Venetian and Wynn, beautiful open spaces like Aria, the Strip is just such a feast for the eyes. The food options available beat any city except maybe New York; so many great chefs and restaurants have moved into Las Vegas. And best of all, the City has expanded enough in population to be able to support a huge network of local casinos that still offer all of the great values in food, lodging and entertainment that keep me coming back.

 

If it wasn't getting any better, I would quit going. I currently go between 6-12 times a year.

 

Better each year for me as well. All of the changes people seem to dislike don't bother me in the least.

 

How we vegas has changed more than Vegas. Our significant reduction in visits the past x years is due to access being more convoluted now and all the other places we visit. Vegas is still Vegas and we still like it.

Now time to sit back and see which usual suspect chimes in first about "unlawful and hidden" resort fees.

 

For us, we refine and enhance our trips each time, adding new things to try and evaluate, subtracting things that we have tried where we don't feel our money was spent well. After more than two dozen trips in the last six years we still have many things on our list that we haven't crossed off yet.

As for the fees, sure we'd rather not have them, but factoring these into the cost of a great experience we're not put off to the point where we are even close to not going.

 

My last trip last Christmas was very disappointing - at least at Wynn. There was basically large tour groups walking around the casino staring at people playing and taking photos. Security couldn't keep up. During our stay my then 79 year old mother was barged twice by the same tour group people running to get into the buffet line. The place was chaos. We were very thankful to get to Cosmo.

 

As my disposable income increase Vegas gets better. I enjoy the fine dining and the luxurious appointments in this "new Vegas." I am not looking for handouts and willing to pay for what I enjoy. I get my rooms comped at Aria and if I get anything on the back-end I am happy, if not it doesn't ruin my enjoyment in the least. The last two trips I absolutely got kicked in the nuts at the tables, but that happens sometimes. I am a green chip player at the dice tables and that seems to get me enough to keep coming back.

I don't really get the complaints. I am going to Minneapolis next weekend and Vegas the following weekend. It will be interesting to see how the cost of those two weekends compare excluding travel and gambling of course. I'm guessing that the Minneapolis weekend costs me more. I love to travel this great land of ours and typically make 3 -4 trips to Vegas each year, another 3 trips to FL and then various weekend getaways all over. I travel at least once a month for pleasure and there is just nothing like Vegas anywhere else in the country. People are kidding themselves if they don't think all travel destinations are changing, mostly in ways that separate our money from our wallets.

I am a DINK household so maybe I have a jaded view of things, but travel across our country is relatively cheap. I can drive 30 minutes to the north or south and for about $450 or less I can pretty much travel anywhere else in the country I want. I can get there in about 6 hours or less too. Maybe I'm just spoiled. I can't wait for the 15th though.

 

Well stated.

There are two ways to look at things: As they never will be again. As they are right now. We ALL engage in nostalgia, it's natural. But at some point, if you don't let go, you'll never get satisfaction out of the present. And nothing we see in hindsight as that most magical time and place ever was that magical.

We're consumers. We have the allowance and even the responsibility to chime in when service providers aren't providing as we desire. It might fall on deaf ears but if you don't speak up you can't be heard; don't be lazy and think that grousing here or elsewhere similar is gonna do much. You also have to live in the here and now. That's really the whole idea behind IOM's great post: It's a pretty damn good time to travel and have fun. If it's not, change locales.

 

Very interesting question. I would expect that a message board focused on Vegas would attract viewers that love Vegas. We often see quotes like "the promised land" in the member trip reports. But, is Vegas getting better or worse? Most of us who continue to go probably think the same or better. If it was worse, we'd go elsewhere. Resort and parking fees have a rather insignificant impact on one's overall bankroll when visiting Vegas. Vegas still offers a wonderful break in the weather for us snowbirds. Besides gambling, it offers so many attractions not available elsewhere throughout the year. As mentioned in other posts, the dining choices are remarkable, regardless of budget. Golf choices are plentiful.

However, I stated many years ago that some of the changes made in Vegas are not what I look for in a destination. The club scene, a haven for spring breakers, and the skyline changes with condo's don't appeal to me at all. I've stopped staying only on the strip because of gambling odds offered there. I always rent a car, so I can go and do whatever I please. As a visitor for over 40 years, the changes have been many, of course. Some for the better, some to accommodate world travelers, changes to the infrastructure so we can all get around, get fed, and get new sheets when visiting are just a few of them.

Overall it's a very safe city since most of us carry more cash in Vegas than we do in our hometown. I continue to go to Vegas for an annual getaway. In fact, 12 weeks from right now I'll be landing and beginning a weeklong stay.

 

Very interesting topic.

I've been a total of 5 times in the past 2 years, so my breadth of witnessed changes is minimal. However, each time I go is better and better due to new experiences as well as increased comfort and familiarity. However, my last visit was significantly less fun, which goes to show how HUGELY important it is to travel with the right group (or even solo!). Similar interests and shared excitement over the same things do way more for the overall "fun" of the trip than I would have imagined. This isn't to say it wasn't fun, but it did break the upward trend of my previous 4 trips.

My belief is that Vegas is what you make of it and what you bring to the table.

 

The Vegas fine dining scene has definitely exploded in recent years, but I wouldn't go as far as saying it's second only to New York. Here is where Vegas compares to other US and world cities in terms of high end dining, using the 2016 Michelin guide (list is non inclusive):

Tokyo - 217 restaurants with at least 1 star
Kyoto - 97
Paris - 91
Osaka - 89
New York - 75
London - 65
Hong Kong - 57
San Francisco - 50
Chicago - 22
Los Angeles - 20
Vegas - 17

 

You want a great and unheralded food town? Tucson.

 

Better? Hmmmm...I think it gets better with every visit, but that's because it's a visit. I try to avoid recreating an experience, which is kind of easy in Vegas as there's so much to do and see. Things change over time, this closes and that opens, and as far as resort fees go...it's kind of like the cost of doing business. I can easily avoid the SHR because they expect me to pay $10 to park. But Vegas, I gotta spring for airfare, hotel, transport so once that check gets written...

 

Not for me. My fascination peaked 10-15 years ago. Is that a reflection of me or Vegas?
I truly was enamored with it as a vacation destination, making 6-8 trips a year and putting other faves on the backburner.
No longer is that same excitement present.
Resort fees mean nothing - hotel costs are relative among all Vegas casinos and compared to the rest of the country, a bargain.
I appreciated the free parking, but understand why it's going away and okay with it.
6-5 BJ not appreciated. Additionally, my favorite place to play - the Wynn outdoor tables games has lost its buzz.
Maybe its my imagination, but both the pedestrian and vehicle traffic has increased and that has become a negative for me.
Nor do I think the new rental car facility is a plus. It makes travel more cumbersome. Loved convenience of previous locale for Dollar.
I don't like the increased focus on shopping, clubbing, upscale pools, etc. I'd rather hang out in Stardust-type environs.

As far as the Tuscon food scene, what's not like - Sonoran, Mexican, chilis, tamales.

 

D, it's gone far past Sonoran dogs!! How are you?

 

As others have said, I think if you're up to constantly trying new spots to stay at or places to eat, Vegas certainly has more than enough hotels and restaurants on the Strip alone where people can go and have different experiences for many stays.

I started going to Vegas in the early 90s when the boom was just getting started and as I started going twice a year it was always fun to monitor the progress of the new places under construction not only on the Strip, but on the outskirts of town with the multitude of locals casinos being built. And then always fun when they opened, culminating in the evolution really peaking in the late 90s with the opening of Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Venetian, Paris, and the new Aladdin.

However, as exciting as these places were, it started making me wonder "how much more nicer can they make these places." And as it turned out, not a whole lot. Wynn, while everyone agrees is a nice place, was criticized as being Bellagio-lite. Palazzo was just a sister property of Venetian. And was anyone really blown away by Aria?

And then on top of that you had the introduction of resort fees and the deterioration of gambling conditions, mainly involving blackjack. Which has made my excitement level for the supposed new Strip projects like Alon and Resorts World less so. First, because at this point you wonder if they'll ever get built. Second, how nice are they really going to be? And third, even if they do open, aren't they going to have the same BS that other Strip resorts have fallen to with the crappy gaming and high resort fees?

I do currently have two types of Vegas stays now. One is with my wife, and we usually stay a night on the Strip before heading to another destination in the West. She used to like Bellagio, but now likes staying at Encore and loves the experiences of places like SW Steakhouse and the Country Club restaurant. She doesn't need to go experience any other places.......she is fine not leaving the place. The other type are the guys trips downtown.......like the gambling condtions, and it probably wouldn't hurt me to try more of the dining options in the Fremont East area. So there is that room for growth, and I am excited to see what Derek Stevens has in store for the LVC block.

Finally, on a positive note, reading this thread reminded me of a post on Vegas Tripping from a few months ago. Think it'll be enjoyable to some, related to this topic:

http://vegastripping.com/news/blog/5848/editorial-ebbs-and-flows/

 

Nice idea for a thread. I started back in 1992 and average about three trips a year. What is definitely better is transportation: first the car rental center, then better bus routes, then Uber. What keeps getting worse: fair games. Every renovation comes with worse video poker tables, 6/5 blackjack is a joke, slots get tighter nationwide, and I recently read about a triple zero roulette game. But as long as I can find MY Vegas experience (some comps, decent bartop VP, copious free drinks) the increase in disposable income is definitely an improvement. Therefore Vegas is not getting better, but I am getting better at Vegas!

 

It always seems to get better for me.
Of course, there's usually quite a chunk of time between my Vegas trips so by the time I get there I may be "easily entertained."

But I'll take Vegas any time over any other vacation destination, especially Wisconsin Dells!

RICHARD