Posted By: ploughman @ 05/14/2008 10:43:37 PM
Comment: I'm one of the budget-traveling riffraff they've been trying to chase away. All I can say is that they had this coming to them and they'll probably need a few more lumps for it to stick. Same story as the housing market: You can't chase up the prices over the long term when MEDIAN INCOMES ARE FLAT, as they have been under Bush. Median family income is actually slightly down vs. 1999 after inflation. That's why the housing bubble broke and why Vegas is out of touch. Sure, a few at the top have done well (lots of golden-parachuted CEOs with time and money, plus John Daly and Bill Bennett), but Vegas learned some time ago that there weren't enough "whales" around to cater ONLY to the high-rollers.
The best remaining values, in case you're wondering, are downtown and in a few pockets off-strip (if you have a car), though even those have been compromised in recent years since Jackie Gaughan sold out most of his places.
Also, don't forget RENO. Much more humble and affordable and similar to what Vegas used to be like.