Chips are down as Las Vegas feels pinch

[FarCenter]

Source: Financial Times

Las Vegas gambling revenues are falling for the first time since 2001, adding to the evidence that the US economy is on a losing streak.

The city has been on a roll for seven years, fuelled by increased tourism and domestic spending, with visitors flocking to the new generation of resort casinos that have sprung up along the Las Vegas Strip. But with belts being tightened across the US, not even the weak dollar and high-spending international tourists have been able to pull Las Vegas out of a slump.

Revenue from casino gambling along the Las Vegas Strip fell to $597.3m in January, down 1.3 per cent from 2007, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Across the state, the picture is even more depressed. Nevada gaming revenues fell 4.7 per cent to $1.06bn while Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, fell 4.1 per cent to $928.7m.

MGM Mirage, which operates resort casinos including the Bellagio and Mandalay Bay, has suffered a fall in convention bookings, according to UBS. High-end gamblers continue to spend vast sums in the city, but MGM Mirage says mid-market gamblers are being hit hardest by the economic downturn.

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Read more: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/350507fc-ec7e-11dc-86be-0000779fd2ac.html

[notadmblnd]

1. let us see just how long the rich will support the economy

[tyne]

2. Exactly

good time to test their theory.

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. Step right up, all you big-shots - time to strut your stuff

[Dr.Phool]

4. You wouldn't know it by the prices.

I've been checking out reservations for mid-June, and I can't find any decent deals. Maybe I have to wait a little longer.

[H8fascistcons]

5. Economy tells it like it is....

Las Vegas is the canary in the coal mine, when people do not have disposable income the first thing to go is entertainment. The canary is on life support and is not expected to live through the night.
Can you say recession or even depression???

BTW...Never forget the criminal Fascist enablers Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reed, Steny Hoyer, Rahm Emanual and David Rockefeller assisting in the destruction of our constitution. Never forget until each and every one is voted from office...

[H8fascistcons]

6. Correction...

It's Jay Rockefeller, sorry for the misprint

[CGowen]

9. At least David admits it

For more than a century, ideological extremists at either end of the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents such as my encounter with Castro to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as 'internationalists' and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure — one world, if you will. If that is the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it." — From Rockefeller's "Memoirs",

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Rockefeller

[bronxiteforever]

7. The Rethugs and Shrub screwed the economy-don't you agree

[saigon68]

8. Ah yes ole Rahm Emanual