Las Vegans uncertain about economy, but history tells this isn’t the first time outsiders have proclaimed Las Vegas “dead,” and it likely won’t be the last.

Las Vegas

Recent discussions on social media have raised questions about the future of Las Vegas, with some suggesting the city is in decline due to rising costs and a dip in tourism. Local experts, including Jeremy Aguero of Applied Analysis and journalist James Reza, acknowledge the challenges but highlight Las Vegas's long history of overcoming adversity, such as economic downturns and the pandemic.

Experts note that while the city has become more expensive and shifted towards offering diverse experiences beyond gambling, it continues to adapt. Tourists are increasingly exploring off-strip venues, and local properties are performing well. While skepticism persists online, experts suggest that much of the negativity is exaggerated, and they remain optimistic about Las Vegas's ability to evolve and thrive.

Local experts say Las Vegas will evolve, but it 'won't die'

If you've been on social media at all recently, you've seen some version of the question, is Las Vegas dead? Here's a few that I found looking online. Nobody comes here. It's too expensive. Resort and parking fees are too high. And my personal favorite, Las Vegas is too expensive and it smells bad. So I reached out to some local experts to ask them, is Las Vegas really dying? Jeremy Aguero of Applied Analysis told me Las Vegas is experiencing a dip in visitation because of concerns over the economy and tariffs. But he says the city is seen much worse. See, I got that same question when, you know, when was opening the Mirage in 1989? Could we ever be able to do it? And then you and I remember what it was like during September 11th, when Las Vegas was never going to bounce back. What about during the Great Recession, when somebody wrote that Las Vegas was the nation's greatest ghost town in waiting, right? And then during the pandemic, we all did it. We all took that walk down the strip when nobody was there. It was unbelievably scary in terms of how are we going to bounce back? And yet still, here we are today. It's not how many times you get knocked down, it's how many times you get back up. Still, Aguero and others admit the Las Vegas of 2025 is more costly than the city of yesteryear, when casinos offered cheap rooms and food to get people to gamble. The Las Vegas of today is built as much on experiences as it is on slots. James Reza, a Las Vegas native, journalist and businessman, tells me the city has evolved, which can frustrate people with memories of the good old days. Those places are gone, and there's an entire generation of people who think the Mirage represents old Vegas, and they're broken up because it's gone and going to be turned into the new version of the hard rock. But if anything signifies what Las Vegas is, it's reinvention, and that's what it keeps on doing constantly. And while the strip has grown more expensive over time, adding concert venues, shopping malls, and high-end restaurants, there are places that value-conscious customers can still go. Howard Stutz covers the gaming industry for the Nevada Independent. He tells me tourists are getting off the strip. Well, guess where they're going? Red Rock Resorts, Boyd Gaming Properties, they all did well in the last quarter. It's a lot of locals because locals don't go to the strip and aren't going to pay the prices down there. I'd say the out-of-town visitors from Southern California, they're discovering some of the local properties. Stutz says the dip in tourism is fueling some of the social media skepticism, and said if the blip continues past year's end, there could be more cause for concern. But Reza also told me some of the Vegas hate was just for clicks. People seeing all these things, and they want to jump into it. They want to be part of the discussion. They want to say, I piled on. Look at the things that are happening in the news where people see something bad happening and they want to pile into it. And I think that's part of what we're hearing about and seeing. I think Las Vegas is going to be fine. It always is. In fact, both James and Howard told me the answer is pretty easy. Just get off social media, which is probably good advice. Reporting in the newsroom, I'm Steve Sebelius.

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