this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2025
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[–] EnsignRedshirt@hexbear.net 104 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Las Vegas is like if enshittification were a city. The whole economic model was to make everything cheap and easy so that people would show up to gamble. Subsidize the flights, the hotels, the food, the entertainment, etc. and just make it up on the other side with people throwing money away on gambling. It worked for decades. Then a bunch of morons went "but what if we also tried to make money on all that stuff, too?" so they started getting rid of the deals and the freebies, they jacked up prices and found ways to upsell, they lowered the already-middling quality on everything, and they presumably made even more money for a few years.

But now there's no reason to go there in the first place. Almost anything you'd want to do in Las Vegas you could do better and for less money somewhere else. Of course young people aren't going to show up.

[–] underisk@hexbear.net 75 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

i've worked at a few casinos in vegas and my older coworkers would tell me how much better the mob took care of the employees compared to the modern corporations that run everything now. free steak dinners after your shift, bonuses on good nights, good pay, light work. sounded nice.

the only bonus I ever got from a casino was when they lost a class action suit about stealing wages.

[–] Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.ml 21 points 2 days ago

I think of the mob vs venture capital sorta like how I think of national bourgeois vs international bourgeois. They were local to Vegas and so had incentive to make sure it kept running smoothly, venture capital that runs it now only cares that money comes in, workers be damned.

[–] SacredExcrement@hexbear.net 48 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Not to mention, NOBODY HAS MONEY TO BURN AT A CASINO

[–] EnsignRedshirt@hexbear.net 23 points 2 days ago

The irony is that gaming revenues are strong, but in the local casinos. It’s the strip that’s suffering. People have money to go to a casino, but not for overpriced, mediocre tourism.

[–] stink@lemmygrad.ml 24 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I know so many tech bros that go to atlantic city and burn ridiculous amounts of money every couple months.

Also casinos are pretty defunct now. Sports betting is all the craze. If I wanted to spin some slots I could just go to the gas station where a machine is set up.

[–] Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.ml 17 points 2 days ago

Every time I go somewhere with legal gambling it blows my mind how many people gamble in the weirdest places. When I was in Illinois people were gambling at the local breakfast spot, like wtf? Here there’s only one city you can do it in and it’s hours away from most of civilization, so if people even bother going it’s typically once or twice a year at most.

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[–] Tabitha@hexbear.net 35 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Big Casino needs to pay writers to suddenly feel inspired to write "hey let's all go to Las Vegas!" episodes ASAP.

[–] segfault11@hexbear.net 23 points 2 days ago

young sheldon episode where he makes millions playing poker in vegas

[–] Ishmael@hexbear.net 52 points 2 days ago (2 children)

The younger generation just gambles on their phones now. DraftKings and FanDuel have created a whole new generation of gambling addicts, but they've lost too much of their money to go to Vegas even if they wanted to

[–] Doubledee@hexbear.net 34 points 2 days ago

I work with guys who talk to each other about their sports betting while the machines run, they believe they're making money doing it. It's pretty depressing to hear.

[–] Pentacat@hexbear.net 22 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I would be so thankful if Vegas were able to squash the online gambling thing so it’s like the old days.

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[–] electric_nan@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I'm in Vegas right now, for the first time in my (Gen X) life. It is expensive as fuck.

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[–] BeamBrain@hexbear.net 57 points 2 days ago
[–] FnordPrefect@hexbear.net 44 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] CloutAtlas@hexbear.net 30 points 2 days ago

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Vegas

[–] kleeon@hexbear.net 38 points 2 days ago (2 children)

wait, they made a city from fallout new vegas into a real thing?

[–] ThermonuclearEgg@hexbear.net 26 points 2 days ago

Nah, that's the old Vegas. The new one is hard to get into, so you might not know about it:

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[–] sexywheat@hexbear.net 33 points 2 days ago

Let's also not forget that Canadians kkkanada have by and large stopped travelling to The Burger Reich, I'm sure that hasn't been helping either.

[–] BadTakesHaver@hexbear.net 40 points 2 days ago (1 children)

soon the only tourists will be fans of fallout: new vegas. because of woke

[–] Crucible@hexbear.net 41 points 2 days ago

Never setting foot in the city itself but spending weeks circling it looking for Dinky the Dinosaur

[–] InevitableSwing@hexbear.net 42 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'm kind of surprised they didn't say "Millennials are killing Vegas".

[–] Posadas@hexbear.net 44 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Millennial got too old.

Now it's time for gen z/alpha

[–] InevitableSwing@hexbear.net 30 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Gen Z Kills Vegas would be a great name for a movie. What's the plot? I have no idea. But it's still a great name for a movie though.

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[–] Rom@hexbear.net 39 points 2 days ago

It's probably gambling apps doing that actually, there's so fucking many of them

[–] ZeroHora@lemmy.ml 36 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Every photo of Vegas scream to me: "That's aesthetic that an American boomer loves", I don't know how that attract the younger generation, even excluding all the monetary problems.

[–] bobs_guns@lemmygrad.ml 25 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Maybe if they put more gacha waifus or polyamory polycules on it and make a really fast train there I can be fucked to visit.

[–] Abracadaniel@hexbear.net 22 points 2 days ago

there isn't even a godamm train from the airport (it almost couldn't be closer) to the strip or transit on the strip itself. in a city where everyone is drunk there's no way to get around but in a car, also it fucking sucks to drive there.

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[–] peeonyou@hexbear.net 20 points 2 days ago

Local catholic church here is doing its part to create young gamblers. They have a carnival every year and half of it is the typical carnival games where little kids just get their money taken. Those games hardly ever have anyone playing them. But toward the back you see the game ALL the kids AND their parents are playing. It's a game where you put dollars in wooden boxes that match odds to a color. Then once enough boxes have money in them the carnival person comes and puts the plexiglass cover down over them all and then throws a ball into a pit that has a bunch of colored cups. Whichever color cup the ball lands on wins and then they go around and add money to the boxes that won and take the rest of the money.

Kids sit there playing that for hours. Parents are there shelling out money and playing too while getting piss drunk. At a fucking church fundraiser carnival.

Good, death to Vegas. Demon city

[–] Jenniferrr@hexbear.net 26 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Vegas is fun and all but now it’s like super expensive to go. It used to be that it was cheap and then you spend all the money on gambling. Now is ridiculously expensive and then you have no gambling money

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today 29 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That and the live shows aren't relevant to younger audiences. The last time I went to vegas a promoter got mad at me because I didn't want free tickets to a Chris Angel show.

This guy was yelling at me because I turned down free "60 dollar" tickets to see a second rate magician who peaked in like 08.

Plus, there aren't any cheap cars tables in Vegas anymore unless you go way off the strip. I'm not doing $10 a hand of blackjack just to play with the one other dude in the building who isn't glued to a slot machine.

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[–] XxFemboy_Stalin_420_69xX@hexbear.net 16 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Vegas is fun and all

??? i've never been but it seems like a complete shitpit, like totally devoid of redeeming qualities

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[–] BountifulEggnog@hexbear.net 37 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Give me enough money that I can afford to gamble it away :shrug-outta-hecks:

[–] blunder@hexbear.net 45 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Real players gamble money they don't have big-cool

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[–] Leon_Grotsky@hexbear.net 32 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I need a Kelly comic where we get to see Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano, and Joe Trafficante crying from heaven. Put-upon casino-goers looking forlornly at the moths flying out of their wallet, unable to cover his exorbitant bar tab, while "Aspiring Content Creators" are driving past the casinos recording tiktoks with their dang cell phones

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[–] CloutAtlas@hexbear.net 24 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The city where you get blackout drunk and get married to a stranger? That Vegas?

Buddy, younger people just get blackout drunk and marry a stranger at the town/city hall these days. No-one has the money for a 20m^2^ chapel with an ordained Elvis impersonator anymore. Either that or just live with their polycule* and just not get married to a stranger you met day drinking alone on a weekday.

*Latest fad

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[–] GrouchyGrouse@hexbear.net 33 points 2 days ago

They turned stocks into a casino and then added shit like crypto, tech startups, and sports betting. All on your phone.

[–] SorosFootSoldier@hexbear.net 34 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Punk kids will never know the joy of being an obese elderly mobster who flies out to meet his goomah in vegas and drop peyote and muse about all the people he's killed.

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[–] NuraShiny@hexbear.net 33 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Young people have their gacha waifus to scratch that gambling itch

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[–] octobob@lemmy.ml 18 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I was there for work in my early 20's. I worked on the industrial solar farms that supply utility power.

Even with a $75 per meal per diem, hotels paid for, rental pickup truck, etc, I still had no desire to gamble. I mean I was mostly working 80 hour weeks and going out to dinner but the slots were everywhere, even gas stations and dive bars.

Used to be you could play penny slots and get free drinks. I doubt that's a thing anymore.

I did eat like a king tho. Steak and lobster like every night.

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[–] DragonBallZinn@hexbear.net 28 points 2 days ago

Why do these dumbasses never take it up with porky? remember? The guy who was going to do all the consumer spending for us?

Perhaps he should be taxed more since he isn’t consuming like he’s supposed to

[–] dkr567@hexbear.net 29 points 2 days ago

Yeah this thing called internet, pretty powerful shit where everyone can gamble to lose instead of going all the way to Vegas and gamble to lose.

[–] HarryLime@hexbear.net 27 points 2 days ago (1 children)
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[–] built_on_hope@hexbear.net 23 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Vegas is the worst city on earth and it’s not particularly close

[–] Posadas@hexbear.net 26 points 2 days ago
[–] Pentacat@hexbear.net 19 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Maybe it’s the worst in the US, but there are lots of cities worldwide that are downright demonic.

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[–] hotcouchguy@hexbear.net 18 points 2 days ago

The drop in international tourism can't be helping things either

[–] buttwater@hexbear.net 22 points 2 days ago

I took a millennial vacation to Vegas this February. It wasn't a great vacation, but it was a pretty good vacation, and the weather was better than where I was coming from. There is a lot of spectacle to see free of charge (fountains, mountains, the sphere, the strip, Fremont St) and a lot to see that is pay-to-play (museums, performances, etc).

Vegas was a decent destination for food and activities (Tacotarian was so good). I was pleasantly surprised because I've been passing through the town for the better part of 30 years, and the 2025 version was the most holistic "maybe actually a city" version of Vegas I've seen. As EnsignRedshirt said, prices are fucking stupid now. Flights and hotels, historically very cheap purchases, are no longer so cheap you can't say no. I think I paid $300/night to stay at the "second nicest hotel in downtown".

I saw a recent tiktok where a resident was saying the major factor contributing to the decline is that retirees are the bread and butter of Vegas, and as their material conditions get worse, that group needs to cut costs, and their "low cost gambling vacation" is the first to go.

So, with the cheap attractions not so cheap and the main customer base turning away, Vegas needs to reinvent itself

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