The icon of the boom and bust days of Las Vegas is the CityCenter – an “urban community” symbolizing a gambling risk. In the history of the country it is the largest private funded construction – joint venture of MGM resorts and the Government of Dubai. It was a conception of the boom days and did not open its doors till 2009 December. The timing was all wrong with the entry of additional 5,000 hotel rooms when older hotels were thinking about shutting down. Another set of 2,500 rooms are due to enter this December when another wing open.
Meanwhile the officials are watching the gathering storm that will usher in a new age of Internet gambling by the Congress. There was the lurking fear that it would draw away people from Las Vegas. The reason is that for addicted gamblers, the Internet variety is more appealing than those who prefer the feel of the casino ambience.
The Senate majority leader Harry Reid is from Nevada. He is trying for re-election and said that he would oppose such steps because it would hit badly the tourism of Nevada State and lead to more job losses. Billy Vassiliadis belonging to an advertising agency named Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said people who are comparing the effects of online shopping to visits to the mall think that this could present problems. But if this is the reality it has to be adjusted with.
The threat from Internet gambling is a reminder of how the look of the playing fields has changed in Las Vegas since one generation. States are sponsoring lotteries per week and gambling has been legalized in cities as well as Indian Reservations. The symbolic advertising mantra of the city had been “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” but now it lacks appeal to a nation with reduced spending power; so the slogan is being tweaked to “Let’s party”.
The gloom in the gambling sector is one section of the widespread economic malaise. Nevada is now paying the price for overreaching itself in speculative construction of commercial and residential buildings. The market is overflowing. Thus there is a lack of confidence in the belief that as in other post-recession days gambling hey days will return with the turning around of the economy. Vassiliadis said, “There was a time 25 years ago that if tourism rebounded, the state rebounded. That isn’t the case anymore”.
Kevin Simpson is a consultant with experience in http://www.cheaphomeslistings.com/. With his knowledge in the real estate market, he provides information over the best investments in California cheap homes listings for future owners and sellers.
|
|