[kalindi]

I have been to Las Vegas(on and off the strip) many times since 1984. Around 2002/2003 I noticed how intense Vegas started to get.

From 1986-2001 I used to go to the UNLV/Boulevard Mall/Paradise Ave. hotel corridor areas to get off the strip and get some local flavor of the city.

In 2006 I drove down Maryland Parkway and could not beleive how crowded and intense these areas were compared to just 5-6 years earlier.

I also know that between 2004-2007 the Vegas Strip was the most PACKED with people it had ever been.

I know that SO MANY people(tourist and newley immigrated locals) sort of invaded Vegas between 2004-2007 looking to "make it"(transient, make a buck type people), live(lots of employment opportunities), party(relocate to Vegas just becuase of the growing nightclub scene), and all sorts of other things.

So with the new economy we all have in the United States has Las Vegas sort of gone back to how it was before 2003/2004? I guess what I am asking is there less of the "I am going to make it in Vegas/One night stand" type people who descended upon Vegas to make a quick buck or live the party lifestyle in the last 2 years? Has it gotten back to "normal"?

I know Vegas has always attracted "party people/make a quick buck people" but WOW between 2004-2007 I could not beleve how intense it had gotten there.

Thanks. )

[Spraynard Kruger]

That's a great question. In the past few months, I have watched a shabby shabu restaurant open at City Center with the nerve to charge $500 a plate. I have seen our daytime pool party scene grow faster than the bacterial count in the water. Bottle service is still the norm at most places. Regular bars aspire to be "ultra lounges." there is less Ed Hardy wearing douchebaggery, but it still seems like you can take the douchebag out of the shirt, but you can't change the nature of the douchebag.

Has Vegas mellowed? Naaa.

[KevK]

I would say it has. As a visitor that has been there many times, I have seen a change where- at least for now- they are welcoming of people who are not rich. For a long time, LV was a blue and lower white collar vacation place. It had reasonable hotel rates and buffets that were reasonable. Then in the 90s, there was a change where they city started to be only for the rich. The blew up all the wonderful hotels like the Stardust and replaced them with mega resorts that cost hundreds of dollars a night to stay in. Gone were all the old comedy and musical acts which were replaced by $200 a ticket mega shows and French circuses. It was a very sad and depressing situation. But it seems to have reversed somewhat. Hotel rates have become more reasonable- especially if you are willing to stay off the strip at places like the Station hotels or the Orleans. Even on the strip, the reports of the death of Circus Circus have been exaggerated. It is still there, still reasonable and still doing fairly brisk business especially on the weekends. Of course all of us wish we could afford 5 days at Steve Wynn's place but most of us cannot.

[Buzz123]

I'm sure that the changes that you tourists have noticed aren't just all in your imagination, but I'd say you are exaggerating a bit. The most obvious thing is that the whole world is in a recession, and Las Vegas is a very international city. But since gaming became legal in the 1930s, the Chamber of Commerce, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor's Authority, and even the Las Vegas News Bureau, plus all the individual hotels' marketing people, have been reinventing Las Vegas every six months. You just don't notice the reasons for it, and details of it, because you aren't here all the time like we are. The business news is-has-and always will be-full of the details and current thinking on any given day. It's really very technical, and based on all kinds of ongoing research facts and figures,etc. Las Vegas has to keep up with changes in economy, tastes, attitudes, and all sorts of things that affect service and entertainment needs, in order to accommodate the visitor/tourism market. You don't like what's going on right now? Stick around a couple of weeks ...it'll change again.