[olecapt]

It appears they are continuing to come to Las Vegas. Certainly not gambling as much. Even made the gaming stocks go up.

[sheriff]

Originally Posted by olecapt

It appears they are continuing to come to Las Vegas. Certainly not gambling as much. Even made the gaming stocks go up.

Wrong again. Gaming stocks bumped from that fact Wynn Macau did 10x the business Wynn LV did; along with a proposed stock buy-back. For your information, gaming stocks are down @ 50-75% YTD.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by sheriff

Wrong again. Gaming stocks bumped from that fact Wynn Macau did 10x the business Wynn LV did; along with a proposed stock buy-back. For your information, gaming stocks are down @ 50-75% YTD.

And up over the last few days...with the visitor count one factor.

[SHEPNYC]

Originally Posted by bumpercar

...
Still other numbers suggest prices are close to bottoming. The S&P/Case-Shiller Index for April, released just last month, showed the biggest year-over-year price decline yet, of 15.3%. Buried in the numbers, however, and widely ignored in the media, was the news that home prices actually rose, albeit slightly, between March and April, in eight of the 20 markets covered by the index (Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Portland, Ore., and Seattle). This was in sharp contrast to the readings for March, which showed prices falling in 18 of the 20 surveyed markets. Also, the pace of monthly price declines is starting to slow in most of the markets with negative readings.

Bottom's Up: This Real-Estate Rout May Be Short-Lived - Barrons.com

That was all before $4.00 plus gas, inflated food and transportation prices, the route of the stock market, doubts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac survival, bankruptcy of IndyMac bank, etc.

It will be interesting to see what the June and July numbers are.

[sheriff]

Originally Posted by olecapt

And up over the last few days...with the visitor count one factor.

And the MGM politely published, with lower room rates, the typical visitor is less affluent. Or--------revenue will decrease in ALL departments. The corporate dollars are decreasing, the whales don't come, the $5-10k customer is evaporating, and the "lure" of LV is left to the "do-it-as-cheap-as-possible" visitor. O'Shea's, McDonalds, Slots 'o Fun, and every low-end business will reap the benefits. But, the addition of @40,000 new rooms will certainly bring in new revenue that has never before considered LV. The "perfect storm" for economic disaster has been created in LV.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by sheriff

And the MGM politely published, with lower room rates, the typical visitor is less affluent. Or--------revenue will decrease in ALL departments. The corporate dollars are decreasing, the whales don't come, the $5-10k customer is evaporating, and the "lure" of LV is left to the "do-it-as-cheap-as-possible" visitor. O'Shea's, McDonalds, Slots 'o Fun, and every low-end business will reap the benefits. But, the addition of @40,000 new rooms will certainly bring in new revenue that has never before considered LV. The "perfect storm" for economic disaster has been created in LV.

No question it is going to be an interesting time.

That however does not require a meltdown.

RE continues to maintain volume with some continuing price decline. And that volume is certain to maintain through August at this point. We continue to eat the REPOs.

If the strip guys can maintain/increase head count the money will, in time, come back up.

[jpk]

Originally Posted by sheriff

And the MGM politely published, with lower room rates, the typical visitor is less affluent. Or--------revenue will decrease in ALL departments. The corporate dollars are decreasing, the whales don't come, the $5-10k customer is evaporating, and the "lure" of LV is left to the "do-it-as-cheap-as-possible" visitor. O'Shea's, McDonalds, Slots 'o Fun, and every low-end business will reap the benefits. But, the addition of @40,000 new rooms will certainly bring in new revenue that has never before considered LV. The "perfect storm" for economic disaster has been created in LV.

There's nothing wrong with a segment of Las Vegas catering to middle class folks. My opinion is that LV went way too upscale in the past ten years and now is paying the price. Wal-Mart is doing great business right now while other retailers struggle. If the frugal traveller can find a nice room and cheap food in Las Vegas, they will come. Las Vegas can't depend entirely on whales or a booming economy that makes people feel like burning money.

If those 40K new rooms are all supposed to be filled with rich folks, the city has a problem. But if they plan to fill them with middle class tourists, the city will do well. Disneyland made this shift and has been doing a lot better than Vegas because it's targeting the masses instead of just the high-end travelers. High-end is great and can really boost margins and add cache to your brand, but you can't count on that day-in and day-out.

[CuriousMike]

Originally Posted by desertsun41

At least we all here are eating and have a place to live and pay our internet fee. Many have lost those basic things we all take for granted.

Amen brother.

[sheriff]

Originally Posted by jpk

There's nothing wrong with a segment of Las Vegas catering to middle class folks. My opinion is that LV went way too upscale in the past ten years and now is paying the price. Wal-Mart is doing great business right now while other retailers struggle. If the frugal traveller can find a nice room and cheap food in Las Vegas, they will come. Las Vegas can't depend entirely on whales or a booming economy that makes people feel like burning money.

If those 40K new rooms are all supposed to be filled with rich folks, the city has a problem. But if they plan to fill them with middle class tourists, the city will do well. Disneyland made this shift and has been doing a lot better than Vegas because it's targeting the masses instead of just the high-end travelers. High-end is great and can really boost margins and add cache to your brand, but you can't count on that day-in and day-out.

I couldn't agree more. However, in years past, the middle class was treated to service generally reserved to "high rollers", and would often over-extended their spending in the $5-10k range. However, today's middle class tourist is here to see the Sirens at TI, followed by an ice cream at Bellagio, and then to bed by 11pm. This is why rooms, food, etc has skyrocketed in price, an attempt to "pick the pockets" of these visitors.

[olecapt]

I would think the 40K new stuff goes to the high rollers. The question is what happens to the older stock. Wynn and Bellagio appealing more to the middle class? I can certainly see that happening at Paris and the Venetian and Mandelay Bay. Sure thing at MGM etc. Might be a good thing.