[aqualung8705]

Pink will disagree with me, but happiness is a medium rare steak.

I agree with MomMom, I liked the old themed casinos. If they're going to have a fake Russian restaurant, how about a fake Russian casino of the same name? Artem is great, but I'm really looking forward to the new Matrioshka restaurant that they're building across from the Factory Outlets on LVBS.

[jfkIII]

Originally Posted by MomMom

Current Las Vegas is catering to the 25-35 year olds, that's the largest age-group I see on the Strip every week. They want luxury and lavish-ness. They want uber nightclubs and high end everything.

Hotel themes of the past just don't appeal to this younger crowd, that's why themed properties are slowly being phased out.

Me personally, I like the themed hotels.

I think Momx2 is right...and my bet is that Drinkme is 25-35 years old...

Originally Posted by drinkme

I disagree completely (but do enjoy hearing your point of view).

The Wynn made an impression on me from day one. I used to go there often when I lived in So Cal. When I moved to the other side of the country, I reflected on my visits there and longed to go back. It is rare to be in a place with such attention to detail, luxury design and classl! I love going in to see the Ferraris, the coffee served on the casino floor is wonderful, and I never have to inhale cheap cigarette smoke. Instead of looking at whimsical paintings of a king (as in Excalibur or Luxor)... I FEEEEEL like a king

[Lovetheoutdoors]

Originally Posted by jfkIII

I've said it before...the future of Las Vegas is in its past.

Amen!!!

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by RedRockAAAA

You bring up an issue that is complicated.

I'm sure many Las Vegans as well as non Las Vegans would agree with your assessment.

The gaming industry here has gradually moved towards perceived luxury. No doubt, middle Americans will think its less luxurious to pay more for rooms, more for meals, well, more for everything. The thing you might want to keep in mind is that the executives who moved Las Vegas in this direction are the same class of geniuses who have driven the rest of our economy into the toilet. Greed rules. Just as they thought anyone who was breathing could finance a house hundreds of thousands above their heads/income level, they also thought you can charge triple for everyhting in Las Vegas and middle America would keep supporting it. Thus, they built what 'they' perceived as luxury accomodations befitting the higher rates for everything they were charging.

Some of us locals will agree with you. Old Las Vegas was better. The new Las Vegas with $7 beers, $500 for a Better Miller show for 2, very few low limit tables, the lack of ability to find a cocktail waitress on most floors, the lack of ability to find reasonable room rates for a quick getaway, etc. etc. is not a good or desirable deal for most people.

You are wondering out loud what many of us have thought to ourselves. Sadly, there's not a lot we can do about it. I guess we just add Las Vegas to that long list of things that have changed in America and wait for the economy or lack of spending to adjust the attitudes of those who are making reckless decisions. It will happen. Common sense will prevail. The transition from Greed to Common Sense is painful to watch and never happens quickly enough.

Deals are beginning to reappear. So, please come visit and Welcome.

EXCELLENT POST!

Agree 100%. I'd like to add more for the sake of adding more, but I'd only be repetitive. You hit everything on the nail here.

[Tiger Beer]

I will add one thing though...just thinking when I see 'American culture' through TV...1970s had a lot of working class stuff like 'smokey and the bandit' and truck drivers and shows like 'taxi' or 'laverne and shirley', etc.

These days, every TV show it seems to be yuppies who graduate from college with great jobs...most tv characters are NOT idetifiable to most Americas. It's no wonder sitcoms are so unpopular these days...who can relate to any of the characters they project to be 'typical America'.

I'm personally quite relieved to see that luxery everything has become out of reach, and half a million dollar houses being bought and sold as being a norm is now a thing of the past as well.

HOPEFULLY, this era will once again create a return of a older era which believed in lower prices created more sales which created more income...(then the latest era of high prices=scourge them now, forget them later).

[Wing Feathers]

What is wrong with being a college graduate with a great job?

I don't know anyone who wants to return to the Jimmy Carter days (except Obama)... gas lines, unemployment, poverty. But feel free to hit the skids if that appeals to you

[jfkIII]

...more proof of 25-35 years old.

[Lovetheoutdoors]

Originally Posted by flyingtigers

Agree! I think v4 is going to look like v1. Good gambling, good value, good time.

I hope so! I remember the days when each property had its own personality. Now, with The Strip predominantly divided up by only two companies, the personality of these hotels are gone as we are left with the generic form of corporate marketing.

I agree that the Luxor is / was going for the same crowd of The Palms. What these corporations fail to understand though that George Maloof IS The Palms. As far as I'm concerned, I'm heading over to George's "house" as he lives and breathes the lifestyle that his hotel is selling. The same with The Wynn. That property echoes the "class" (for lack of a better word) that defines Steve Wynn (even though I don't agree with everything he says or does, I do admit that he is a class act).

The Luxor had a good thing going with its Egyptian thing as it became an attraction of itself. Now its just like any other hotel meaning there's nothing special about it anymore.

[OyCrumbler]

A pie-in-the-sky idea, but...

could Vegas, and Luxor in particular, actually find a way to bank off of its themes? There's only so much audience for the wealthy/modern/upscale themes that Vegas has been running towards, but it seems like there must be something wrong with the way the themes themselves are implemented if casinos have to throw them away in order to become profitable. I have in mind the long-going vogue for "authenticity" that's been hitting the nation and East Asia especially. Right now there are people in South Korea, Japan, and China clamoring for "authentic" or traditional things like resorts where people dress up and act as if they were in the olden days--and in South Korea business has been going well for restaurants serving authentic reproductions of old-style Imperial Korean food. Would it be feasible (i.e. profitable) for Vegas to run headlong in that direction for its themed resorts so that in addition to superficially addressing their themes, they also created attractions dedicated to their themes? Things like having spectacles and dining in Luxor that actually tries to authentically reproduce some part of ancient and modern egypt? Or lounges in Caeser's palace that are like those the Romans actually had? Any comments?

[Wing Feathers]

Originally Posted by OyCrumbler

A pie-in-the-sky idea, but...

could Vegas, and Luxor in particular, actually find a way to bank off of its themes? There's only so much audience for the wealthy/modern/upscale themes that Vegas has been running towards, but it seems like there must be something wrong with the way the themes themselves are implemented if casinos have to throw them away in order to become profitable. I have in mind the long-going vogue for "authenticity" that's been hitting the nation and East Asia especially. Right now there are people in South Korea, Japan, and China clamoring for "authentic" or traditional things like resorts where people dress up and act as if they were in the olden days--and in South Korea business has been going well for restaurants serving authentic reproductions of old-style Imperial Korean food. Would it be feasible (i.e. profitable) for Vegas to run headlong in that direction for its themed resorts so that in addition to superficially addressing their themes, they also created attractions dedicated to their themes? Things like having spectacles and dining in Luxor that actually tries to authentically reproduce some part of ancient and modern egypt? Or lounges in Caeser's palace that are like those the Romans actually had? Any comments?

Well said - and you did not have to attempt petty insults to communicate your analysis of the subject matter

Perhaps this is indeed the solution. Sometimes all that is needed is a small revision, not an entire redo. I feel I would enjoy such a "themed" casino if it was authentic as described above.