[airics]

Originally Posted by Plain Jane 3953

I read the article. Of course it is no surprise - there is no way that Vegas could sustain the growth that they experienced based on gambling - it was bound to come to a crashing halt. How many people can really afford to gamble these days??? Perhaps they could house the homeless in all those empty hotel rooms.

you should read the paper more often.. this weekend the hotels are over 90% occupancy.. they are averaging over 80% all together... we'll be dropping them off at your house which is probably not in vegas

[geos]

Originally Posted by RCCCB

The LA Times and most of their reporters are anti-capitalist anarchists or communists.
Their circulation is so low that the only market for their paper is at the bottom of a bird cage.

Only extreme leftists enjoy reading that paper in California IMO.

And the extreme rightists love nothing more than the F#X "News" vulture capitalist corporate wh@res sneering & smearing anyone who dares question their "What's good for GM is good for America" propaganda.

[Golfinnova]

Originally Posted by desertsun41

It was a good article, As MR77 said, it did put in a dig for Cali in the end. But maybe not, maybe the guy just went back home. The dig was the authors choice.

All those stories was also the same story I had, and half a million others too. Some of you are still calling those people deadbeats and they all overextended on mortgages and so on. How shallow of you. They are all victims of this economic depression. Yes...depression. The govt only just admitted we were in a recession last December when in fact the recession was already 2 years old. They will never admit that dirty filthy "D" word. But lets call it what it is.

Vegas was good to me too. I was greater then God when I arrived to a new life and new opportunity, but I was even more happy to leave what that aweful place had become. I see nothing has changed here though. As bad as things are, and Vegas is worse off then everyone else, that the core group defends any anti LV media with their balls and their blood. Give it a break man. If you still love it then fantastic but dont tear apart every single bad thing ever written when it's the truth.

I really wish you all luck. I still have friends there who seem to spend so much time grasping at false statistics trying to find hope that things will get better. Sound familiar? They are not happy but love Vegas anyway. Good for them. Sometimes I cant wait to get off the phone with them.

Many of you are lucky enough to still have a job there so stop putting down those people like in that article. They are victims of the depression. They are not deadbeats. They may have abandoned their worthless homes because there was no work, that does not make them bad. They had a contract with the bank and a contract with their family to feed, shelter and protect them. They chose to honor the contract with their family and F the bank. They are all my heros. They are true honorable citizens.

Hello to you all again. I stop by from time to time and read much of all your posts. Sometimes I feel compelled to respond.

Hello desertsun41,

Hope things are going good for you in Texas

While I can't speak for the other members of the forum, my thoughts on the article reflect a misperception painted by this and other authors that Vegas has become the recession capital of America which is no where near the truth. This recession (yes, I'll call it a recession because we are no where near a depression) has affected every industry, every town, every person. It doesn't matter if you are a homeowner working 3 jobs or Steve Wynn.

Every region of the country has been affected with massive job cuts and businesses folding whether it is loggers in the NW or fishing industry in southern Florida, this story can and is told everywhere even in DC where I can pull the exact story from the Washington Post. The article correctly describes how Vegas grew fast in the late 90's/early 2000's and was one of the cities to be hit the hardest, again this has happened in a lot of cities like DC and like Vegas is being hit with massive job cuts, foreclosures, people walking away from mortgages, etc.

I haven't and I won't call these people deadbeats; however, I think that they need to exercise all options before walking away. A lot of these people fell into the trap of the no-doc/no or little down payment ARM's and rather than put the money into emergency or savings funds, bought expensive toys like new cars, flat screen TV's, vacations, etc. I have a neighbor in my community who has a Hummer H2 tricked out, a Porsche Boxster and tons of expensive toys with a family including an 8-year old, yet they can't pay the mortgage and is in the foreclosure stages. You mentioned giving the family shelter which I agree with; however, when they put keeping a Hummer/Porsche ahead of keeping their house, then IMO they are not using good judgment.

The good news is that home sales are coming back because prices on new and existing homes have dropped dramatically. Our models went on sale 2 weeks ago and there was a line of people sleeping in front of them to buy them the next day. One of my golf friends just bought a home in Painted Desert after renting for 15 years. The bad news is for sellers because they have to take a huge beating in negative equity. Currently, the value in my house is $200K less than what I bought it 2 years ago; however, I also bought knowing I was going to stay here for at least 10 years so it will come back up. We all have to remember that economies are cyclical and we have hit the bottom, it will start to recover albeit slowly.

Construction jobs have taken a huge hit with the shutdowns of Echelon and Fountainebleu. The good news is that people are starting to get the offers for City Center so things are getting better, we just need to ride it out. As I said in a previous post, the gentlemen going back to California may get a job but there is no guarantee of that happening.

I'm sorry that things didn't work out for you here, I hope you are happy in Texas. But I should remind everyone (again) that there is no utopia in the country, what might be paradise for one is anothers hell and Vegas is no different than San Francisco, Miami, NYC, Chicago, LA or DC. I have travelled all over the country looking for places to relocate to and Vegas fit my needs, it still does today.

[Plain Jane 3953]

Well, folks, there will be a new "normal" in the US (and other countries) and the "let's do Vegas thing", inter alia, is going to be a thing of the past for the masses. Most people are not going to be able to afford to get to Vegas, let alone gamble or go for the overpriced entertainment. This recession is just beginning. But hey, if you people living in Vegas think that there is hope for your city, well, don't let me stop you...

[Buzz123]

Here's part two of that article. I still haven't had time to read it.

Vegas dreamers go all in -- latimes.com

Twenty years ago I was in LA reading an article in the LA Times about how hot the real estate market was in Las Vegas since people from SoCal were selling the homes that had cost them $40,000, for $300,000. They were moving to Las Vegas in droves and paying $125,000 cash for new homes and "retiring" on what was left of their profits. The paper was laughing at our stupidity for giving away our land, and letting southern Californians run up the price of real estate. Those homes they thought were bargains at $125,000 had been costing us locals $90,000 or less just before the local politicians, and college coaches, who owned all the land started selling us out, and using tax payer money to build super highways to reach that empty land they were selling to California builders.

Anyway, some of us predicted at the time that LA's overblown housing bubble would eventually burst, and along with it ours would too.

[Golfinnova]

Originally Posted by Plain Jane 3953

Well, folks, there will be a new "normal" in the US (and other countries) and the "let's do Vegas thing", inter alia, is going to be a thing of the past for the masses. Most people are not going to be able to afford to get to Vegas, let alone gamble or go for the overpriced entertainment. This recession is just beginning. But hey, if you people living in Vegas think that there is hope for your city, well, don't let me stop you...

Actually that is not true. The casino resorts have lowered the prices so the tourists are still coming, I played golf with 2 tourists yesterday staying at Lake Las Vegas (one from the Bronx and the other from Montreal) what is happening now instead is that they don't have the dispensible money with them so they are being more frugal. So now they aren't buying the souvenirs as much, using the coupons for the buffets, and budgeting how to spend the little money they bring with them.

Has visitation dropped? Absolutely, however those people aren't going to Disneyland/Disneyworld or DC for the summer to see the museums. My SIL held off taking her son to NYC this summer and she lives in Indiana, so again this is a nationwide issue not just Vegas.

[CaptsMom]

Originally Posted by Buzz123

All I know is what a resident told my friend. For sure someone was going through Sun City stealing lawn ornaments a while back, but that might have been the Geritol Gang.

LOL -- its that 25 percent alcohol content! even us lil ol ladies love pranks!

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by Buzz123

Here's part two of that article. I still haven't had time to read it.

Vegas dreamers go all in -- latimes.com

Twenty years ago I was in LA reading an article in the LA Times about how hot the real estate market was in Las Vegas since people from SoCal were selling the homes that had cost them $40,000, for $300,000. They were moving to Las Vegas in droves and paying $125,000 cash for new homes and "retiring" on what was left of their profits. The paper was laughing at our stupidity for giving away our land, and letting southern Californians run up the price of real estate. Those homes they thought were bargains at $125,000 had been costing us locals $90,000 or less just before the local politicians, and college coaches, who owned all the land started selling us out, and using tax payer money to build super highways to reach that empty land they were selling to California builders.

Anyway, some of us predicted at the time that LA's overblown housing bubble would eventually burst, and along with it ours would too.

Appears the same as part 1...

[Golfinnova]

That's what I thought Olecapt.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by Plain Jane 3953

Well, folks, there will be a new "normal" in the US (and other countries) and the "let's do Vegas thing", inter alia, is going to be a thing of the past for the masses. Most people are not going to be able to afford to get to Vegas, let alone gamble or go for the overpriced entertainment. This recession is just beginning. But hey, if you people living in Vegas think that there is hope for your city, well, don't let me stop you...

Nah...you, like many, simply don't understand how Vegas works. Vegas has to stay pulled in until the economy rebounds but then back to filling all the houses. The masses are actually still coming pretty well now. And on the up surge they will come better...and Vegas will gradually raise prices to whatever it is that the market will bear.

And the Fontainebleau will got finished and the others held will get done and slowly revenue and guests will return to their prior levels.

Watch..Vegas always surprises the unbelievers...