[Buzz123]

We used to be the last to feel the recessions and the first to recover. So what happened? We were practically recession proof at one time.

[Alexander Rusev]

Originally Posted by ramkobe

I can't think of anything else to do in Vegas other than gambling. It would be very boring and too hot to live there I would think.

There also prostitution, David Copperfield, and Wayne Newton. It's not just gambling.

[NLVgal]

Originally Posted by Buzz123

We used to be the last to feel the recessions and the first to recover. So what happened? We were practically recession proof at one time.

I think because the boom hit us like crazy, the crash did too. Housing went to ridiculous highs, the casinos went wild starting new mega-resorts, and banks were selling the risks to people's 401ks, so they didn't care whom they lent to.

When the bottom fell out, housing went to ridiculous lows, the casino guys all panicked and started laying people off, and the media made it sound like Vegas had become another Detroit (which was never true).

None of that was sustainable or realistic, long term. Not the highs, not the lows. You could buy a house here for less than 80k in 2009. You could buy stock in LV Sands for about three bucks a share. If I hadn't been as gripped by fear as most everyone else was then, I'd be sitting pretty right now.

As far as what would happen if gaming went away- I suppose LV would be a smallish town that relied on Nellis AFB, cheap housing, and great proximity to many places. The population would probably decrease by three-quarters. We'd probably become known as a transportation hub (those railroad tracks are still here and we don't get natural disasters much) and a place to host servers and dump nuclear waste.

In fact, the valley might become like it was back in the 80's. No road congestion, a more diversified economy (We had the test-site, and several heavy-industry plants back then), terrible, but cheap food, and crappy entertainment.

[BBMW]

Historically that hasn't been the case. Gaming had been pretty recession proof. People who want to gamble will usually find the money. However as the Vegas casinos have somewhat depricated gaming, and put more emphasis on their other offerings, especially at the high end, they may have made themselves more exposed to recessionary contractions.

Also, the post 2008 hit in Vegas was more from the wipe out of the local construction/real estate industry then the slowdown at the casino. Yes they did slow down, but not nearly as much as construction.

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

Face it, our economy means that if America sneezes economically, we're going to come down with the flu. We're the first to feel the effects of any downturn and the last to recover. And while most of the regulars on the Las Vegas C-D forum weren't wiped out by the recession, many people were. We forget about that inconvenient fact while we trip over ourselves to say how freakin' great the Valley is doing in 2014.

Having more than one major industry in this town would go a long way towards mitigating the worst of the economic lows. But that would require putting the pom-poms away long enough to try to turn this city into something that is attractive to industry.

Our super-low taxes aren't accomplishing squat. We picked up Zappos and an Amazon fulfillment warehouse and next to nothing else. Maybe it's time to admit that being one of the cheapest states in the union isn't producing the expected results. It's not, "At least we're cheap." It's, "At most we're cheap."

[winter-rabbit]

The strength of LV is casinos and entertainment. Build even more casinos and expand the strip. Make it a better convention destination than Orlando.

Diversification is chasing a unicorn. You be good at nothing.

Originally Posted by Buzz123

You know? There are a lot of dying towns in this country that could be revived if they did something like we've done in Nevada, and learned something about the service industry and tourism. Not that I want to see any more competition.

[NLVgal]

Originally Posted by winter-rabbit

The strength of LV is casinos and entertainment. Build even more casinos and expand the strip. Make it a better convention destination than Orlando.

Diversification is chasing a unicorn. You be good at nothing.

It's already a better convention destination than Orlando. Don't get me wrong, I don't even like this town, but I'd sure as hell rather go to a convention here than back to Orlando.

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by Alexander Rusev

There also prostitution, David Copperfield, and Wayne Newton. It's not just gambling.

The only difference between us and them is, we do have Wayne Newton and David Copperfield, and our gambling is legal. Even the smallest towns in America have gambling and prostitution.

Keep in mind though, prostitution is also illegal here.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by Buzz123

The only difference between us and them is, we do have Wayne Newton and David Copperfield, and our gambling is legal. Even the smallest towns in America have gambling and prostitution.

Keep in mind though, prostitution is also illegal here.

Las Vegas is unique. And I mean that sincerely. No other large metropolitan area is surrounded by unpopulated desert as far as the eye can see.

Cleveland and Atlanta were brought up as service economies. Apples and Oranges compared to Las Vegas. Atlanta is surrounded in all directions by rich agricultural land, suburbs, small towns, and INDUSTRY.

For fooks sake: Kia, Honda, Porsche and Lotus have manufacturing and assembly plants in Georgia, within half a day's drive of Atlanta. Then we have all the pecan, peach and peanut farms. Those people need farm equipment. One of them was even elected president. To this day, he has a working peanut and worm farm.

Face it, Atlanta has an economy that doesn't rely on hoovering away money from people who are bad at math. Without gambling, Las Vegas has an Air Force base, a shoe store, and nothing else. Opinions to the contrary are the result of prolonged use of rose-colored lenses and an affinity for pom-poms.

Las Vegas produces next to nothing. America doesn't need Las Vegas. Las Vegas needs America. Big freakin' difference.

[BBMW]

Sounds sorta like Detroit. It worked out well for them.

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

For fooks sake: Kia, Honda, Porsche and Lotus have manufacturing and assembly plants in Georgia, within half a day's drive of Atlanta. Then we have all the pecan, peach and peanut farms. Those people need farm equipment. One of them was even elected president. To this day, he has a working peanut and worm farm.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

Las Vegas is unique. And I mean that sincerely. No other large metropolitan area is surrounded by unpopulated desert as far as the eye can see.

Cleveland and Atlanta were brought up as service economies. Apples and Oranges compared to Las Vegas. Atlanta is surrounded in all directions by rich agricultural land, suburbs, small towns, and INDUSTRY.

For fooks sake: Kia, Honda, Porsche and Lotus have manufacturing and assembly plants in Georgia, within half a day's drive of Atlanta. Then we have all the pecan, peach and peanut farms. Those people need farm equipment. One of them was even elected president. To this day, he has a working peanut and worm farm.

Face it, Atlanta has an economy that doesn't rely on hoovering away money from people who are bad at math. Without gambling, Las Vegas has an Air Force base, a shoe store, and nothing else. Opinions to the contrary are the result of prolonged use of rose-colored lenses and an affinity for pom-poms.

Las Vegas produces next to nothing. America doesn't need Las Vegas. Las Vegas needs America. Big freakin' difference.

Stacking BS higher and deeper does not increase its quality.

All of So CA. is within a half day drive of Las Vegas. So obviously we have an even better integrated economy than Atlanta?

And you don't know the difference between Cleveland, a city which was a center of manufacturing and crashed as a result and Cincinnati which is heavily service oriented?

The payoff for a large manufacturing base is demonstrated by Detroit, St. Louis Cleveland, Buffalo, and many others. The long term outlook has been far better in Las Vegas.

You also need to study the geography of AZ and CA where you will find numerous cities surrounded by underpopulated desert. Tucson, Phoenix, San Bernardino come immediately to mind.