I'm in Vegas with my family.  My grandson turned 21 so we took him to introduce him to some wonderful and wholesome values that he now can legally partake.

WTF.

Hadn't been back since the Scam-demic and everything is expensive now.  As most people from Hawaii we are Downtown and staying at the Cal.

Here are some observations:

Table games are no longer $5 minimum.  Most are $15 and up.  Especially craps, which is my favorite game to play.  Cal used to have a "craps pit" with IIRC 5 tables maybe more.  Now 2 measly tables and so far only one is open.  So stupid.

Restaurants are both expensive and not open all the time.  Seriously?  In Vegas?  This is a (well, used to be) a 24/7 town.  Not anymore.  The Buffet at Main St. Opens daily for brunch only and dinner is offered only on Fri and Sat.  Before you could eat at a whim because everywhere there was someplace to eat.  Now you gotta plan or make reservations.

Got in last night.  I'll post other stuff if it looks interesting enough to share.

Feel free to chime in if any of you have been recently and your thoughts.

Oh yeah, I just came back to the room with coffee from Lappert's.  Large coffee now looks medium, price is like $10 and some change for regular brew, and now they don't have the promotion where you get a free doughnut with a large coffee purchase.  Shiite.

I was there 6 months ago and noticed the same thing.
It didn't bother me because that whole trip was all free anyway.
Retirement gift from the company.

I don't really gamble. I just went to squeeze my grand-babies.

they got staffing issues too so no 24hr service at many places.

they got staffing issues too so no 24hr service at many places.

Yep.  Main St. has a sign by the craps tables saying the craps table will be open on Fridays and Sundays from 9am. to 1am. only.  WTF.  The sign continues to say that the Cal has craps tables for the patrons enjoyment.

Oh ok.  So you go to the Cal and one table is open and it is jam packed.  Gone are the days I used to live at those damn tables.  Many times till the wee hours of the morning.!

We went 5 times last year and a few once Vegas reopened.

Downtown no longer has $5 tables, except Golden Nugget.  Freemont craps table that I played at for the first time I ever saw was empty, I was the only one playing.  Min was $15. Other casinos empty due to having $10-$15 mins.  But Golden Nugget was packed due to their $5 tables. 

Like the Cal, other casinos like NYNY have staffing issues.  NYNY craps table was closed mid day due to no workers. This is the first time I've been there and the craps table was closed.

Other hotels on the strip have $25 min and even higher at night/weekends. Venetian still has $15 craps table during the day time, even on weekends. This is our primary casino. Wynn is $50 on the weekends and higher, same with Aria and Encore. Cosmo has $25 tables, but sometimes $15 craps, 3 card poker during the day. 

After covid, staffing shortages still are a problem, so many places aren't 24/7 anymore. Many buffets also haven't returned like Station Casino (GVR, Red Rock), NYNY, Aria, etc...pre covid, every casino had a buffet.

It seems like Casino's are still trying to recover lost profits when they were closed during covid. So vegas is really no longer an affordable place for the just below mid income as the table mins are much higher, food more expensive, etc...if you're a gambler. 

Add in no more free parking. But Resorts World has free if youre a players card member, which is easy to do. Palazzo and Wynn all charge now.  Miracle Mile began charging a year ago, and was free all these decades.

I hope that Vegas isn't heading toward the direction that mid income people will have a problem going and having the same good time they used to have precovid. But since F1 will be here the next few years, it looks like it's going to continue to cater more toward higher income people.

When I play craps, I bet the inside, I don't play pass line.  So a $15 min table, that's $66 each time.  A $25 table, that's $110. So you can see how this affects me, esp when people PSO, which happens often.

Same goes with Ultimate Texas Holdem, which I like. $15 table, you lose at min $45 a hand if you play no bonus bets. But I do, so it's more like $55-$95 a hand if I 4x odds.  A $25 table would be between $85-$125 a hand.

BTW, I hit ATS at the Venetian last year.  5,5,5. That was fun. 1 lady had 25,25,25. SHe was down like $7K before my roll and had her last few hundred on the table. She had about $14K when I was done. She gave me a few hundred as tip.

iMO, the decline started when Binion's Horseshoe closed the first time.  Once the casino was bought out and the place renovated, it lost that old timey western saloon charm I always enjoyed.  During the bankruptcy, they sold the million dollar display that had been there for decades.  Before they sold it, taking your own pictures in front of the display was encouraged.  Then they posted signs that only photos taken by staff -- for a fee -- was allowed.

i remember walking into the main blackjack area on the Fremont side, and it was .... quiet.  looking around, I saw that the slots around  that long pit area were turned off.  A supervisor explained that the casino has to have enough cash on hand to pay out a jackpot on every game, or it can't operate them.  About half the machines throughout the casino had to be turned off.

Once the place reopened with scantily clad women in cowboy attire, bright lights throughout the place, and noise to rival the busiest Station casino, I stopped going back.  Went from being by favorite downtown casino to bottom of the list.

That's about when i noticed downtown as a whole began changing.  Maybe it was a signal for them to catch up with the times .... that it's not the 1930s anymore?

The next red flag that old Vegas was dying was the restaurants.  Binion's has a prime rib and steak special that couldn't be beat.  They closed that restaurant and went to buffet exclusively.  The food quality sucked.  Fremont had a $6 breakfast special -- 2 eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, ham and coffee.  That went away, too.

Everything has been in a slow decline for years before the pandemic.  That's why there are new casinos downtown now.  Lots of developers and owners lost lots of money in the Obama years starting with the housing crash.  People didn't have the funds to visit (lose), and with low interest rates artificalliy kept low, business borrowed and borrowed to invest.  Many of those properties changed hands when they couldn't repay the debt due to low attendance.

So, after a decade and a half of difficulties, the pandemic hit.  I remember when the Cal hired extra staff to clean each machine after every use when the Norwalk Virus was rampant.  I can't imagine the cost of keeping a casino clean with a more deadly virus.  Many are still afraid of leaving their homes no matter how much the casinos try to clean.

Then came the parking.  It used to be a well-known secret that you could park for free at almost all casinos if you just tipped for valet parking.  Most self-parked thinking valet would charge for parking.  With the additional cost of self parking, i imagince more are using ride shares.  Why spend that money for your car to sit when you can spend it on rides?  Drink all you want -- we're taking an Uber!   

Following that came the "resort fees."  A scam if ever there was one.

Vegas has always catered to the average person by trying to make them feel special so they will feel more free to blow the money they saved on games.  Now, it's a totally new landscape.  With online gaming and casinos in many states' back yards, there's a lot of competition for the gamblers' dollars.  Vegas now caters to the event crowds.  Check out a calendar for Vegas events.  It's packed.  And now Formula 1 racing will be returning in 2024. 

They know conventions and sports events mean lots of people coming just for those things.  Enticing them to come is not needed -- they've already decided to be there for the race, the sports event, the convention, the rodeo, etc.  So, the new Vegas is designed to "sheer the sheep" as quickly and as cheaply as they can.  Hence the high table limits.  From what I've read and seen of videos, the machines are also less "loose" now.

Biden didn't help matters with his high inflation partially caused by all that stimulus money during COVID. 

Vegas used to be in the fantasy business -- an adult Disney Land.  Now it's a typical tourist trap with higher prices and less value.

I only see it getting worse.

iMO, the decline started when Binion's Horseshoe closed the first time.  Once the casino was bought out and the place renovated, it lost that old timey western saloon charm I always enjoyed.  During the bankruptcy, they sold the million dollar display that had been there for decades.  Before they sold it, taking your own pictures in front of the display was encouraged.  Then they posted signs that only photos taken by staff -- for a fee -- was allowed.

i remember walking into the main blackjack area on the Fremont side, and it was .... quiet.  looking around, I saw that the slots around  that long pit area were turned off.  A supervisor explained that the casino has to have enough cash on hand to pay out a jackpot on every game, or it can't operate them.  About half the machines throughout the casino had to be turned off.

Once the place reopened with scantily clad women in cowboy attire, bright lights throughout the place, and noise to rival the busiest Station casino, I stopped going back.  Went from being by favorite downtown casino to bottom of the list.

That's about when i noticed downtown as a whole began changing.  Maybe it was a signal for them to catch up with the times .... that it's not the 1930s anymore?

The next red flag that old Vegas was dying was the restaurants.  Binion's has a prime rib and steak special that couldn't be beat.  They closed that restaurant and went to buffet exclusively.  The food quality sucked.  Fremont had a $6 breakfast special -- 2 eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, ham and coffee.  That went away, too.

Everything has been in a slow decline for years before the pandemic.  That's why there are new casinos downtown now.  Lots of developers and owners lost lots of money in the Obama years starting with the housing crash.  People didn't have the funds to visit (lose), and with low interest rates artificalliy kept low, business borrowed and borrowed to invest.  Many of those properties changed hands when they couldn't repay the debt due to low attendance.

So, after a decade and a half of difficulties, the pandemic hit.  I remember when the Cal hired extra staff to clean each machine after every use when the Norwalk Virus was rampant.  I can't imagine the cost of keeping a casino clean with a more deadly virus.  Many are still afraid of leaving their homes no matter how much the casinos try to clean.

Then came the parking.  It used to be a well-known secret that you could park for free at almost all casinos if you just tipped for valet parking.  Most self-parked thinking valet would charge for parking.  With the additional cost of self parking, i imagince more are using ride shares.  Why spend that money for your car to sit when you can spend it on rides?  Drink all you want -- we're taking an Uber!   

Following that came the "resort fees."  A scam if ever there was one.

Vegas has always catered to the average person by trying to make them feel special so they will feel more free to blow the money they saved on games.  Now, it's a totally new landscape.  With online gaming and casinos in many states' back yards, there's a lot of competition for the gamblers' dollars.  Vegas now caters to the event crowds.  Check out a calendar for Vegas events.  It's packed.  And now Formula 1 racing will be returning in 2024. 

They know conventions and sports events mean lots of people coming just for those things.  Enticing them to come is not needed -- they've already decided to be there for the race, the sports event, the convention, the rodeo, etc.  So, the new Vegas is designed to "sheer the sheep" as quickly and as cheaply as they can.  Hence the high table limits.  From what I've read and seen of videos, the machines are also less "loose" now.

Biden didn't help matters with his high inflation partially caused by all that stimulus money during COVID. 

Vegas used to be in the fantasy business -- an adult Disney Land.  Now it's a typical tourist trap with higher prices and less value.

I only see it getting worse.

I always thought that Boyd properties would be in trouble once grandma and grandma dies, as that's their target audience.  This same audience only stays downtown and rarely goes to the strip.  The younger generation that are under 40 stay on the strip and party. Many don't gamble, but will chip in for a $20,000 table at a night club. Sleep all day and eat and repeat the club scene. So little gambling time. Their parents are slowly retiring, but with HI's high cost of living, many are still working.  So they cannot go to Vegas every other month like how grandpa/grandma does and cause they don't have the disposable income.  Then add in covid where grandparents stopped going due to being high risk.  When I was downtown last year, I didn't see the older generation like how they used to go. Craps table at the fremont had mostly grandpa's with their chair to sit on and a rack of green chips ($25). Grandma's playing slots/Blackjack.

At least the strip figured some stuff out by appealing to the under 40 generation with night clubs and day clubs (pool parties in the summer, closed in the winter).

they got staffing issues too so no 24hr service at many places.

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Looking at the big picture, why does it seem like every business is understaffed?
Where did all the people go? Alien abductions?
Just off the top of my head....
HPD
C&C of Honolulu
The shooting range
my favorite manapua place tried to hire my daughter when we went to buy manapua 

==============
Looking at the big picture, why does it seem like every business is understaffed?
Where did all the people go? Alien abductions?
Just off the top of my head....
HPD
C&C of Honolulu
The shooting range
my favorite manapua place tried to hire my daughter when we went to buy manapua 

The reasons are many,

Lots of parents decided to home school during the pandemic after seeing the dumpster fire that is the public school system.  In a 2 parent home, one could support the family if the other stays home and cooks, takes care of the home, and provides schooling for their kids.

Many people found remote jobs they can do on the internet.  No need to brave public spaces.

Others moved in with family and split the cost of living.  If they qualify for gov't assistance or unemployment, they don't have to work a job just to pay taxes and rent.

Some found jobs where they weren't waiting on the public -- to reduce the chances of coming into contact with COVID.

Then there are the people who gamed the system, getting their hands on more of the relief and stimulus money than they are entitled to.

'Biggest fraud in a generation': The looting of the Covid relief plan known as PPP
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/biggest-fraud-generation-looting-covid-relief-program-known-ppp-n1279664

And now there are fewer college students and grads looking for jobs to pay off their student loans.

The list goes on.

Flapp and CMO are spot on with their observations on the direction Vegas is heading.

Doesn't look good for the regular folks.  I guess it must be working because the major corporations in Vegas is reporting profitable quarters.

I'm far from being a cheapskate.  I don't mind spending money but I do appreciate getting some kind of value out of the money I spend.  I see less and less of it in places like Vegas.

And I STILL cannot get a spot on the craps tables!  Always full of these damn Hawaii old fut grey-haired men spending their measly retirement income on a negative expectation game.

Oh wait.  I just described myself.

==============
Looking at the big picture, why does it seem like every business is understaffed?
Where did all the people go? Alien abductions?
Just off the top of my head....
HPD
C&C of Honolulu
The shooting range
my favorite manapua place tried to hire my daughter when we went to buy manapua 

biden gave money to people during the scam-demic so they didn't have to work.  Our tax money was given out freely and he convinced the masses that the money came from trees.

Now the effects of that snake oil salesman strategy is coming back to bite everyone in the ass except  the snake oil salesmen.

And I STILL cannot get a spot on the craps tables!  Always full of these damn Hawaii old fut grey-haired men spending their measly retirement income on a negative expectation game.

Go Encore where I saw a $1K min table. Just play the hard ways for $1 each. No table min on these bets. Table had about 5 young guys on it. Prob trust fun babies. I know people who work the casino credit and many of these trust fund babies go broke in 5 years.

Give it a few years. I’m sure things will turn around

Go Encore where I saw a $1K min table. Just play the hard ways for $1 each. No table min on these bets. Table had about 5 young guys on it. Prob trust fun babies. I know people who work the casino credit and many of these trust fund babies go broke in 5 years.

i was at the Hard Rock Casino once before I was in the old fogey age bracket.  The music was so loud, it was like they were purposely trying to repel the older crowd because they obviously liked the younger "rock & roller" demographic. 

I picked a $100 minimum table just to see how things would go -- and because the dealer was drop-dead gorgeous!! 

I had the table to myself and was having a pleasant shouting match/conversation with the dealer over the sound of the music, when this kid walked up and plopped down $1,000 -- and his ID.  I guess he knew he'd be carded, so he had it ready.

First hand, he stayed on 12 against a dealer's 10.  Lost.

Next hand, he hit a hard 17 against a dealer 4.  Lost.

Then he doubled down on an 8 against a dealer 10.  Lost.

Three hands, and he was out of chips.  Each time the kid made a play, the dealer and I gave each other a "WTF?" look. 

As he walkedi away, I said, "Must be nice to be playing with somebody else's money."

She  replied, "We get that a lot.  Kids spending their parent's money, and no idea what they're doing."

I doubled my $500 buy-in after about an hour of back and forth and tipped her $50. 

I have a hundred stories like that from Vegas.  It's the main reason I go, really.  You see things you'll probably never see anywhere else.

i was at the Hard Rock Casino once before I was in the old fogey age bracket.  The music was so loud, it was like they were purposely trying to repel the older crowd because they obviously liked the younger "rock & roller" demographic. 

I picked a $100 minimum table just to see how things would go -- and because the dealer was drop-dead gorgeous!! 

I had the table to myself and was having a pleasant shouting match/conversation with the dealer over the sound of the music, when this kid walked up and plopped down $1,000 -- and his ID.  I guess he knew he'd be carded, so he had it ready.

First hand, he stayed on 12 against a dealer's 10.  Lost.

Next hand, he hit a hard 17 against a dealer 4.  Lost.

Then he doubled down on an 8 against a dealer 10.  Lost.

Three hands, and he was out of chips.  Each time the kid made a play, the dealer and I gave each other a "WTF?" look. 

As he walkedi away, I said, "Must be nice to be playing with somebody else's money."

She  replied, "We get that a lot.  Kids spending their parent's money, and no idea what they're doing."

I doubled my $500 buy-in after about an hour of back and forth and tipped her $50. 

I have a hundred stories like that from Vegas.  It's the main reason I go, really.  You see things you'll probably never see anywhere else.

Id be squeezing my cheeks at $100 a hand. $25 makes me nervous.

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Id be squeezing my cheeks at $100 a hand. $25 makes me nervous.

I normally play $25 minimum tables exclusively.  Hard Rock is the only time I ever did the $100 table.  Damned biological urges!!   

I learned over time that the $25 tables keep most of the newbies away.  Those are the ones who join a $5 table with $20 and proceed to ruin a favorable shuffle. Most times when one of those newbies enters a $25 table, they only last a hand or two.  The seasoned players will actually sit out or take a restroom break until that person walks away.

I've bet hundreds on a hand many times, but usually at a $25 table with the cards running hot.  $100 minimum is too rich for my blood in the long run.

Trying to remember the most I've bet -- probably a $100 hand, split twice, and a double-down on 2 of the hands.  That was $500 on the table.  Wound up winning a double, losing a double, and pushing the original hand -- a net tie.   

I was playing the electronic craps game when my son in law came running to me breathless.  He gasped that the craps table has 4 empty slots and he wants me to play with him.

So onward we went on a quest to win millions.  He's never played craps before, only watched videos and apps on the game.

The table minimum was $15.  He bought in for $200.  I was thinking we need a miracle.

Surprisingly, we were racking up the chips for the first 10 minutes or so of the game.  I tried to tell .him to take odds on his passline and Come bets but when he found out how much he had to put out there he decided not to play the odds.
 
So while he was winning even money, he would have won much much more. 

Then the table turned.  And the dice turned cold.  He tried to compensate by putting more bets out there with again, no odds. 

Seven out.  Line away.   He was felted (no chips)

I felt bad so I gave him a Benjamin and told him to go play something else.  He took that Benjamin and played Blackjack.  He came back with a $250 dollar profit.  Good for him.

As for me, I bought in for $1000 and I always stop playing if I lose half.  And that's what happened.  I colored up after losing half my buy-in.  Craps is entertainment for me.  And like a true craps degenerate, I will always swing for the fences.  I'm there to play.  If I wanted to make money I would have thrown that $1000 into our CD.  It's a crazy rollercoaster ride.

A ride that is both exhilarating and depressing at the same time.  "Don't Stress.....Just Press" becomes the craps degenerate's mantra.  It is, after all, a negative expectation game.  Something the craps players understand and accept.

It's been my experience that 9 time out of 10, first time craps players do really well rolling the dice.   Beginner's luck or something.

I ran into a guy I worked with at Hickam AFB and his wife.  I was talking to another coworker from my office at the time.  Crazy we all ran into each other.

We had dinner at the Fremont Seafood Buffet, and that's when they told us (1) after a day of playing and winning a few sessions at poker games, they were still down several hundred bucks, and (2) neither had ever played craps.

You could tell they were angry and depressed they were down so much -- probably more then they'd budgeted.

The other coworker and I said they had to play craps with us.  They just had to bet like we told them, and roll anything but a 7 -- mostly. 

They were doing very well.  So well, in fact, the table perked up and became crowded.  After telling them what to bet on, it was their decision whether to take it down, play the same bet again, or press it up.  They both would wait for a couple of wins before pressing, then after a couple presses started taking bets down as they hit.  I was doing sort of the same, but I'd press twice before taking it.  My other friend was very aggressive and wanted to get her bets as big as possible so they'd make more when they hit-- so pressing mostly with very little taking.

The couple wound up covering all their losses for the trip plus most of their expenses.  The other friend lost all of her buy-in.  I was in between, cashing out with about $450 profit.

That couple was crazy happy!  They told us their trip was turning into a total disaster until craps.  Also, when I got back to work, there was a gift basket on my desk thanking me for educating them on gambling and helping rescue their vacation.  I gave them the standard advice of setting limits, managing their bankroll, knowing how much they need for a session at a specific game, don't drink too much if at all, etc.  The usual things you pick up from books, videos and experience.

Everyone i've introduced to craps has had a similar success with one exception -- my older daughter.  She was more interested in the shows. 

It's been my experience that 9 time out of 10, first time craps players do really well rolling the dice.   Beginner's luck or something.

This past May, we were at Resort World and I bought my friends wife in for $50.  It was a $25 table so she played pass line with even odds.  She made about 12+points.  It was only 2 of us on the table. My bet was the inside for $110.  I wasn't doing to well up to this point so I wasn't as aggressive as I normally am.  She made about $600 after tip and giving me my $50 back.  I made about $1300.

I've never seen anyone make 12+ points.  But me not playing the pass line didn't matter too much as only 1 or 2 were the 4 and 10.

First time shooter and she now wants to go back and play again.