To address the 90,000 rooms being empty in Vegas:
The CEO's admit that they are catering to the higher end Vegas visitor (the whales).
And they don't want the "savvy" gambler/visitors. These are the experienced visitors that know the best odds on games, know the player programs and how to take advantage of them, know the games that has the lowest house edge, etc. etc.
But I think they were still banking on the "newbie" Vegas visitors. These are the clueless, come of age people that don't know any better and just want to have a great time. They don't know anything about which games to play or which slots have better pay-outs. And they don't know or care that that bottle of beer they bought for $11 cost only $3 a couple of years ago.
I believe these are the people the CEO's were hoping to fill those empty rooms left by the more savvy players. These people will be willing to pay the resort fees, parking fees, and $50 burgers and $26 waters that are now defining the Strip.
Problem is, we live in the social media age. Where information is shared and available in a microsecond. People are sharing and in that sharing is valuable information and experiences being absorbed by the newbies prior to them visiting Vegas.
Maybe the CEO's overlooked this aspect and now the "newbies" are also informed about the rip-offs waiting for them in Vegas.
And they too, are not coming.
I just can't see how the CEO's and their cohorts can just bank on the whales alone.
Whales don't occupy regular rooms, don't eat at McD's and the like, and won't be seen dead at the Food Halls, what few buffets are left, and the ABC's and Walgreens that dot the landscape of the Strip.
The whales will look around, see all the empty places and say "F*ck this, this is boring, I'm going somewhere else......"