Las Vegas Faces Major Crisis That Was Completely Predictable. Can It Be Fixed?
Does Las Vegas have a major problem on its hands?
Las Vegas is one of the most popular tourism destinations in the world, and as OutKick readers know, I can't get enough of Sin City.
Whether it's gambling at the Wynn, shooting automatic weapons or ripping Coors Banquets at Hogs & Heifers, I've never struggled to have a great time.
However, there have been growing red flags, and it appears a breaking point might be being reached.
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Is Las Vegas facing a tourism crisis?
New tourism numbers paint a very dark picture for Sin City, and it might be time for the city to take a hard look in the mirror.
A late March report from Harry Reid International Airport - the main hub tourists travel through - showed international visitors dropped a staggering 19.6% from January to February, according to KNPR. Domestic travelers were down 6.9% during the same time span, and a total of four million passengers came to the airport in February, according to the same report. That's a 7.5% decline from February 2024.
The horrible numbers don't stop there.
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported that visitors were down almost 12% from the same time a year ago in February 2024.
No matter how you slice it, Vegas is bleeding visitors, and for a city and state that relies on tourism for money, it appears a nightmare scenario is unfolding.
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It shouldn't surprise anyone. There have been growing complaints for a long time that Las Vegas is getting way too expensive and corporate.
At some point, people are going to decide enough is enough, and visit elsewhere. Everything has a breaking point. Las Vegas is no different.
While I love visiting Vegas and won't stop going, even I scoff at some of the prices and ridiculousness I see in casinos. I've seen bottles of water on sale for $10, a single beer costs more than $12 and the gambling on the strip is a joke.
Instead of having games that are standard, casinos rob tourists who don't know better with 6:5 blackjack and triple-zero roulette. Never play those games. Refuse to. Find games with actual odds that don't make winning impossible.
Many Las Vegas casinos feature terrible gambling odds. (Credit: Getty Images Creatives)
If Las Vegas wants to see a bump in tourism it should at least attempt to trim the fat when it comes to price gouging. It's an incredible city full of awesome things to do, but the fact tourism is declining is a sign that people are moving on. As a Vegas fan, I hate to see it, but corporations running the mega-casinos only have themselves to blame. Get back to what it was ten years ago, and I'm sure tourism numbers will, once again, explode.