Gambling Mecca Las vegas hits the skids

Gambling Mecca Las vegas hits the skids

Casinos empty out as American hold tightly to money


Las Vegas, once the entertainment hotspot of the United States has been particularly hit hard by the economic recession. Casinos are empty, hotels are left largely vacant and many are unable to find work. There is little hope that the return of tourists will revive the city and the state anytime soon.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to the New York Times, the nation's gambling capital as its deepest economic rut since casinos first began rising in the desert there in the 1940s. While city leaders remain hopeful that gambling revenues will rebound with the nation's economy, this won't address the losses suffered due to the collapse of the construction industry, which was the other economic pillar of the city and the state of Nevada.

Unemployment in Nevada is 14.4 percent, the highest in the nation. Unemployment was 3.8 percent just ten years ago.

In Las Vegas, joblessness is at 14.7 percent. August was the 44th consecutive month in which Nevada led the nation in housing foreclosures.

The Plaza Hotel and Casino has announced that it was laying off 400 workers and closing its hotel and parts of its casino for eventual renovation.

"It's been in bad shape before, but not this bad," David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas says. "If you look at the gaming revenues, they have declined and continue to decline over the past three years.

"September 11 set off a two-year slowdown," Schwartz said. "But nothing of this magnitude."
Mayor Oscar Goodman, while optimistic about Las Vegas' future, admits that "Our daily room rate average is not what it was. Our hotel room rates are bargains now. People aren't spending on gambling as they have in the past.

"Ordinarily Las Vegas was the last to go into a recession and the first to come out. This one is different. As soon as they feel secure in their financial position, then Las Vegas will come back stronger than ever."

The decline in gambling revenues tracks historical trends, as Americans cut back on recreational travel and gambling during a recession.

"I think we are bumping along the bottom," said Stephen Brown, the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, which has been tracking the downturn. "Expectations are that once the U.S. economy turns around, the gaming industry will begin to improve."