OPINION: The road to fascinating reading by Nevada writers starts here – The Nevada Independent

OPINION: The road to fascinating reading by Nevada writers starts here

This holiday season, give the gift of gritty insider accounts, compelling history and poetic beauty from Silver State scribes.

By John L. Smith, December 14th, 2025 at 2:00 AM

Opinion

Cars drive along the Las Vegas Strip on Aug. 2, 2025. (John Locher/The Associated Press)

Nevada’s literary road winds through fascinating country, some of it rough and rutted and much of it seldom seen by the tourist and tenderfoot.

At this time each year, I like to take a road trip through that rich and strange land and offer a few reading suggestions. Just remember, as that old sign of a bygone era warned travelers on the edge of the known world, “Beyond this place, there be dragons.”

And speaking of dragons, Anthony Cabot’s Casino Redux: Unveiling the Global Casino Network of Chinese Organized Crime is a sweeping compendium of stories about the use of casinos from Las Vegas to Macau for the purposes of money laundering and political influence.

Cabot, the longtime Las Vegas-based gaming law expert and author, knows his material and presents it in a straightforward style that sends a clear message that should alarm anyone concerned about the blending of the underworld and upper world in business and geopolitics.

It’s hardly a spoiler alert that many of the stories emanate from or lead back to the Las Vegas Strip, whose titans have long paid lip service to the fight against money laundering while managing to profit from the movement of illicit cash across the green felt. For those of us who have studied this subject and continue to investigate it, it is a welcome addition to the canon.

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Many of these stories have been told publicly, but their collective weight is a ringing reminder that overwhelmed Nevada regulators are under pressure to fight to maintain the credibility of an industry that traditionally hasn’t been overly motivated to do that for itself.

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Headlines say Vegas is dead. What’s actually going on is more complicated – The Nevada Independent

Headlines say Vegas is dead. What’s actually going on is more complicated.

Tourism leaders say a boost in conventions and major events will revive the Strip, which could be headed toward its first major downturn since the pandemic.

By Howard Stutz, Oona Milliken, and Kiara Adams

August 31st, 2025 at 2:00 AM, Economy Gaming

For the past 25 years, Cleveland residents Esther and Tom McElhinney have regularly vacationed in Las Vegas. But the couple said the high prices and overall experience is getting worse every time. Tom McElhinney said the Strip’s elevated costs are driving them away.

“The food is expensive, hotels are expensive,” Tom McElhinney said standing between Harrah’s Las Vegas and The Linq. “There’s great stuff to do here. I just don’t want to have to pay $400 for every meal. There used to be bargains and going to buffets, but it seems like those are all disappearing.

“You used to be able to play $5 blackjack everywhere, but now everything is high,” Tom McElhinney continued. “The allure here is gone. Vegas is really pricing people out.”

Strip resort operators are facing the industry’s worst economic downturn since the Great Recession 15 years ago. Gaming revenue at Strip resorts has declined in four of the last seven months and is essentially flat compared to 2024. Despite optimism from casino CEOs, analysts expect the Strip to face ongoing challenges into the fall. 

There are also fewer Las Vegas visitors. Through July, the Strip has drawn more than 22.6 million visitors, down by 2 million from a year ago, an 8 percent decline.

Labor Day weekend, normally one of the year’s busiest holidays, is expected to see a nearly 2 percent drop in visitation, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The three-day weekend is expected to draw 320,000 visitors, down from 326,000 a year ago.

One challenge facing resort operators is the message on social media and other platforms is that Las Vegas is overpriced and no longer a value to the travel consumer.

Chicago visitor Patty Steiner said she usually comes every year to Las Vegas. But she’s not making plans to come back in 2026, as airline tickets and other expenses have gone up in cost.

“Everything is high. I just feel like it’s going to be a long road,” Steiner said. “The prices are outrageous. The food is crazy. I’m just very unhappy.”

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill said he doesn’t believe in that narrative. At a media briefing Friday, Hill defended Las Vegas as a value destination and said the market has options to suit all consumers.

“Don’t just believe what you read. Go and do a little bit of work,” Hill said. “Call a travel agent, call on the properties. See what the price of Las Vegas really is, rather than some general headline that, frankly, is not accurate.”

Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.

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OPINION: Vegas isn’t fun anymore if you’re on a budget – The Nevada Independent

By Michael Schaus, July 24th, 2025 at 2:00 AM, Opinion

Las Vegas can withstand a few bad business trends, just as it can withstand a few national economic headwinds. When both are occurring simultaneously, however, it portends bad things for our local economy. 

So far this summer, Las Vegas area hotels have seen “one of the steepest year-over-year performance declines” of any American market, according to Travel Weekly. Passenger totals fell almost 3.7 percent through May at Harry Reid International Airport, and the slew of summer deals being promoted heavily by major resorts indicates things aren’t rapidly improving.  

Those who are familiar with the industry rightly point out that “national headwinds” have played a considerable role in so many disappointing economic numbers from recent years. 

President Donald Trump’s erratic and arbitrary implementation of “reciprocal” tariffs, for example, have plunged much of the world into a state of economic uncertainty; and as much as anything else, uncertainty is bad news for an economy largely dependent on individuals spending frivolously on luxury entertainment options. 

Making matters worse is that the price increases created by Trump’s whimsical taxation of certain imports are likely just now beginning to be felt. While inflation rates remain relatively low, supply chains have become disrupted and consumer prices still remain elevated — meaning even without massive inflation, consumers and businesses will still feel squeezed by federal policies that replace carefully negotiated trade agreements with sporadic proclamations made via Truth Social [Editor’s Note: link removed].

Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.

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