https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/las-vegas-strip/younger-more-singles-is-las-vegas-drawing-a-different-crowd-of-tourists/

Lot of stats to digest about visitors. Gambling remains about the same. Less nights as demographics (younger, higher income, shorter stays (other studies say less people to the Strip as well). Strip is getting less senior.and non-adult with retired Canadians in particular staying home (and as an aside US tourism to Canada has dropped double digits in 2025 despite the favorable exchange rate- we had to postpone our trip to Canada this summer as the tour operator cancelled due to lack of interest). About 5 percent are just coming for sports or concerts.

One trend that is apparent in repeat visitors to Vegas is that more are here to visit others as the Vegas area keeps growing. Stage Casinos (the higher end brand that is in suburban areas) is expanding rapidly and is having record financial performance. Vegas Valley is booming led by Henderson, which is the fastest growing city (in terms of population growth) in the country since 2023.

I'm sure Tom will have a lot to say about the heathen young-ens on the strip.

I'll pass.

Sphere Las Vegas Ticket Prices How Much Does It Cost in 2026?

It is such an interesting city from an economic development perspective where you have this whole ecosystem that digests and reacts to this kind of fine grain economic data.

But I think if I were king for the day I would have long ago put in place something like a sovereign wealth fund. Ultimately tourism is a challenging strategy - because productivity gains have been limited it tends to be a low wage industry. Vegas is better than most because of the presence of organized labor (which in part reflects initial capital to build hotels) but it still is a pretty challenging environment. A fund where say 1% of TOT flowed into ways to diversify their economy (start up ecosystem, angel funds, tech transfer) would have been a fantastic thing. Hard now. Tourism wants every penny and more. But if they had been forward loooking three decades ago they really would be rocking and rolling.

socaltownie said:

---

It is such an interesting city from an economic development perspective where you have this whole ecosystem that digests and reacts to this kind of fine grain economic data.

But I think if I were king for the day I would have long ago put in place something like a sovereign wealth fund. Ultimately tourism is a challenging strategy - because productivity gains have been limited it tends to be a low wage industry. Vegas is better than most because of the presence of organized labor (which in part reflects initial capital to build hotels) but it still is a pretty challenging environment. A fund where say 1% of TOT flowed into ways to diversify their economy (start up ecosystem, angel funds, tech transfer) would have been a fantastic thing. Hard now. Tourism wants every penny and more. But if they had been forward loooking three decades ago they really would be rocking and rolling.

---

Good post. Yes, the big move is to diversify. The tax friendly environment and location near Los Angeles off the I-15 has meant:

1) studios development though the Governor's plan for subsiidizing studios met with bipartisan opposition in the legislature
2) retirement communities and areas, especially for the more affluent
3) logistical and distribution centers utilizing its location, 4-hour proximity to Southern California ports, and I-15 access.
4) lot of data centers (this also is due to surplus land).
5) corporate headquarters.

Tourism, gaming, and hospitality still provide over $100,000,000 Billion, making the economy less diversified than other cities of similar size.

wifeisafurd said:

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I'm sure Tom will have a lot to say about the heathen young-ens on the strip.

---

I'll keep it brief.





If you want the context, ask Chat to comment on whether this book is appropriate for considering the growth of Las Vegas.

Is the book also appropriate to consider a populist leader such as Trump ?



Yes, many commentators and scholars consider Amusing Ourselves to Death relevant when analyzing the rise of populist political figures such as Donald Trump. The connection comes from the book's central argument about how media formats shape public discourse.

Postman's Core Idea

Neil Postman argued that television transforms politics into entertainment-oriented performance. His thesis was that when public communication is dominated by visual entertainment media:
Messages must be short, dramatic, and emotionally engaging
Complex policy discussion becomes less effective
Political success can depend on persona, spectacle, and narrative

He suggested that the medium encourages politics to resemble show business.

Why Analysts Apply It to Modern Populism

Observers sometimes apply Postman's framework to contemporary leadersincluding Trumpbecause of several factors:

1. Politics as Performance

Trump had a long television presence, particularly through the reality TV show The Apprentice. Some analysts argue that this background helped him develop a performative communication style suited to television and social media.

2. Media Attention Dynamics

Postman wrote that television rewards attention-grabbing moments over sustained argument. Trump's communication stylefrequent rallies, provocative statements, and strong messaginghas often generated significant media coverage and attention, which analysts sometimes interpret through Postman's framework.

3. Simplified Messaging

Populist movements often rely on clear slogans and emotionally resonant narratives. Scholars studying media and politics note that this kind of messaging can fit well within the fast-paced formats that Postman critiqued.

Important Context

It's also worth noting:
Postman wrote the book in 1985, before the internet and social media.
His critique focused primarily on television culture, not specific political figures.
Analysts apply his ideas retrospectively to many modern politicians across different countries, not only Trump.

Broader Interpretation

Some scholars argue that Postman's argument applies to modern political communication generally, including:
television news formats
social media platforms
viral political messaging

Under this interpretation, the issue is less about one leader and more about how media systems shape political discourse.



If you're interested, there is also a famous passage in Postman's book comparing two dystopian visionsone from Nineteen Eighty-Four and one from Brave New Worldthat many people use today to frame debates about modern politics and media.

It's one of the most widely quoted sections of the book. I can show it to you if you'd like.


Yes. Go on.




The most famous passage in Amusing Ourselves to Death is Neil Postman's comparison between two dystopian visions:
George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four
Aldous Huxley's Brave New World

Postman argued that people often worry about Orwell's dystopia, but the real danger may be Huxley's.



Orwell's Fear

In Nineteen Eighty-Four, the threat comes from oppression.
Information is restricted
Books are banned
The state controls truth
People are forced into obedience

The public loses freedom because powerful authorities suppress knowledge.



Huxley's Fear

In Brave New World, the threat is the opposite.
There is too much information
People are constantly entertained
Pleasure and distraction dominate life
Citizens stop caring about truth or depth

Freedom fades not because information is hidden, but because people are overwhelmed with amusement and triviality.



Postman's Famous Conclusion

Postman summarized the contrast roughly like this:
Orwell feared those who would ban books.
Huxley feared that no one would want to read them.
Orwell feared truth would be concealed.
Huxley feared truth would be drowned in irrelevance.
Orwell feared captivity.
Huxley feared distraction.



Why People Still Quote This Today

When people apply Postman's idea to modern politics, media, or figures like Donald Trump, the argument usually isn't that we live in an Orwellian censorship regime.

Instead, the claim is closer to Postman's Huxley-style concern:

Public discourse becomes dominated by:
spectacle
viral moments
slogans
outrage cycles
entertainment framing

In that environment, attention becomes the scarce resource, and whoever can command it often dominates the conversation.



A Simple Way to Think About Postman

His thesis can be condensed to one idea:

When entertainment becomes the dominant form of communication, serious discourse must either become entertaining or disappear.

That idea has been applied to:
cable news
political rallies
social media
influencer culture
cities built around spectacle like Las Vegas

all phenomena that reward attention and performance.



Interestingly, Postman wrote this in 1985, before:
the internet
smartphones
social media

Many readers feel his argument looks even more relevant now than when he wrote it.

So then, Trump and Vegas and postman ho hand in hand?



Yesconceptually they can fit together, but it's helpful to understand how and why rather than saying they are literally the same thing.

The framework comes from Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman.

His central claim was:

Modern media environments reward entertainment value, spectacle, and emotional impact more than careful reasoning.

Under that lens, Las Vegas, Trump, and Postman's thesis can be seen as related phenomena.



1. Las Vegas: The Physical Version of Entertainment Culture

Las Vegas is essentially entertainment logic made into a city.

Everything is designed to:
capture attention
stimulate emotion
overwhelm the senses
keep people engaged

It's an environment where spectacle is the product.

That fits perfectly with Postman's warning that culture could become show business first, substance second.



2. Trump: Politics Operating in the Same Attention Economy

Donald Trump rose to prominence partly through television, including The Apprentice.

Observers who use Postman's framework often point to things like:
dramatic messaging
memorable slogans
media dominance through controversy
rallies resembling entertainment events

Those tactics are very effective in an environment where attention is the scarce commodity.

In Postman's theory, the political system begins to resemble the logic of television entertainment.



3. The Deeper Link: Performance Culture

The real connection isn't "Trump = Las Vegas."

The deeper connection is that both operate within the same cultural system Postman described.

That system rewards:
spectacle
personality
emotional intensity
simple narratives
constant visibility

In that environment:
cities become themed entertainment zones (Las Vegas)
politics becomes performance-driven
news becomes infotainment



4. Postman's Prediction

Postman worried that in a show-business culture:
the best performer may outcompete the best thinker
political discourse shifts toward entertainment value
public attention becomes fragmented and short-lived

His concern was not about any specific politician.

It was about the structure of the media environment itself.



A Short Way to Summarize It

You could say:

Las Vegas is the architectural expression of entertainment culture.
Trump-style politics is the political expression of the same culture.
Postman described the cultural system that makes both possible.



There's also a very interesting historical irony here that many people miss:

Donald Trump actually tried to build his empire partly inside Las Vegas, which makes the symbolic overlap with Postman's ideas even more striking.

If you want, I can also show you why Las Vegas may be one of the most "Postman-esque" cities in the entire worldeven more than Times Square or Hollywood. It's a fascinating cultural story.

I guess you were right.
Plenty to say.
Except that I didn't say it.

I want to have one life's goal that I can accomplish even though I'm too lazy to do much. And thus, that goal of mine is to never go to Las Vegas. What an inauthentic, glitzy-ass, superficial place! Of course, I could be wrong; I've never actually been there myself!

I'll say more….

1.
It's great for locals to know that their economy is growing. New infrastructure, new roads new stores and restaurants are all nice things.

Good for all y'all.


2.
Water issues?


3.
Personal curiosity:
How much new solar PV infrastructure is being added for the local grid?


4. The growing metro size benefits outlined in #1 above only happen if the population is expanding. And we've discussed population and economic growth issues before in OT.

What's the #1 driver of GDP?
Consumption.
What's the #1 driver of Consumption?
Population.
So if you want a growing economy you need a growing population.
In USA the fertility rate has dropped to 1.65 kids per woman, far below replacement rate of 2.1.

(Italy and Japan have tons of old villages with nobody to live there. No plumbers or electricians. No post office. No schools. Empty buildings and the remaining elderly population has a crappy existence.)

So the only way to flip that is by importing from elsewhere. Immigration.

Vegas has immigration. USA has immigration. But not every nation or every part of the USA has immigration.

The MAGA ICE xenophobic policies are ANTI-GROWTH.

You don't get #1 without either having more kids on your own OR stealing from elsewhere. Vegas is taking from elsewhere.

It's an interesting paradox. I'm not in favor of global human population growth. I am for new and growing economy.

Per capita productivity gains are a driver of GDP growth, too! Not just people.
Technology gains lead to productivity gains.
Therefore, I'm pro- robots and AI, even if it means job displacements. Net, it's all a productivity boost.

The interesting thing is, who profits in society from these gains? Everyone? Or a shrinking minority who creates the tools of the gains?

We don't want concentration of wealth, but that's happening.
So, how to spread the wealth?
We (I) want to reward innovation, and are not pro-wealth redistribution. But putting 50% of wealth in the hands of 1% is not a healthy society. So then we ARE discussing taxation and wealth redistribution, which makes me uncomfortable.

Play it like a simulation game. Ever play SimCity?

What are the right policies?

There, Wife, that oughta give you some things to chew on. I'm curious to read your thoughts.
Is this anywhere along the lines of what you were looking for?

Knee jerk responses here. Wind it up and go.

I'm pro growth, pro immigration, pro productivity gains, pro technology, pro global population leveling, pro big-middle-class, pro environmental protection, and that all creates difficult consequences:

What to do with places that end up losing population? Deconstruction of their decaying human footprint??

How to justify taking of wealth that has become concentrated?

Both are very difficult for me to address in my head.

I don't have that Sim'ed out in my head.

socaltownie said:

---

It is such an interesting city from an economic development perspective where you have this whole ecosystem that digests and reacts to this kind of fine grain economic data.

But I think if I were king for the day I would have long ago put in place something like a sovereign wealth fund. Ultimately tourism is a challenging strategy - because productivity gains have been limited it tends to be a low wage industry. Vegas is better than most because of the presence of organized labor (which in part reflects initial capital to build hotels) but it still is a pretty challenging environment. A fund where say 1% of TOT flowed into ways to diversify their economy (start up ecosystem, angel funds, tech transfer) would have been a fantastic thing. Hard now. Tourism wants every penny and more. But if they had been forward loooking three decades ago they really would be rocking and rolling.

---

Reading this off my prior post, reactions:

In these Sim games you can choose how you want to build your city. You can build new stadiums, or science centers, or universities, or you can build energy infrastructure via development of natural resources.
Vegas initial strategy was like a Sim, and now they must diversify, which also happens in the game. It's a challenging process.

Vegas tourism/gambling is a classic example of "if you build it they will come". (Field of Dreams)

Your 1% diverted for the diversification process is a form of wealth redistribution I mentioned above. What do the traditional republican minds (not this current MAGA nonsense, which is an ideological joke) say to that?
Are you gonna pull 1% from Elon and bezos and Waltons and Warren Buffett? Sounds like Elizabeth Warren and her 2% plan.

wifeisafurd said:

---

I'm sure Tom will have a lot to say about the heathen young-ens on the strip.

---

I'll leave the prior morality reaction alone here. Not currently interesting to me because I'm not staring at it as I was before.

The introduction of Postman above was a commentary on sociology issues, not moral ones.

Healthy society requires healthy people who are well educated and thoughtful, not mindless thrill seekers.
Healthy democracy requires a healthy and engaged electorate. Enough said there but hopefully there's a distinction between morality and sociological considerations.

concordtom said:

---

I'll say more….

1.
It's great for locals to know that their economy is growing. New infrastructure, new roads new stores and restaurants are all nice things.

Good for all y'all.


2.
Water issues?


3.
Personal curiosity:
How much new solar PV infrastructure is being added for the local grid?


4. The growing metro size benefits outlined in #1 above only happen if the population is expanding. And we've discussed population and economic growth issues before in OT.

What's the #1 driver of GDP?
Consumption.
What's the #1 driver of Consumption?
Population.
So if you want a growing economy you need a growing population.
In USA the fertility rate has dropped to 1.65 kids per woman, far below replacement rate of 2.1.

(Italy and Japan have tons of old villages with nobody to live there. No plumbers or electricians. No post office. No schools. Empty buildings and the remaining elderly population has a crappy existence.)

So the only way to flip that is by importing from elsewhere. Immigration.

Vegas has immigration. USA has immigration. But not every nation or every part of the USA has immigration.

The MAGA ICE xenophobic policies are ANTI-GROWTH.

You don't get #1 without either having more kids on your own OR stealing from elsewhere. Vegas is taking from elsewhere.

It's an interesting paradox. I'm not in favor of global human population growth. I am for new and growing economy.

Per capita productivity gains are a driver of GDP growth, too! Not just people.
Technology gains lead to productivity gains.
Therefore, I'm pro- robots and AI, even if it means job displacements. Net, it's all a productivity boost.

The interesting thing is, who profits in society from these gains? Everyone? Or a shrinking minority who creates the tools of the gains?

We don't want concentration of wealth, but that's happening.
So, how to spread the wealth?
We (I) want to reward innovation, and are not pro-wealth redistribution. But putting 50% of wealth in the hands of 1% is not a healthy society. So then we ARE discussing taxation and wealth redistribution, which makes me uncomfortable.

Play it like a simulation game. Ever play SimCity?

What are the right policies?

There, Wife, that oughta give you some things to chew on. I'm curious to read your thoughts.
Is this anywhere along the lines of what you were looking for?

Knee jerk responses here. Wind it up and go.

I'm pro growth, pro immigration, pro productivity gains, pro technology, pro global population leveling, pro big-middle-class, pro environmental protection, and that all creates difficult consequences:

What to do with places that end up losing population? Deconstruction of their decaying human footprint??

How to justify taking of wealth that has become concentrated?

Both are very difficult for me to address in my head.

I don't have that Sim'ed out in my head.

---

1) yes, the Strip provides and tax base and jobs and infrastructure and since the Strip basically is selling entertainment, also provides also adds to the social life for resident or part time residents with concerts, sports, etc. The Strip provides around 300K in jobs, which means with a population now around 2.4 million, 2.1 people in the LV Valley are doing something else. It is estimated that around 20% of those 2.4 million are retired. So think of smaller Phoenix without the more diverse economic base.


2) Water and Development. Currently they have sufficient water for the next several hundred years for the present population. 12 years of reserves in Lake Mead, 300,000 acre feet or so annual water rights from the Colorado River, 117 billion gallons of stored water in underground aquifers, and very strict water conservation (nearly 100% of water used indoors is recycled, one-day-a-week watering schedules, a ban on non-functional grass, etc.). That said, there are limits on development, since the Valley will run out of usable land unless the BLM opens up land for development.

3) Don't know. The electric company does use solar and a lot of alternatives. As for home solar, the electric company, which is owned by Warren Buffet and affiliates, is fairy hostile, and rates are low, so the people that put up solar tend to do so strictly for personal environmental beliefs, like us.

4) Immigration, etc: AI tells me California has a slightly higher racial and ethnic diversity index than Nevada and can't really get info on a city by city basis. Again AI says the Vegas Valley has around 200,000 illegals is like 6% or the population. AI says that is on the high side relative to the country. I'm assuming the entry level jobs in hospitality are a draw. So your comment about immigration is on point.

5) Not sure how to respond to a lot of the rest. One thing is while CA is tied for the 4th worst GINI coefficient, Nevada is tied for 12th place. Las Vegas probably is worse than the State level with a higher concentration of extreme wealth ( a lot of tax refugees from CA and now WA) with lower wage hospitality employees. This is income distribution, as opposed to the wealth (no really good numbers on the latter). There is a much bigger middle class in the Vegas area due to the affordability of housing.

1) yes, the Strip provides and tax base and jobs and infrastructure and since the Strip basically is selling entertainment, also provides also adds to the social life for resident or part time residents with concerts, sports, etc. The Strip provides around 300K in jobs, which means with a population now around 2.4 million, 2.1 people in the LV Valley are doing something else. It is estimated that around 20% of those 2.4 million are retired. So think of smaller Phoenix without the more diverse economic base.

Just to correct an error here. Population is not the same as labor force. Usually about 60% (way too lazy to pull census data on Vegas). So if that holds you still have 30% of DIRECT employment on the strip. That is a huge percentage and makes Vegas and New Orleans among the most tourism dependent economies in the countyr.


The "special sauce" of vegas is its very quick pivots to what the market wanted. Gaming has always been core but we went thorugh family vegas to sexy vegas to now bougiiee vegas as what would attract key leisure travel has evolved.

Moreove, vegas wonderfully navigated the crisis of gaming expansion, figuring that it could create a product that could not be had at your local indian casino.

But I think a few things should worry vegas which are not easily solved through pivots.....

1) The near collapse of alcohol use about 20 and 30 somethings. It is really impacting the hospitality industry and I have to believe that Vegas is no different - with needing to generate a ton of margins on that to support the expense of food.

2) The rise of experiencial and especially outdoor recreation. Vegas has some great state parks. But 20 and 30 somethings are overrunning places like Zion.

3) Foreign travel. This year has been tough for the industry., Being in conflict with Canda, Europe and China is NOT good for vegas and especially in respect to whales from East Asia.

Diversificiation of the economy is so important. But it does run up against the challenges that the quality of life in Vegas is still "meh" and isn't great when it is 105 and the wind is kicking up dust.

Nice reply.

And it just dawned on me….
You may have read elsewhere that I'm taking care of my mother with Alzheimer's now.

If I moved her to your neighborhood we could save 6 figures a year in taxes alone.