An empty Oz

I was lying on my $20 hotel room bed waiting for a friend to text me when the Las Vegas news came on. Of course one of the major news stories was how the economy has effected the major casino companies in town. Apparently the Wynn is the only one doing relatively okay. So after I decided to stay another day to try and see an old friend I thought I'd check out the new Wynn.

The Wynn was beautiful and very red. Since I had won a bit of money at video poker I treated myself to a nice lunch. Sausage flatbread and a nice glass of Soave. Mmmmmmm..... Soave.

After lunch I took a drive down the strip. Most tourists take photos of the casinos and other attractions, I was more interested in the abandoned construction sites. I did see an elevator moving on City Center, a slight sign of life. Las Vegas had been a boom town for so long but how sustainable can that be even without an economic down turn. It's the law of diminishing returns. If you build too many casinos the revenue per casino is going to drop.

Then couple that with a recession and you've got an economy that is set to implode. A year ago a hotel room at the mid level hotels was going for $250 to $300 on Friday and Saturday nights. Now they are floating around $100. It will be interesting to see how long the major casino chains can hold out before there is more consolidation on the market or closure of existing casinos. It's just one more industry on the brink of collapse.