Betting on Las Vegas

The New York Times reports today on the slowing Vegas economy.

Gambling now constitutes 50% less of the local economy than it once did (41% vs 58% in 1990). We've already got 130,000 hotel rooms but there are 40,000 more about to come on the market. The Tropicana's parent company is declaring bankruptcy, and foreclosure proceedings have begun on a $760 million loan financing the Cosmopolitan hotel and casino project. (I've heard a rumor that there was some slowdown with work at City Center but haven't been able to verify it...)

There's a huge amount of construction still underway. But it looks like the casinos have overshot the mark. Foreign visitors are already taking advantage of the weak dollar, and U.S. visitors may be looking at cheaper rooms here as well for the next couple of years.

Also, a couple of recent posts on Summerlin Centre and the Vegas civic center.