Only 3.1 million people visited Sin City in June<\/a>, down 11.3% compared to last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).<\/p>\nSocial media users have called out the high prices of everything\u00a0from dining\u00a0to parking, citing these and other reasons for staying away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Robby Starbuck, conservative activist and host of \u201cThe Robby Starbuck Show,\u201d told Fox News Digital it is not just prices that are keeping people out of Vegas.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow nearly everyone under 40 who bets seems to do\u00a0it online,\u201d\u00a0Starbuck said this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know one person under 40 who goes to Vegas regularly to bet or play slots,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis trend will continue with younger people because, honestly, our minds are wired differently.\u201d<\/p>\n
The\u00a0U.S. online gambling\u00a0market in 2024 was estimated at $12.68 billion, according to Grand View Research.<\/p>\n
Tom Reeg, Caesars Entertainment CEO, said it would be a \u201csoft summer\u201d on a recent earnings call, according to local reports.<\/p>\n
The latest statistics confirm the social chatter that\u00a0Las Vegas tourism\u00a0has hit a dramatic low. lucky-photo \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
Starbuck said generational differences also could be pushing down the popularity of visiting Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother differentiator is that\u00a0older generations\u00a0focused on real-life interaction, while younger generations feel just as content with parasocial online experiences,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Vegas marketing image is one centered on slots and showgirls, two things young people have no interest in,\u201d said Starbuck.<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cThe typical casino feel and marketing just won\u2019t be as successful with young people who have 40 options to gamble\u00a0on their phones\u00a0from the comfort of their own home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Only 3.1 million people visited Sin City in June, down 11.3% compared to last year. SvetlanaSF \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
An additional generational difference, Starbuck pointed out, is that younger generations are ditching the bottle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYounger generations\u00a0drink alcohol\u00a0at lower rates than older generations did at their age. That\u2019s going to have a material impact on the Vegas business model if young people drink less,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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The number of people in their 20s who chose to abstain\u00a0from alcohol\u00a0more than doubled between 2001 and 2019, going from 9% to 22%, according to a 2019 National Drug Strategy Household survey. And a recent Gallup survey found that roughly 38% of adults under age 35 now identify as fully abstaining from alcohol.<\/p>\n
In addition, more than a quarter of Gen Z respondents felt \u201cvery concerned\u201d about the potential\u00a0health effects\u00a0of drinking alcohol,\u00a0according to Civic Science.<\/p>\n
Hotel rates down, too<\/p>\n
The hotel industry is also feeling the burn of fewer visitors.<\/p>\n
Occupancy rates dropped 6.5%, while average daily room rates have lowered to $163.64 \u2013 down 6.6%, according to the LVCVA.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a 43-story\u00a0hotel and casino\u00a0has been put on an indefinite pause, SF Gate reported.<\/p>\n
The property has a prime location on the Vegas strip and will remain an empty lot for parking for now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Starbuck said he\u2019s been to Las Vegas a number of times in his life and doesn\u2019t see himself visiting again unless there is a change.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The hotel industry is also feeling the burn of fewer visitors, according to reports. Kristof \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it feels like a place where I can see the future and bring my\u00a0whole family, then you\u2019ll see me in Vegas again,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout that kind of transformation, Vegas is in trouble in the coming decades,\u201d he predicted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Vegas wants to win with young people in the future, it\u2019s going to have to transition to a must-see destination that makes you feel like you have just entered the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The latest statistics confirm the social chatter that\u00a0Las Vegas tourism\u00a0has hit a dramatic low, with some even calling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50646,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[64,63,32932,21944,7747,137,42821,2623,1625,514,515,3792],"class_list":{"0":"post-50645","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-casino","11":"tag-gambling","12":"tag-gen-z","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-holiday-travel","15":"tag-las-vegas","16":"tag-lifestyle","17":"tag-mental-health","18":"tag-mentalhealth","19":"tag-travel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}