Land-based casinos can be found all over the world, and we see more of them being built everywhere. It’s kinda hard to imagine that this industry crashing into bankruptcy and obscurity.
However, it actually happens more often than you’d think it would. Like any business, land-based casinos are sometimes poorly managed, lose too much money, or become vulnerable to downturns.
In Vegas, hotel rooms can range from dirt-cheap to mid-range, depending on the season, while over some weekends, prices can reach astronomic levels. Market flows have played their part in this game as well. Sometimes hotels are overcrowded because of high demand, and sometimes casinos have grown so large that they can’t find enough people to fill their rooms, so prices drop.
Sometimes casinos keep their physical structure intact to avoid increasing costs. This will affect their prices in one way or another, either by lowering the quality of their service, or increasing prices during peak season. This has happened in Vegas over and over again.
The recent financial boom was the largest ever; but when the crash finally came it left a series of stalled construction sites all over Vegas. Today there are several empty shells and skeletal structures sitting right next to the fabulous casino palaces.
Casinos are truly amazing creations. They’re built like palaces because money was not an obstacle when they were built. Vegas is one of those wonders of the world that is impossible to describe with words, all of which was built on that small percentage that the house makes with each game.
Ancient sites like the pyramids in Egypt or the Coliseum in Rome are all filled with history and glory, but whatever you may find around the world, you must always visit Vegas.
The large historic economic fluctuations have all left a number of exciting projects all over the world.
I wish I had seen the Titanic, or visited the Great Wall of China, but land-based casinos hold a totally different meaning to me.
You might think that Vegas could lose its attractiveness if more casinos are built around the world, but that is not the case.
One could also believe that the growing competition from online casinos is killing Vegas, due to people playing from the comfort of their own homes.
However, it’s rather the opposite. Las Vegas is the king, the queen and the whole empire. There is so much more than just games. There are restaurants, shows and world-class shopping centers, just to name a few attractions.
Local casinos in the middle of major cities are also doing quite well.
Those that are located far away from the downtown area are actually the ones losing their attractiveness. Who wants to drive a car or take the bus for two hours to a suburb when you can play online or perhaps even plan a trip to Vegas?
The fact that people can now play online is not actually providing competition for Las Vegas. It’s just a great teaser for the next big trip.
Atlantic City is one those places that had a very attractive atmosphere for many years, located in a suburban area with several million inhabitants.
But Atlantic City has been driven out of the game. The big casinos in New Jersey have been closing down one by one, and the question is, which will ultimately survive? The fact is that, for each casino that gets shut down in Atlantic City, there will be fewer and fewer reasons for people to go there.
I might choose an online casino if I just want to have a break and relax for a while. When I’m not nearby Las Vegas, of course.
Written by Ken Lennaárd.