Apparently, threatening to turn Canada into America's attic and treating Mexico like a hotbed of rapists and drug lords isn't great for tourism. Who could have possibly predicted that international visitors might skip the craps tables when they're worried about ending up in Gator Gitmo?
The numbers, as reported by AP, are uglier than a casino carpet: tourist visits down 11%, international travelers dropping 13%, and hotel occupancy plummeting 15%. Even the Canadians – who normally treat Vegas like their winter basement – are staying home after Sir Spray-Tan threatened to make them the 51st state.
Mexican high-rollers, traditionally more reliable than a rigged slot machine, have mysteriously lost interest in visiting a country that's itching to mistake a birthmark for a gang tattoo and ship them to prison in El Salvador.
The suits at Circa Resort insist everything's peachy, focusing on sports betting numbers like a degenerate gambler bragging about that one winning scratch-off ticket while ignoring their maxed-out credit cards.
At least the Pinball Museum's still winning, offering what passes for a bargain in modern Vegas: actual quarters in actual machines. No resort fees, no cancellation penalties, no surge pricing on the flipper buttons.
Remember when Vegas was where you went to forget your troubles, not acquire new ones? Now it's where your wallet goes to die while some resort executive explains that "dynamic pricing" means your bologna sandwich costs more than your plane ticket.
Turns out what happens in Vegas stops happening in Vegas when you combine xenophobia with inflation. Who knew?
Previously:
• New rules for Las Vegas casinos promise a grim, joyless experience
• Las Vegas is making a fake Singaporean hawker food center inside a resort
• Why are pigeons in Las Vegas wearing cowboy hats?
