Originally Posted by
kewlJ
There are events that Las Vegas caters to that fill some room but really are not a good match For VEGAS because the people that attend just are not gambling people. The nascar weekends held at the track up in North Vegas is one such event. People come to town for that weekend but they are not gamblers. Right now we are getting into Rodeo week. Same thing. Lots of people from all over, but they are not gamblers. There is something to be said for filling some hotel rooms and restaurants during a weekend (or week in the case of the rodeo) that typically is not busy. Some of the music festivals are another event that isn't a great fit.
BUT F1 is the worst of these kind of events that draw a nongambling crown, because of all the extra expense building up and tearing down the track, inconveniencing local business and locals in general. I guess there is an argument it creates some jobs for a short time, but for casinos and gambling revenue it just is not the right crowd. It would be like holding a religious convention in Vegas, which oddly the Mormons do every October.
Events that are good for Vegas are the natural long weekends, drawing crowds that drive in mostly from So Cal, as well as more than usual that fly in for a weekend, plus big event weekends like Boxing matches, and UFC. Those people are gamblers. 4 different college conferences hold their conference basketball tournaments here the first 2 weeks of March. THose people game gamblers.
F1 is just a bust. 1st year it was something new, but second year attendance and revenue was way down (and that is before you count all the extra expense). Haven't heard numbers from this year, but it is down.
And as usual Dawg is lying about what I said on Labor day weekend. I went out playing Thursday night, which is not a usual night that I play, thinking it would start to be more crowded that usual and it just wasn't. Not the crowded conditions I seek out. Now did it get a little more crowded over the weekend? It did, but still nowhere near what a long holiday weekend used to be like 7-8 years ago before Covid. Not even close. And you don't have to take my word for it vs what Dawg says. There is tons of data by the different tourism bureaus that all say the same thing I am saying.