Las Vegas: Millennials Prefer Events and Hospitality over Gambling
Sin City is a name that probably doesn’t mean much to many people anymore with Las Vegas going through another evolution which is taking it further away from its roots.
When the first casino was opened on what is now the world famous Vegas strip in 1941 the massive expansion of the gambling city began and throughout the next couple of decades the city evolved from a quiet and unassuming place in the desert to the City of Lights. Named just through the sheer amount of bright neon lights spread throughout the main sections of the city. Along with this came the gambling hubs of the Stardust, Dunes and Sands casinos. These were often frequented by people seeking out their fortune and were run by questionable characters, often with criminal links.
Fast forward to the 90’s and biggest resort style casinos starting breaking ground with the MGM Grand, The Bellagio and Mandalay Bay facilitating the influx of families from around the world. These massive casinos were owned by some of the biggest companies in the world and they knew exactly how to tempt the masses though the doors and drop their life savings.
With the children of the previous generation living through the greatest surge in technology in history and with a preference of online slots over the real life thing, Vegas has had to transform again. It’s not far less about gambling and much more focussed on entertainment, hospitality and events as the stats show. In 1977 a massive 60% of all revenue taken in Las Vegas was from gambling, with the rest being made up by hospitality. Then moving into 2017 that figure has shrunk to 34% coming from gambling and a massive 66% coming from hospitality.
With the staging of some of the biggest events in history happening in Vegas throughout the last few years, chances are this will stay as one of their biggest earners. E-gaming is also likely to be a massive draw for the Entertainment Capital of the World, so watch out for that.
To see the full breakdown of the evolution of Las Vegas, check out our infographic below.
