The Chicago Star Tribune reports “The nation’s gambling capital is staggering under a confluence of economic forces that has sent Las Vegas into what officials describe as its deepest economic rut since casinos first began rising in the desert there in the 1940s.”
The Las Vegas casino industry was founded in 1946 by Jewish gangster Bugsy Siegel. In 1947 Siegel was caught skimming off construction costs on the first major casino, the Flamingo, and was killed by a mob hitman for embezzling mob money.
The article notes “Even as city leaders remain hopeful that gambling revenues will rebound with the nation’s economy, experts project that it will not be enough to make up for an even deeper realignment that has taken place in the course of this recession: the collapse of the construction industry, which was the other economic pillar of the city and the state. Unemployment in Nevada is 14.4 percent, the highest in the nation and a stark contrast to the 3.8 percent unemployment rate there just 10 years ago; in Las Vegas, it is 14.7 percent. August was the 44th consecutive month in which Nevada led the nation in housing foreclosures. The Plaza Hotel and Casino, which is downtown, recently announced that it was laying off 400 workers and closing its hotel and parts of its casino for eventual renovation, the latest high-profile hit to a city that has seen a steady parade of them. What is worrisome now is the nature of this economic downturn, when many people saw the value of their retirement funds or homes collapse.”
There follows some drivel referring to “gambling revenues,” ignoring the fact that gambling is a completely non-productive addictive behavior, which tends to impoverish the working class and which takes a sizable amount of cash from a growing number of white collar workers, who should know better. Las Vegas has enhanced its appeal with numerous shows, magic acts and famous singers.
Nevertheless the article does make a valid point. A great many people are badly lacking in any kind of financial judgment or circumspection. Gambling trips to Vegas are only dropped as a last resort by many people. This is nothing less than a sure, undeniable sign that many people are just too broke to go to Vegas.
I was going to suggest that these people were saving their money instead of gambling it, but who am I kidding? The gambling addicts are either gambling in Vegas or dead broke at home.
There are however older couples and families who visit Las Vegas occasionally, and they may be canceling their trips and choosing to save money or pay off their mortgage as soon as possible –while they still have a job.
Americans are noted for addictive and self-destructive behavior, of which gambling is one of the foremost. So when Americans cease gambling, there is no more serious indication that Americans are in terrible financial shape and the Obama Depression is still here and will be lasting a long time.
