I often try to reconcile SB County having the "highest poverty rate" in California with the Chumash Casino hauling in a lot of cash, from what looked like a lot of 99% young male "working class people". As you note, the house always wins, and the casino does offer a welcoming port in the storm for those at loose ends after the work day ends.
This observation came during a holiday Solvang visit a few years ago, which included a evening dinner at the Chumash Willows restaurant. As a sovereign nation within our midst, it is unlikely we would ever be able to track any correlation between these two unique features: (1) very well-attended and attractive local gambling casino, and (2) high local poverty rates. But we should.
I thoroughly enjoyed your article this morning about Las Vegas in 1973. Reading it was like stepping into a time machine.
As it happens, I was at the Dunes in 1973 while I was a student at Brooks Institute. There was something magical about Las Vegas in those days. The Dunes, in particular, always felt elegant without being intimidating—spacious, welcoming, and, by today's standards, wonderfully inexpensive. It was a city where you felt you could wander into almost anywhere without first consulting your investment advisor.
I recently returned with one of my sons and his friend. We stayed at the Trump Hotel, which I quite liked—quiet, no casino, and the only gambling seemed to be whether the handful of protesters outside would still be there when we returned from dinner.
We also saw The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere. It was an impressive production, and I even managed to catch a couple of the flying apples, which may well have been the cheapest souvenirs in Las Vegas. Whether the show justified the admission price is another matter entirely.
The culinary low point was Hell's Kitchen. I've never quite understood the Gordon Ramsay phenomenon. The food was perfectly respectable, but the prices were... well... appropriately hellish. I left wondering whether the bill had been flambéed before it arrived.
In any event, thank you for starting my Monday with a smile and a wonderful trip down memory lane. Your writing has a marvelous way of bringing places—and the eras that shaped them—back to life.
Residents of Nevada do not have to pay any Sales Tax. Seems like they are doing OK in regards to their states economic stability.
Yes,long ago Vegas was moatly known for its gambling. They had more incentives to entice visitors to come to the desert . Cheap hotels,flights and hotel rooms. That continued up until the '90's and the things changed.
Was it that Vegas saw they could attract people who would pay $100 for a show and $300 a night for a hotel???
Did it become a destination to see a show rather than to gamble????
I remember visiting in the '90's and having $40 hotel and a $10 buffet. In the 2000's when we visited our kids,you'd be lucky to find a cheap hotel under $100 and a buffet under $50.
Turns out Canada was Vegas’s biggest sugar daddy — nearly 1.2 million polite, maple-scented visitors a year, quietly feeding slot machines and buffets. Then airline capacity from Canada nosedived 35%, like someone yanked the “eh?” right out of the room, and Canadian tourist numbers followed it off a cliff, dropping somewhere between 17.4% and 20%.
So Vegas, a city built on the idea that nothing can possibly go wrong here, is discovering that its most reliable customers were the ones who apologized for winning too much — and now they’re just… not showing up. The Strip didn’t lose a whale. It lost an entire pod of extremely courteous whales. Maybe someone said something to them?😉
There was a decline for a few years but now Canadians are back. Mostly due to Incentives for travel. The article below outlines why it dropped and how it is being revived.
JA: Maybe Canada finally realized it is bankrupt, and there residents are short on discretionary spending income. Matter of fact, a "whale" recently pointed this out to them when asking Canada for their "fair share' of NATO costs. Canada no can do, what the answer. A round of belt-tightening indeed is the proper and polite consequence of the country's current dire fiscal straights right now. BTW: You don't do subtle very well. But you are game.
Articles like this appear on a regular basis. When it gets right down to it, they are all mostly about inflation which is always with us. It distorts everything making it almost impossible to make any kinds of comparisons between eras.
How right you are. My friend Fred Vega moved there to be with one of his daughters and other reasons. Now gone, too bad a great guy.
Have not been back to Vegas in over 40 years. Used to have the ACSM meeting national and district, no more it is not friendly to our type.
It used to be the excitement of a "road trip" to go there and drop in over the hill and see the "strip" and the lights. Guess once you have been there as an adult and a veteran doesn't mean that much.
Then again how many of the Reservation Casino's were and are funded by the questionable wise guys of Vegas? Vegas hurting? Look around the State no reason to go any more.
Then again you have a State that is playing craps with your tax money and (wink nudge - capital gains that destroy retirement based upon inflation never adjusted).
No longer interested in a gaming town when you can flush your money down the toilet in Santa Ynez. Read Mr. Walther's comments. It is even more enlightening.
I read this Happy Vegas Article Titled "Viva Las Vegas?" By Henry Schulte
I have a more related Title to CALIFRAUDIA and Santa Barbara Titled
FBI AGAIN Busts Mafia & Criminal Vegas Cartel >
"The FBI has announced arrests of more than 30 people — including NBA coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA assistant coach/player Damon Jones — in a multi‑state gambling sting tied to La Cosa Nostra crime families"
""The fraud is mind boggling," FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters. “We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery across a multi-year investigation.”
Vegas Ain't No Happy Town and Neither is SANTA BARBARA Folks
How did FBI Uncover the Corruption? WireTaps & Communication Intercepts
"Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration were among the dozens of Sacramento insiders who received FBI letters in recent days notifying them that their phone calls, texts or other electronic communications had been intercepted as part of the federal corruption case ..."
I often try to reconcile SB County having the "highest poverty rate" in California with the Chumash Casino hauling in a lot of cash, from what looked like a lot of 99% young male "working class people". As you note, the house always wins, and the casino does offer a welcoming port in the storm for those at loose ends after the work day ends.
This observation came during a holiday Solvang visit a few years ago, which included a evening dinner at the Chumash Willows restaurant. As a sovereign nation within our midst, it is unlikely we would ever be able to track any correlation between these two unique features: (1) very well-attended and attractive local gambling casino, and (2) high local poverty rates. But we should.
I thoroughly enjoyed your article this morning about Las Vegas in 1973. Reading it was like stepping into a time machine.
As it happens, I was at the Dunes in 1973 while I was a student at Brooks Institute. There was something magical about Las Vegas in those days. The Dunes, in particular, always felt elegant without being intimidating—spacious, welcoming, and, by today's standards, wonderfully inexpensive. It was a city where you felt you could wander into almost anywhere without first consulting your investment advisor.
I recently returned with one of my sons and his friend. We stayed at the Trump Hotel, which I quite liked—quiet, no casino, and the only gambling seemed to be whether the handful of protesters outside would still be there when we returned from dinner.
We also saw The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere. It was an impressive production, and I even managed to catch a couple of the flying apples, which may well have been the cheapest souvenirs in Las Vegas. Whether the show justified the admission price is another matter entirely.
The culinary low point was Hell's Kitchen. I've never quite understood the Gordon Ramsay phenomenon. The food was perfectly respectable, but the prices were... well... appropriately hellish. I left wondering whether the bill had been flambéed before it arrived.
In any event, thank you for starting my Monday with a smile and a wonderful trip down memory lane. Your writing has a marvelous way of bringing places—and the eras that shaped them—back to life.
Residents of Nevada do not have to pay any Sales Tax. Seems like they are doing OK in regards to their states economic stability.
Yes,long ago Vegas was moatly known for its gambling. They had more incentives to entice visitors to come to the desert . Cheap hotels,flights and hotel rooms. That continued up until the '90's and the things changed.
Was it that Vegas saw they could attract people who would pay $100 for a show and $300 a night for a hotel???
Did it become a destination to see a show rather than to gamble????
I remember visiting in the '90's and having $40 hotel and a $10 buffet. In the 2000's when we visited our kids,you'd be lucky to find a cheap hotel under $100 and a buffet under $50.
Turns out Canada was Vegas’s biggest sugar daddy — nearly 1.2 million polite, maple-scented visitors a year, quietly feeding slot machines and buffets. Then airline capacity from Canada nosedived 35%, like someone yanked the “eh?” right out of the room, and Canadian tourist numbers followed it off a cliff, dropping somewhere between 17.4% and 20%.
So Vegas, a city built on the idea that nothing can possibly go wrong here, is discovering that its most reliable customers were the ones who apologized for winning too much — and now they’re just… not showing up. The Strip didn’t lose a whale. It lost an entire pod of extremely courteous whales. Maybe someone said something to them?😉
Let's clarify your statement. The largest group of International travelers come from Canada,next London,then Mexico.
The largest group domestic travelers come from California,Texas and NY.
Vegas isn't hurting because Canada isn't visiting,as per your statement. They have visitors from all over the US and the world.
There was a decline for a few years but now Canadians are back. Mostly due to Incentives for travel. The article below outlines why it dropped and how it is being revived.
https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/las-vegas-tourism-rebounds-big-in-2026-as-canadians-return-a-complete-guide-for-international-visitors-planning-their-dream-trip/
JA: Maybe Canada finally realized it is bankrupt, and there residents are short on discretionary spending income. Matter of fact, a "whale" recently pointed this out to them when asking Canada for their "fair share' of NATO costs. Canada no can do, what the answer. A round of belt-tightening indeed is the proper and polite consequence of the country's current dire fiscal straights right now. BTW: You don't do subtle very well. But you are game.
It declined a few years back. Now there is a revival and has nothing to do with anything political,except on the Canadian side.
Articles like this appear on a regular basis. When it gets right down to it, they are all mostly about inflation which is always with us. It distorts everything making it almost impossible to make any kinds of comparisons between eras.
How right you are. My friend Fred Vega moved there to be with one of his daughters and other reasons. Now gone, too bad a great guy.
Have not been back to Vegas in over 40 years. Used to have the ACSM meeting national and district, no more it is not friendly to our type.
It used to be the excitement of a "road trip" to go there and drop in over the hill and see the "strip" and the lights. Guess once you have been there as an adult and a veteran doesn't mean that much.
Then again how many of the Reservation Casino's were and are funded by the questionable wise guys of Vegas? Vegas hurting? Look around the State no reason to go any more.
Then again you have a State that is playing craps with your tax money and (wink nudge - capital gains that destroy retirement based upon inflation never adjusted).
No longer interested in a gaming town when you can flush your money down the toilet in Santa Ynez. Read Mr. Walther's comments. It is even more enlightening.
Good article
I read this Happy Vegas Article Titled "Viva Las Vegas?" By Henry Schulte
I have a more related Title to CALIFRAUDIA and Santa Barbara Titled
FBI AGAIN Busts Mafia & Criminal Vegas Cartel >
"The FBI has announced arrests of more than 30 people — including NBA coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA assistant coach/player Damon Jones — in a multi‑state gambling sting tied to La Cosa Nostra crime families"
https://crimeandcocktails.net/operation-strawman-the-mobs-paper-empire-crumbles-in-las-vegas/
https://www.ktnv.com/news/las-vegas-tied-to-fbi-gambling-sting-involving-mafia-nba-coach-and-player The Fraud is "Mond Boggling" & think CALIFRAUDIA.
""The fraud is mind boggling," FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters. “We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery across a multi-year investigation.”
Vegas Ain't No Happy Town and Neither is SANTA BARBARA Folks
How did FBI Uncover the Corruption? WireTaps & Communication Intercepts
"Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration were among the dozens of Sacramento insiders who received FBI letters in recent days notifying them that their phone calls, texts or other electronic communications had been intercepted as part of the federal corruption case ..."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fbi-intercepts-communications-of-newsom-administration-officials-california-political-players/ar-AA1QL5b3
Howard Walther, Member of a Military Family