The current financial situation and decrease in gaming, notwithstanding, I have seen this over the past year at Palazzo as well.

I call it the new smaller casino next to big brother casino affect.

Even last year, when things weren't as dire, there were often times when none of the dice tables @ Palazzo had any action, but right next door at Venetian there were 2 or 3 crowded tables. I'm not really sure why this is. Maybe people tend to return to where they have gambled previously, and it just takes time for a new "wing" to attract the gaming folks. Though, until recently (Wynn/Encore and Venetian/Palazzo) you didn't really have this "new" casino opening adjacent to the older casino as a separate property. [and still a decent walk to separate the two] Previous expansions at other properties, Caesars comes to mind, just involved more dining, rooms, and convention space. The casino floor was only expanded in small amounts, and then directly adjacent to the old casino floor.

My experience last week, also showed a rather quiet Encore (and a slightly more busy Wynn), but I don't make very much of that, since it was Wednesday/Thursday.

Probably, the bigger sign of the times are the table limits, though this is also a bit YMMV. Baccarat limits still tend to stay high, but dice and blackjack limits have been reduced substantially.

My barometer is based on dice, and the visible presence of $5 tables (at Mirage, and once even at Palazzo), and the regular $10 tables at Wynn/Encore and Venetian/Palazzo are most definitely a sign that gaming is off. It's almost like we're back in the 1980's, well without the really "cool" clothes.