As someone who has visited Vegas once or twice a year for the last twenty years, I have a different take on the reason they are hurting. It used to be very inexpensive to eat and stay on the strip, and the casinos all made money from the slot machines and tables. The last time I went, I was shocked at how outrageously expensive the hotels and restaurants have become. The casinos now treat the rooms and restaurants as independent profit centers. If you eat at many of the restaurants at the hotel, dinner for two is pushing $200, even without wine. Weekday rooms that used to be $59 now are $200 -$300 a night, not including internet access or health clubs. Even on an expense account the level of money-grubbing by the casinos was galling. Kinda like USAirways, when you think about it....