Vegas used to be the land of free stuff to reduce all barriers to gambling and keep you around gaming: free parking, free drinks, free shows. Rooms were cheaper than you'd expect because it was subsidized by the gambling. All of that is gone now.

I think they are convinced they can survive on milking rich idiots. I don't think it makes sense from a scale perspective. Vegas always builds way too big because they never want to turn away gamblers due to lack of space. But it's really expensive to cool and maintain enormous spaces.

Ikr, I can't relate to Vegas-enjoyers, even before Trump.
Unless you're into fake gold, cigarette smoke, tire dust, concrete, gambling, objectification.
I don't believe in Hell, but Vegas is straight up nightmarish.
It's like a pizza oven over there, the concrete radiates heat well after the sunset.
They abuse AC everywhere to a level where you're either freezing inside or cooking outdoors.
The strip itself could be pedestrian focused but it's instead car-centric for no reason.
Trucks go up and down the strip for the sole purpose of pulling an ad-trailer-TV thing.
Crossing the street is potentially a 5-10 minute affair that takes you through a mall because reasons.
It's basically an incarnation of the worst of capitalism and consumerism in the most unsustainable way in the most stupid place.
I hate the place with a passion and I cannot imagine willfully spending time there when one can be literally anywhere else instead.

Most of it only accessible by car. :/

We do bus tours from cities sometimes, but those don't always exist or go where we want.

I don't love outdoor sports either. Hiking, skiing, camping... snore

The exchange rate may matter more to people when everything is already more expensive than it used to be.

I only spoke for myself in that comment. The exchange rate matters to me.

I mean to be fair you never boycotted China so. It almost seems like everyone forgot about that genocide.

Big time. If I wanted to rent a cottage like 2-3 hours from Toronto, it's going to cost the same as an all inclusive vacation in the Carribean. The only way it's affordable if you rent with a large group.

No? Penn born in Massachusetts (thank god for autocomplete on that one, holy hell), Teller in Pennsylvania (ditto).

Please excuse my stupid way of speaking. Lemmy voice to text on Voyager is fucking broken.

Vegas was cheap, close, and had a lot of good shows.

You could go there a few days without a 12 hour flight and jet lag. Often had deals subsidized by gamblers.

I can fly to Kelowna or Victoria for a long weekend, but they're not going to have Cirque du Soleil exclusive shows.

Defcon is a nice conference