It is 10:00am

I am heading over to the Mandalay Bay with hopes of shooting some last minute fish in the Poker Room.

This website has always had the ability to automatically post images via email, but I have never used it.

Today, I shall try it.

The only caveat is that the camera that takes the pictures needs to have Internet access. This means that only a cellphone camera will do the job. And as we all know, cellphone cameras have poor image quality … so expect the photos to be terrible, and barely distinguishable.

I am taking my trusty PPC-6700 with me, and I will snap-and-send at random intervals.

It is an experiment. If it goes down in flames, you’ll be able to point, laugh, and say “What a douchebag!”.

Not that you don’t say that anyway, but you’ll have yet another reason.

And if it works, hey, maybe I’ll do it more often.

Will this be interesting? Probably not.

But I’m going to do it anyway.

Grainy cellphone photos should start appearing below until I get to the Mandalay Bay Poker Room. If they don’t, then it didn’t work. If it does work … enjoy:

Update:  Looking at the site through Pocket Internet Explorer, it appears to have worked, although the pictures look even worse than I thought they would.   Next time, I am bringing the spare battery.  I have 10% remaining, and am shutting it off in case I need it for later.  I stopped at the MGM to talk with some folks and check out the action, so it took awhile to get to my destination.  It also rained on me on the way over here.  I am heading off to NYNY now, then back to the MGM, then to the Wynn.  Crowds are decent today, there seem to be more people here than last weekend, but crowds are still noticeably off from last July.

BTW, I tripled my buy-in.  The sun shines on a dog’s ass every now and then.  There is a definite increase in locals in the room, and we recognized and acknowledged each other in the usual subtle manner, so Mandalay is not the fishbowl it once was … but there are still plenty of “going home this afternoon” tourists who will bet the stack on a pair of 6’s rather than wait for a hand.  That’s why I love this room on Sundays.

I received a fair number of emails regarding this article written two days ago.

Of course, I knew I would receive them, but few if any were rude, and most people went out of their way to make valid points.

What surprised me, though, was the recurring theme of the responses.

People thought I was unfairly criticizing the LVCVA over what I felt was the illogic behind their statistics.

Why did they think I was being unfair?

Apparently, there is a popular theory going around town. It is called the “carpool theory”.

In a nutshell, the gist of the theory is this:

“It is entirely possible for traffic to be down, and tourism to be up … because more people are carpooling.”

I think this theory is not reasonable, and instead of responding to everyone individually, I will simply tell you why I think it is not reasonable.

First of all, people cannot “carpool” in airplanes. People cannot sit three to a seat, nor be stuff in overhead bins. At least not legally.

Second, even if it were true that more people are carpooling … then I will give that argument the huge benefit of the doubt and concede that perhaps it could make up for the 6% fall in vehicular traffic.

But … could it rationally make up for the fall in air traffic?

No.

A huge number of tourists still use air travel as their only way to get to Las Vegas. There were 3.4 million tourists this past May, and 4 million people passed through McCarran airport in the same month. Sure, some of them were locals, people making connecting flights, and some were leaving, but that is a lot of passengers and probably the majority of them were tourists.

Why is this relevant?

It means that not only does “carpooling” have to make up for the drop in auto traffic, but it also has to make up for the drop in airline traffic.

“Carpooling” had to negate the drop in all forms of transit in order for the “visitor increase” to be accurate.

Exactly how many people can you fit in a car?

Sales of large vehicles are down across the board, and more and more people are opting for smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. Especially middle-class people with less disposable income.

It is extremely unlikely that people who are on a budget and are worried about fuel costs, will be driving Humvees to Las Vegas crammed with other people who are also equally as worried about fuel costs.

The extra weight of the passengers themselves negates a percentage of the gas savings.

Most cars arriving in Las Vegas probably have 4 seats. Few vehicles seat 6 people comfortably, and even less seat eight.

I lived in Los Angeles. I rode a motorcycle and because of that, I was granted use of the carpool lanes by the great state of California. And most days, I had the carpool lanes to myself. Most Californians can’t be bothered to carpool for a thirty minute drive to work, but they carpool on vacation?

Tough sell.

The married couple or girlfriend and boyfriend who cruised two-to-a car last year, most likely aren’t relegating themselves to the backseat of their neighbor’s car for a 4 hour drive. Someone is going to have to pee at an inopportune time. Someone will want to stop in Barstow for food. It’s just a pain in the ass.

Also, most people have different times off and different schedules.  Coordinating vacations with strangers (or even friends) can be a logistical nightmare.

Assuming the average vehicle has remained the same size, or even decreased in size … where are they putting these “new” passengers this year? Strapping them to the roof? Shoving them in the trunk? Tying a rope to them and dragging them up the I-15?

It also assumes that nobody carpooled last year, and that the entirety of these new carpooling people represent only a RAW INCREASE in carpoolers.

People would have to have seen the carpooling light in double digit percentages in the last twelve months alone in order to rescue the Vegas travel numbers.

I don’t doubt that people do, and always have carpooled to Las Vegas.  I do not doubt for a moment that more people are doing so now than they did last year … but I highly doubt that the increase has been dramatic enough to offset 5% air travel drops and 6% vehicular drops respectively.

I am more inclined to believe that people who cannot afford the gas, are simply staying home. Even with the expansion of gas costs, it equates to about $18 more each way in gas from LA to Vegas. That’s not much more than a cab ride from the Mandalay to the Wynn. I don’t think that amount would plant me in the backseat of someone else’s vehicle for the long drive, and I don’t see that being a huge motivation for the majority of Vegas tourists.

If everyone in the car splits the gas costs, that is a “savings” of a whopping nine bucks each way.

Come on, guys.  Be rational.

Not to mention, when people get here without their cars, they will have to spend more on transportation anyway.  Cabs, buses, monorail, whatever.   Cab fare has recently gone up in response to gas prices,  making it even less economical for California tourists not to bring their cars.  In-town transit costs easily negate the gasoline savings during even a two day carpool trip.  Carpooling may actually end up costing the average driver more money, than simply driving.

There would have to be a huge number of “new carpool converts” in the last year alone to make up for the rest of the lost traffic.

And last but not least … there is the simple observational factor.

I lived here in May 2007. I lived here in May 2008. I live here now. There are fewer tourists.

Unless people were hiding out in their rooms, under tables, or were still locked in the trunk because the carpool driver forgot to let them out … there were fewer people here this May by every measure that a near-Strip resident could use, mainly … observation.

Last May, I refused to drive down The Strip at all. This year, it’s not much of a problem. There are fewer people everywhere. At the gambling tables, at the slots, at the pools, on the sidewalks, at the buffets, at the lounges … I have not stopped to make a head count … but there are just fewer people overall. Period. There are not more people here than there were last year. I don’t know how else to say it.

My regular cab driver informed my that his trip sheet is down 30% this year. If more people were coming here sans-personal-car, wouldn’t cab trips be up? Fine, maybe the increase in taxi medallions is to blame, but everyone I know in every sector in this town has noted that crowds are thinner.   Several people who flew in for “Rexfest” last month made the exact same observation while I was talking with them.  So it’s not as if people are just hiding from me personally.

Most of us here on the ground just don’t see an increase, and I don’t believe the .4% number.

Now, does any of this matter?

No.

The LVCVA doesn’t give a damn what I think, and whether or not I am right or wrong is completely and utterly irrelevant.

Whoever comes … comes, whoever doesn’t … doesn’t … and the rest is just more pointless yapping on the Internet.

Things will happen on their own terms whether myself, the LVCVA, or anyone else is right or wrong. It’s mental masturbation at this point. It simply doesn’t matter outside of the small confines of our own skulls.

If people want to think tourism is up … the more power to them. Fine, then congratulations, it’s up. Whatever whacks your willy.

But if people want an answer as to why I do not believe the “official” number, well, there is the explanation.

Flame away ….

And all of this time you have been doing it for free.

For decades, women from all walks of life have arrived in Las Vegas, and proceeded to act as sperm receptacles for the entire State of Nevada.

A large number of them have bought into the completely false and misleading “What happens here, stays here” myth.

They go home with chlamydia, syphilis, or newly-formed embryos, and say “How could this happen? The commercials swore that I would leave these things back in Vegas.”

I am a firm believer that venereal disease and abortion clinics nationwide should be required to kickback a certain portion of their profits to Las Vegas (LVCVA are you listening? I just found us a new source of revenue!) … but that’s another issue altogether.

Never mind that the feminist movement is a ruse which was started in large part because the government realized that it was unable to tax half of the population, because said population had the audacity to take care of their families. The government realized that much more money could be made by redefining gender roles, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t work fabulously. Hell, far from a free-thinking radical … Gloria Steinem worked for the CIA (no joke, read her biography).

And through a series of interesting developments (many indirectly funded through said agency), she started “Ms. Magazine”, which is largely credited for starting the “Feminist Movement”.

And what did this magazine say?

“Ms. Magazine” said “Be a whore!”, and if there is anything we have learned in recent history, it is that women will do whatever some random magazine tells them to do.

As long as it is glossy. The magazine has to be glossy. They won’t do what the “Auto Trader” tells them to do because it is printed on yucky plain paper.

Why do you think Oprah started a magazine? And a glossy one at that!

Sure, chicks think they are being “empowered”, yet have no idea they have been completely manipulated for the past 40 years. “Empowered” sounds much, much more appealing and legitimate than “convinced to becoming a skank”.

Women … bless their hearts, if they didn’t have vaginas, Darwin would have dispensed of them 1,000 years ago.

But they do. They DO have vaginas, and that’s why VegasRex is the largest supporter of women on the Internet … if not the known universe.

The hell with Oprah and Rosie … VegasRex is the only person on this planet truly looking out for the best interests of women.

And do you know what I say?

I say it’s about time that we gave something back to the women of the world who so selflessly give this town its most precious and valuable commodity … namely … free pussy.

And this, my friends, is exactly what this “Bait & Tackle” place is trying to do.

I first saw these billboards appearing about a year ago, but in recent months they have really increased in and around The Strip.

The basic premise of the company is that it wants to produce and sell porn videos … and it doesn’t want to use the same people over and over.

Since there is a finite number of adult film stars, variety can quickly become a problem.

The solution? Las Vegas tourists!

If you are a person of questionable morals i.e. a Las Vegas tourist … this company will pay you $500 a night to smoke the pole and take one up uterine highway … or Hershey highway if you are so inclined (KarenTN).

Scoff if you will, but that is hell of a lot better than what The Palms pays.

And if you think that bitches aren’t smoking the pole in this town for the mere cost of two overpriced drinks, then you my friend, have never really been to Las Vegas.

Of course, once you collect your 500 bones, your freakiness won’t “stay in Vegas”. You will be on thousands of TV screens across the nation, and chances are good that I will personally spank my monkey to you at some point.

I have heard some criticism around town about this company. People think it is tasteless, should not be allowed to operate, and should be outlawed. They equate it with prostitution (which should be legal everywhere, IMHO).

As a matter of fact, to my great surprise, probably more than half of the people I know disapprove of this company.

Frankly, I’m not sure why.

Some people have expressed that the “talent” may be intoxicated, and may later regret it. Which is a valid point.

My response is this: If you can’t hold your liquor or drugs … don’t take them … or take less of them.

Grown adults should know what they can and can’t handle. If I think a fistful of Valium might render me unable to drive, then I don’t take a fistful of Valium before I drive (though it certainly helps calm the fear of driving in this town).

Similarly, if I think a fifth of Vodka might render me unable to make a rational decision in a casino full of strangers, I don’t drink a fifth of Vodka in a casino full of strangers.

Grow up and take responsibility for yourself and your actions.

Seems rational, no?

Apparently this only seems rational to me.

Of course, it’s not just women who fly in and bang everything in sight, men do it too *cough*BigEasy*cough*, but let’s face it, nobody wants to hear about dudes making pornos. That is just disturbing. Nobody except deviants (KarenTN) wants to see the veined lizard. It’s arguably the most disgusting of all of God’s creations.

Anyway …

Maybe the increase in billboards is simply a sign of the economic times. People can’t afford rooms, they can’t afford to gamble, and they come to Vegas with less money than they did before.

And I suppose this is one solution.

I certainly don’t advocate it and this is honestly not a ringing endorsement. Even I find it sleazy and it grosses me out a bit … but if you are going to come to town and strap a mattress to your back anyway … why not have your airfare paid for?

What happens in Vegas DOES NOT stay in Vegas, but $500 pays for the abortion back home.

Come to think of it, that would make a really bitchin’ advertising slogan too …

Talk about an “isolated thunderstorm”, we had a storm almost perfectly split the Mandalay and Hard Rock like a football through the uprights. It sat over the edge of the airport for a good ten minutes, just hanging out and taunting the pilots.

There was lightning, there was thunder, there was wind, and it looked like the world’s largest funnel cloud.

Despite it all, aircrafts lifted off from McCarran straight through the thing every 30 seconds.

I think the pilots took it as some kind of challenge or something.

Pilot: “Hey Fred, twenty bucks says I can fly through this thing with only minor fuselage damage.”

Co-Pilot: “You’re on, now give me another swig of the Jack and fire up that blunt … I need something to calm my nerves.”

If I was a passenger, I would have been unhappy.

I would have asked to wait the extra 15 minutes for the storm to move somewhere over the Bellagio (which it eventually did).

What can I tell you … I don’t like to change my underwear shortly after takeoff … I’m weird like that.

Anyway, monsoon season has provided some of the best visuals in this town I have seen in a long time. I got to watch downpours and lightning shows in other cities, from the dry comfort of my own neighborhood. I would stand and applaud when a particularly large bolt would ignite over Henderson or Summerlin.

There is nothing like living vicariously and watching as god tries to annihilate Henderson with a billion volts of electricity. Over the past few days, they seem to have gotten the worst of it.

And I think this really does vindicate me again. If I learned anything over the past week, it is that god hates Henderson too.

And really, can you blame him?

Even he thinks The District is lame.

The useless local “meteorologists” gave us a 20% chance of rain every day for the past week, which means as usual, they were right when it rained, and they were right when it didn’t rain.

I really want one of those swell jobs.

I’d clock in at 7am, throw “20% chance of rain on the board”, clock out at 7:05am, and go home and surf porn.

“Las Vegas weatherman” really is the perfect job.

And most of our “meteor people” are dudes, so we don’t even get to ogle women with huge knockers as they state the obvious (”maybe it will rain, maybe not”).

The whole thing is an unfortunate tragedy.

Anyway, it’s all blowing over, and we should be back to 106 tomorrow.

And you know what that means!

Wear something flimsy ladies, and if you see me around town, don’t be shy … lift up that top and show me (and all of our readers) what you’ve got.

Gambling revenue in Las Vegas dropped over 15% in May of 2008, which was the largest monthly drop in ten years.

I don’t care how the casinos and the LVCVA (Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority) will try to polish the turd, but that is just bad.

LVCVA said that despite the drop in revenue, we had an .4% increase in tourism.

However, when the LVCVA presented their numbers, it showed that airline passengers at McCarran dropped 5%, and tourists arriving by vehicle dropped 6%.

You know what that means?

People are now walking to Las Vegas in record numbers. At least according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Perhaps that is why people aren’t gambling as much.

Personally, I always play fewer hands of 6:5 Blackjack after a three day walk across the desert in 115 degree heat.

Seriously, if you weren’t suspicious of the numbers that this acronym agency puts out before, then you should be now.

Travel by every metric is down across the board, yet our public relation’s arm wants you to believe that somehow tourists beam themselves here like some bad episode of Star Trek.

I have been reporting from the streets of this town, and I have been telling folks that I have seen a drastic change for at least the last 6 months. And I have been lambasted for doing so.

“You’re bad for tourism!”, “Stop telling people things are bleak.”, etc, etc.

But the fact is, your ire is misplaced.

I never, ever, advocated shitty odds, rising prices, and diminishing service. I have fought it tooth and nail, so you can hardly blame me for merely exclaiming that the emperor wears no clothes.

When he puts them back on, I will be the first one screaming to the high heavens that the town is back and badder than ever.

But that is not what is happening right now.

The corporations continue to shoot themselves in the foot.

The MGM cancelled a bunch of reservations recently, for no other reason than people got a good deal on the rooms.

And we wonder why people aren’t coming.

We (and by “we” I mean the town) treat the average tourist like complete and utter shit.

If I didn’t live here, I wouldn’t come either.

I hang out on The Strip because I can take the shoe leather express or hop the monorail for $1 … but at this point, my ass would not wait two hours to go through security, hop on an overpriced flight, then get long-hauled by cab to a casino for the privilege of playing Video Poker with stripped-down odds.

Why would anyone?

Sure, there is much more to do here than gamble, but let’s face it, gambling is the main draw … followed by service … followed by value.

The argument can be made that value is coming back (by force), but odds and service still suck.

For crying out loud, we had a party of 30 at the Rio Voodoo lounge last month, and they treated us like utter shit.

You would think they would have shrieked in delight when over two dozen vocal members of a website showed up on their doorstep. That was free advertising dropped squarely in their lap. Actually, it wasn’t free at all. We paid to advertise the place.

How many freaking banner ads could they have bought with the cash that was dropped in the place on that night?

It was a golden opportunity to treat people well, and get some good publicity.

But no, instead, I got repeatedly punched in the back by a short, aging busboy when I would get up and speak to people (apparently I was blocking his way and “excuse me” was insufficient), so I got kidney punched throughout the night. The waiters acted like they were doing us a fat fucking favor by taking our orders, and I was kicked off the silly stripper pole for simply trying to have fun with our guests.

They added a fat gratuity on the check, and one of our people accidentally tipped on top of the pre-added tip.

I guess when you know you are getting a gratuity for large parties, it takes all of the incentive out of it.

Next time we will get individual checks, no more of that “large party pre-tip” shit.

Without exception, everyone in the group has said that they will not return to Voodoo lounge.

How are you going to draw people back like that?

Our group delivered 30 people to the Rio on a silver platter that they could have impressed enough to come back, and they dropped the ball completely.

Now, there is nothing but ill-will, and those 30 people know at least 30 other people. Bad news travels fast.

Las Vegas is simply making very little effort to correct its shortcomings, and in my opinion, the entire wound is self-inflicted.

I have never seen a tourist town bend over backward to fuck their bread and butter like this town has, and now they (or rather the shareholders and employees) are being made to lie in the bed they made.

It’s not my fault. I would have done it differently.

So all of you out of town pundits, prognosticators, and self-appointed “Vegasphiles” can kiss my hairy beanbag.

The majority of you simply aren’t here 24/7 to see what is going on , and reading the Review Journal all damn day, and cruising casino websites ad-nauseum doesn’t make you any more “in the know” than anyone else with a web browser.

I don’t care what all of the commercial websites tell you, the vibe of the town has changed. There are obviously fewer people, and the atmosphere is obviously more subdued than last year.

I never publish long reader emails, but I got one about a month ago from a fellow local. I don’t know the guy, and never got around to responding to him, but it’s actually fairly insightful, so I will strip the identifying info from it and post it.

Whether or not you agree with it, the quality and detail of the email really does deserve a wider audience than my own personal inbox.

I don’t know that I agree with 100% of it, but it I think many legitimate points are made.

And since I am stripping his identifying information, it means that I will get the hate mail for someone else.

What can I say, I’m a glutton for punishment.

XXX wrote:

Hey Rex…..I am an RSS subscriber through Google Reader. I read every post and
the vast majority of them make my day. Your wit, humor and yes even the
construction photos are much appreciated. You see I live in far West Las
Vegas. I might go down to the strip once or twice a year. I avoid highways
except the 215 between W. Flamingo and Charleston to go to Red Rock. I venture
out to Silverton and South Point via Rainbow and Blue Diamond and even hit the
Hilton for the buffet via cross streets.

And I am not alone. I have many associates who never go east of the strip.
And Nellis, which should be renamed “Street of Death” is avoided at all cost!

So thanks to you, I can watch the new projects in Vegas rise in air conditioned
comfort without the danger of being taken out by some lunatic driving while
liquored up with coke and meth on board while walking the strip.

Your blog has great value to locals and tourists alike.

As a retired hotel salesman and hotel market analyst, there is no doubt that
very hard times are ahead for the employees of the existing hotels as well as
the companies which operate them.

City Center is the biggest blunder yet. When it opens MGM Grand will be a
tomb. It was never an attractive place anyway. Most of their clientèle will
gravitate to the new property. Everyone I know in Las Vegas avoids MGM Grand.

Boyd Gaming is currently in the process of committing suicide with Echelon
Place. Do you know how many office complexes across this country are called
Echelon Place or Echelon Center, I have been in dozens, there is one in very
major city. Ho hum……did they pay a marketing company to develop that
name? Five hotels rather than a central casino with five towers is a marketing
disaster. When you give people who are unfamiliar with the project that many
choices, they are going to opt for something they know about. Their reservation
agents will hear, “I’ll call you back” more than anything else. And Boyd does
not have the marketing muscle to compete with Harrahs and MGM Mirage. And they
are doing this on $4 billion line of credit? So that means the interest will be
nearly $400 million per year plus all of the operating expenses. Do they have a
short memory or what? South Coast (South Point) nearly bankrupted them until
they unloaded it, a fraction of the size of Echelon.

And on it goes, this town cannot absorb 32,000 new rooms with even more planned
beyond that.

So consider what is going to happen. The new hotels are not going to hire the
older experienced employees primarily because it will run up their health care
plan expense. And tourists want to see a hot youthful staff.

So these new properties will staff up with young people that will move in from
other states and the older properties will continue scaling down as they lose
business to the newer hotels and many will close. Unemployment in Las Vegas
will be at staggering levels after 2010.

The gas crises is not going away and with the airline industry losing $12
billion last year and losses mounting daily, many more carriers will be
shutting down.

My younger brother has been with Southwest Airlines for 29 years. He is a
Senior Financial officer and he told me two months ago that Southwest had cut
15% of its Las Vegas service with more to follow. Their load factors on Vegas
flights just keep dropping, especially night flights. That is a signal that
visitors who come here to gamble for 18 - 24 hours and never get a room is
dropping rapidly.

How many people can afford to drive here on a three day weekend lark? This
town operates on volume, taking a little over $330 in gaming revenue from the
average visitor.

Look at the high rise condo market. If you saw the market report issued last
week, an average of 20 units per month were sold for the past three months.
With 4,800 units vacant and ready for occupancy, that is a 31.5 year supply!
Now add the 12,750 units that are in various stages of construction and you
have a total disaster. Buyers who have been under contract prior to projects
breaking ground must get an appraisal of the unit to get a mortgage. $4
million units are now appraising at less than $700,000 on the average.

Trump Tower has only closed 15% of the units, with buyers dropping out or in a
standstill because they units will not appraise for anything near the contract
price. Buyers under contract are demanding renegotiation or they are suing to
break the contract. Cash buyers are rare at best.

Everything you said about Trump Tower was dead on. It is one of the most ill
conceived projects in Las Vegas in a horrible location. Nice, but boring. You
might as well stay at a similar hotel on the Pacific Ocean for less money.

So, some high rise condos which are not owned by public companies will file
bankruptcy after completion and be shuttered. Who is going to pay the
utilities and operating costs? Who is going to pay the debt service on the
unsold units? When the developer goes belly up, the hand full of condo owners
who occupy the building can either split the bills or just split. When they
find out their share will be $40,00 - $50,000 per month, they will be gone in a
flash.

Sorry to be so negative but this is the big picture and the facts are in to
support this projection. I would love to be a fly on the wall in these hotel
management company board rooms. They should put a diving board off The
Stratosphere and sell tickets.

And finally there is the decimation of slot payouts. The slots on the strip
have always been bad, and now they are getting worse. The hotels which cater
to locals have tightened the machines to the point that it is virtually
impossible to win any money. Been to The Palms after 9 p.m. lately? It is a
ghost town unless there is a major event in the hotel. I used to play there
all night and take home cash. I quit going not only because the machines have
become a one way street, but you can’t find a cocktail waitress for love or
tips. I resorted to bringing a large bottle of water or getting a large drink
from McDonalds. Pitiful!

I could write for hours about how much has changed in this town just over the
past 24 months and very little of it is good. Don’t get me started on the
buffets, dear GOD!

The hotels are soon going to learn that raping the people who frequent their
establishments to make up for the drop off in customers will send them into a
death spiral. It seems everyone has forgotten the golden rule and most
importantly the principle of volume takes care of everything.

Please write me anytime. I wish there were more bloggers with your creative
writing skills.

All the best,
XXX

Come to think of it, I need to write this guy back.

He just wrote half of my article today.