F-1 Fiasco

  This joke turned out to be exactly what most thought it would be. What little coverage that there is has nothing to say positive about this attempted money grab. I am sure that regular Vegas visitors are marking their 2024 calendars to avoid this time period next year - I know I will. Stupid is as stupid does.

I rather enjoyed watching it all on TV.  It looked to be chilly outside, given the winter garb everyone seemed to be wearing.  My first glimpse of the Sphere, the few 'celebrity' interviews (loved how Shaq practically ignored the commentator to take time for photos with some crew guys); the views of the Strip hotels at night; 'instant replay' type stuff. 

I envy folks who enjoy (and can afford) going to sporting events live, it just isn't me.  Much better on TV, IMHO.  

Plus, not having to live and work in Las Vegas and endure the inconveniences, I have no burning resentments about it.  Time will tell:  Was it as awful as those who weren't there are saying?  Did gratuities match expectations, good or bad?  Will 'lessons learned' improve things going forward?  Will revenue eventually trickle down to the ordinary Vegas vacationer?

Candy

Here's my take from a guy with limited interest in motorsports.  I live in Indy, so it's impossible to not get into it somewhat.

Many people seem to be painting a picture that the Vegas race was a financial disaster for F1.  They sold the place out.  Pricing plunging on the secondary market from astronomically high to high, and this change didn't cost F1 a penny.  For some reason, many writers want to make this situation into a disaster, including making such an issue out of the track problem during the first practice day.  They paint a picture of a poorly planned event.  The situation was rectified, and the racing was outstanding.  Stands were full.

It was a successful first event, and they will not have the same problem next year in practice.  The iron cover, which was sucked out of the road, did not fail at the weld, but instead the hyper low pressure created by the car literally ripped the 12 inch iron cover right out of the concrete.  They secured all similar water valve covers in quick set concrete and problem solved.

The race was great.

Net-net the city and businesses did very well financially from the race.  You can find anecdotes of individual businesses that suffered because of construction.  I can do the same thing in my city.    

The locals can complain about the crowds and the traffic - but at the end of the day Nevada has such cheap taxes on residents because they can tax the bejesus out of tourists.    And this annual event will do alot on that front.

From my perspective the  biggest problem with the race is it gives casinos more incentive to pursue non-gaming revenue and tighten up the casinos which is bad for people like me.    For locals it just gives another reason to avoid the strip like the plague.

The most unfair types of taxes are those where a) the benefits go to people other than those who are taxed, and b) the people taxed have no say in the process. Soak-the-tourists taxes qualify on both counts.

Notably, in Vegas's history, it took decades before those taxes were used to improve the quality of life of Vegas residents. Things like parks, libraries, schools, hell, even paved sidewalks, were rare sights indeed until yje 1990s. The money had been going straight into Vegas fat cats' pockets. Now, they only take a modest 40 percent or so :)

Joe's barber shop located 20 miles outside of Vegas complains about business during F1, yet the business owners of 150,000 rooms love the event....and it's a failure in Kevin's eyes.  I'd be curious to learn how Anthony's business model looked.

Boiler, your childish habit of lying about what another person said is kind of pathetic.

The only legitimate comparison is how Vegas hotels did on the same weekend last year. My guess is that they did as well or better.

I would call Vegas having the best November in it's history a success.

"Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix officials described the event as a groundbreaking racing experience that set a new entertainment and racing excellence standard. The race attracted a capacity crowd of 315,000 fans to the Las Vegas Strip and generated an estimated economic impact of $1.2 billion. According to Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the Formula 1′s impact will make November 2023 the best November in the city’s history. Hill also stated that the race will drive an estimated record economic and fiscal impact of over $100 million in tax revenue to benefit the Las Vegas community."

It would be interesting to see the breakdown of the $1.2 Billion, if possible.   Many casinos did pretty well, but would be interesting to see how many of the mom and pop places along the course fared in comparison.  How did Ellis Island do, especially since it was affected by the bridge on Flamingo and Koval that limited traffic to the casino.  Maybe it wasn't too bad.  Just would like to see a breakdown. 

Yeah, the Strip gouge joints may have done well, but how much of that revenue was siphoned off from businesses whose operations were hurt by the FU 1 disruptions? The press releases gladhand for the Strip megatoilets, but what about all the other businesses that people couldn't get to for 3-plus months?

I'd say that "Yay us" press releases notwithstanding, the net economic impact in Vegas was negative. And that's without valuing the costs of it taking twice as long for people to get to work, etc. etc. You gotta look beneath the glowing numbers to get the big picture. Good for the Strip megatoilets isn't necessarily good for Vegas as a whole.

And of course, the people and businesses that were FU'ed over will never be compensated.