Poll : 19 October - 01 November 2011

Analysis

We know our peeps and we knew gambling would win, but even we didn't guess by how much. Still, it's also interesting to learn how important shows and dining remain for so many of you, and all of your feedback is great ammo for helping us compile the 2012 LVA Member Rewards Book:

• "By far gambling is the single most important thing I budget for. Usually I have one budget for gambling, and another budget for everything else combined (air, hotel, food, shows, rental car, misc)."
  
  
• "I recently stayed for an entire week. My rental car cost more than my airline ticket. How can a city that wants to attract tourists charge so much for rental car taxes and fees, including: "Concession Fee Recovery", "Vehicle License Fee", "Customer Facility Charge", and a 20.1% rental car tax ? Total: 33% extra taxes and fees when renting a car. I know it is really easy for the residents of Las Vegas to vote for high hotel and rental car taxes on tourists, but 33%? Casinos are happy to keep 10% of our gambling dollars. Are residents even happier keeping 33% of our rental car dollars? It really feels like a rip-off. I hope that someone interested in promoting Las Vegas as a tourist destination (The Mayor? Business owners? Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority?) will read this and do something about it."
  
  
• "Drinks... lots of them, shopping, and tattoos..." [Ed: We want to party with you on your next visit haha!]
  
  
• "I voted for the dining while in Vegas, but we also love the shows ... plus, we do a little gambling, but food and shows are our top priority."
  
  
• "Obviously, when you get free RFB for the most part, including points, you would spend most of your $$ on...GAMBLING!!"
  
  
• "My wife says you forgot SPA! For me it's gambling; for her spending a day at the spa makes the trip.
  
  
• "Life - I live in LV." [Ed: Ah, yes, we understand only too well.]
  
  
• How about a little of all? Luxury hotel, fine dining, shows, and gambling. My Vegas experience encompasses all, not just one or two, as they all combine to make for a great trip." [Ed: That's the spirit!]
  
  
• "It all depends on my trip. I like to plan 'theme' trips to Vegas. Sometimes, it will be to hit certain shows, sometimes fine dining, other times experiences (desert zip line, drive a race car, etc.). Of course a certain amount of any budget is for gambling."
  
  
• "When my wife and I go to Las Vegas, the majority of our money is allocated for gambling; the luxury rooms, fine dining and shopping follow as a result."
  
  
• "I put money aside during the year for my annual trip to Vegas in September. My friends and I love gambling, food and shows and definitely shopping!!!!!! We enjoy it all and always have a great time."
  
  
• "Yes, some gambling money and some entertaining shows. But we also like adventure.... horseback riding in Red Rock Canyon, white water rafting down the Colorado river, plane gliding, helicopter rides. These adventures aren't cheap. We have no time to waste, so we take the direct route... fly. No buses. We love it!"
  
  
• "I chose gambling. I usually don't spend that much overall when all is said and done, but you need to have a pretty big bankroll to make sure you can ride the ups and downs. What I probably spend the most on is food and entertainment. I stay at a timeshare most of the time, so while I do have a very nice place to stay, it doesn't cost much. And cars are cheap, usually under $20 a day, and I always get one even if only there for the day."
  
  
• "My response was easy -- gambling. We are lucky in that we always use frequent flyer miles, so airfare is 'free', and we almost always get our room comped, and sometimes a meal or two comped (I would say we are barely above low roller status). So. given the freebies, it's easy to justify frittering away most of our budget on gambling, which is the main point of coming to LV anyway. Once in a while we budget for a production show, but that takes second place to gambling."
  
  
• "We don’t budget at all! We take one vacation a year and go to Vegas to just enjoy ourselves!" [Ed: Spoken like champs!]