Q:
To complement yesterday's Reader Poll results, regarding what new things you were most looking forward to for Las Vegas in 2016 (which didn't amount to much!), here are the results of the
previous reader survey that we ran at the end of last year, regarding your biggest disappointments of 2015.
A:
- "The Trop. Stayed for the first time in 32 years of visits so we would be close to see Raiding the Rock Vault. Show was fantastic, but the hotel rolls up the sidewalks at about 10 p.m."
- "The Fremont Street Experience has gotten out of control. I don't mind the legitimate performers and entertainers. However I do mind the increased numbers of panhandlers who are allowed to populate Fremont Street. Apparently, unlike the entertainers, there are no restrictions on beggars. When I was there in mid-November, a young homeless person stood right in front of us while we were watching a concert on Fremont Street, pulled down his sweatpants, and proceeded to pee right in front of us. He took his time relieving himself, while we all screamed and got out of the line of fire. How can you expect the Fremont Street to succeed if this type of behavior is allowed? Where was security during this type of an incident?" [Ed: Eeuww! The good news is, there have been some new controls implemented since then, which hopefully will curb some of the more outlandish and intrusive behavior. Look out for an upcoming QoD on the subject.]
- "i was MOST disappointed at the gutting of the great vp machines (and all the 'atmosphere' that went with them) at the Gold Strike in Jean! One more of the old casinos to bite the dust!"
- "My vote is all the above [Ed: see link for the voting options and responses] and more. I used to come to Vegas ten times a year and now two. The whole atmosphere has moved away from gambling and more to just attracting people to come and spend money on shows and fancy food. It is harder to find fun things to do without spending a lot of money. A prime example: Even though it is only a couple of dollars, is Ellis Island eliminating the beer from the steak special. I can remember the first time I went there and used the 2-for-1 coupon in your MRB and my friend and i couldn't believe we got two steak dinners for under 5 bucks. This long winded rant can be summed up easily: VEGAS IS NOT AS FUN AS IT USED TO BE!"
- "My biggest disappointment in 2015 was not being able to dine in Pasta Pirate at the Cal. I live in Ireland and visit Las Vegas at least twice every year. Pasta Pirate was my favourite restaurant in Las Vegas - excellent food and great value for money. I took two of my American cousins there once. Both of them were well used to fine dining. One declared it was as good as Binion's Steakhouse; the other said it was better."
- "The ongoing explosion of BS Resort Fees with less and less being included for even more money. I doubly resent them as a local." [Ed: And just wait until the new Strip-resort parking fees kick in... We locals will receive a "grace" period, but once that expires visiting the Strip for dinner or a show will be even less appealing to us residents who generally avoid the place like the plague!]
- "We chose the closing of the Riv, but are also disappointed that we are losing Jubilee. I know there needs to be progress but it seems all that was uniquely 'Vegas' and what create it is being lost. They say gambling and cheap food (and neon) built Las Vegas. But gambling no longer seems the focus and it is hard to find cheap food on the Strip. What is going to be the pull for the 40-or-younger crowd to come back to Vegas after they stop clubbing? And there are other cities with nightclubs so why go to Vegas? We feel the city lost its focus and now wonders what happened. They have pushed out the regulars that have come for decades and didn't build a new base for now or the future. We know many under-40s who have gone over the last decade and have NO plans to go back. Sad to see the city lose its uniqueness."
- "Slot payouts suck. Don't mind losing, but give me at least five ten minutes of excitement before I lose a hundred bucks on a machine. No enjoyment anymore, losing my desire to gamble in Vegas."
- "I set up a trip to LV specifically to see the Jacksons at Planet Hollywood. It was billed as the four remaining brothers' performance and reminiscences. I have never seen any live Jackson show and wanted to catch this one. Got an email day before the trip - show canceled. No reason. No rescheduled date. Obviously there's no way to recoup the cost of the trip. I still enjoyed LV, but would have planned the trip on another date if I had known. Sucks." [Ed: We totally understand. And there were a few such instances of late -- notably their sister Janet, who pulled out of two separate shows at the last minute, plus The Who, Britney, Mariah, Muse... Sure, people get sick and it can't be helped, but many of these were right at the last minute, as when Brit took a tumble on stage and had no choice but to recuperate, but some of these cancellations felt somewhat cavalier and without any thought of scenarios like yours. The Jacksons weren't suddenly sick; they just couldn't fill the showroom as hoped.]
- "The failure of the Downtown Grand to be successful, and what I fear is its imminent closure and/or bankruptcy. It's a beautiful property, the rooms are nice, and the pool area's got a lot of potential. But you need to do a lot of promotion if you want to lure people that extra block or two from Fremont Street, and more importantly, you need to give people a reason to stay."
- "The cancellation of the Who concert. We had 11 people coming out to Vegas to see it and although Vegas is always fun, not seeing the concert was disappointing."
- "The continued shortage of $5 blackjack and craps tables. Even though I can afford it, it's less fun playing these games at $10 and $15 minimum tables. May have to spend more of my gambling money closer to home than in Las Vegas if this trend continues."
- "The overall reduction in the value of a Vegas vacation. First it was resort fees to pay for amenities that most visitors didn't use even when they were free, and charged by hotels that are far from resort quality. Then came 6:5 and other changes to the casino floor. Next was a reduction in the free flowing booze. Coming soon, parking fees. What's next? Pay toilets???
- "I was in town for the Mayweather vs Pacquiao debacle. I haven't been back to Las Vegas as a destination since. I did drive from Laughlin to Vegas once for the day to see Big Elvis but I was so turned off by the crowd and their attitude, they can have Vegas, I'm done!! Even NBA break couldn't have been this bad."
- "The continuing inactivity at the world's biggest eyesore, the rotting carcass of Fountainbleau." [Ed: You could be in luck, sort of, since there's been talk of throwing a "blanket" over it and the place is on the market, although with little activity on the Resorts World an Alon fronts, not to mention the future of the diminutive Lucky Dragon being in jeopardy, we're not sure who any likely taker might be."]
- "mM first disappointment in the last few trips has been how more small children that are being taken to me an adult-themed playground. We were woken up at 12:30 am last time with the parents letting the kids run down the hall screaming. Yes it was only 12:30 but we had been up since 6 am travelling to get there! And the kids above us jumping up and down and running around the room -- we cannot even figure out how a kid can run and jump for an hour and a half in a 400-sq-ft room! Years ago this was the go-to place to get away from vacation destinations with children everywhere. Now we don't know where to go! Hotels should have a family-friendly side and a pet-friendly side -- we've been woken up by a barking dog once, too, plus we have found dog hair in our room which evidently was not cleaned up properly. We pay big bucks for our vacation and hate when it turns into a gong show!"
- "The elevators at the Flamingo are a nightmare. Got no idea what the powers-that-be at CET are thinking: Does someone have to get killed before they take action?"
- "That we didn't get to come to town more than we did do to high air fares:{"
- "My biggest disappointment in 2015 was the decision to charge resort fees on comp rooms at CET properties. I HATE resort fees, in general, but to charge them on a "complimentary" room makes them, well, NOT complimentary. I was in Vegas last month and purposely stayed away from properties that charged resort fees (on comp rooms) and I had a great time! Didn't miss those properties at all. Buh bye!"
- "I will miss the show Human Nature at Venetian. Don't know if it will relocate to another venue or not, but we always went to see it when visiting Las Vegas on vacation. Very entertaining show, there is no other one that we like as well, and we've seen just about all of them."
- "While I'm disappointed with Bally's, uh, tiny shopping area, it's the damn resort fees. Even places like the Luxor are asking, no demanding, $28 a day!"
- "My biggest downer was the rise in rental car prices! I was very fortunate that I ended up with a good deal but that deal was only because I checked daily for 6 months straight! The window of opportunity was probably just a 3-5 day window that I was able to grab it!"
- "The progressive destruction of downtown. It is being molded into a ministrip and soon there will be no reason to leave the strip if you still desire to go to an overpriced venue with resort fees. I have stopped going to Las Vegas on a regular basis and support the local casinos."
- "Four Queens downgraded the comp points on 10/7 DB VP. They have signage there that states $8 = 1 pt @ VP. It takes $16 to make that point now on all 10/7 VP. I noticed this last June. I'm wondering why no one else has complained???"
- "Closing the Riviera was a sad day for us. We were long- time guests there and knew all the employees and they knew us. It was such a well-run place when Westerman ran it. The tournaments were always full; the events were well attended and the money they were spending to upgrade it is wasted. Still can't figure out why the convention center wouldn't take all that land north of Convention center Drive; which, by the way still sits forlorn and empty." [Ed: And they still have a LOT of money left to raise in order realize the Las Vegas Convention Center expansion, so we hope the Riv isn't another Stardust in the making. We're also gutted that we missed the recent brief revival of the Riviera's famous lighted frontage, which we only learned of after the fact and was part of the shooting for the new Bourne movie that's currently underway.]
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