Question of the Day - 08 January 2026

Excellent question. We've noticed it too. Here's our take on it.

The dramatic spectacle of the Las Vegas Strip lights piercing the dark desert sky, once so intense that the city was famously one of the brightest spots visible from space, has indeed changed significantly over the past 20 years. The classic "wow" factor of those colorful beacons against the night, especially from various overlooks on the way into the city, has diminished, making the glow feel more diffuse and less exceptional.

And yes, you're right that the primary reason is the widespread transition from traditional neon signs and incandescent bulbs to modern LED lighting, which started showing up commercially in the 1990s (with the introduction of the blue LED), accelerated in the 2000s, and continues today.

Neon and older lights created a distinctive radiance and intensity, with vibrant colors (especially reds and pinks) that scattered widely into the atmosphere, producing that halo-like effect visible from afar against a pitch-black sky. The miles and miles of gas-filled tubes and hundreds of thousands of bulbs resulted in a warmer and, in fact, more ethereal brilliance.

LEDs, while often brighter in raw intensity (especially modern massive screens like the Sphere's exosphere and hotel facades), are more directional and focused (and energy-efficient). They produce a sharper and cooler light that's highly visible up close, but doesn't scatter as dramatically upward or outward as neon and incandescent. Many casinos now rely on giant LED video walls and programmable displays rather than sprawling neon tubing, shifting the overall look from a kind of random glowing aura to sleek animated marquees.

This shift was driven by practical factors.

Neon and incandescence are power hungry and high maintenance; tubes break, gases need refilling, bulbs blow and need to be replaced. LEDs use far less electricity and last longer, aligning with broader sustainability efforts. The big casinos save millions annually on their mythic "light bills" through retrofits. LEDs also enable dynamic colors, animations, and intense messaging, much more appropriate for the contemporary, even futuristic, look that the 21st-century casinos are going for.

Though the old neon era peaked in the 1970s and early '80s, with many of those iconic signs now preserved at the Neon Museum, the Strip is still extraordinarily bright (and features cutting-edge displays like Sphere's). Still, the magic you remember — that stark contrast of vivid lights punching through pure darkness — has evolved into something more polished and screen-dominated. Many longtime visitors and locals, including ourselves, share your nostalgia for the classic glow.