Although a new Precision Opinion study of consumer attitudes vis-a-vis Las Vegas concludes that there's "a direct correlation between rising gas prices and reduced Las Vegas visitation," the news may not be as bad as it appears at first blush.
Whereas 79% of players surveyed in 2005 said they would stop driving to Vegas if gas prices hit a 'drop dead' point of $3.62/gallon, only 67% would do so now — and even then gas would have to hit $5.73/gallon. (And when it does, they'll still keep coming.) The real disenchantment is with airfares: Over twice as many now would take the bus to Las Vegas.
That's no small statement if you've ever endured the living Hell that is a Greyhound Bus ride. Instead of mocking the charter buses that are the mainstay of Atlantic City, we may soon be emulating them on an even grander scale.
Precision's data shows that 57% of California gamblers still haven't altered the frequency of their Vegas trips — and 69% have maintained or increased their gambling budget, compared to 50% of locals players. That's even though comparable numbers of both groups say that gas prices have had "some" or "a great deal" of impact on their personal budgets.
And, while I don't endorse this personally, more (47% in SoCal/49% locally) are reducing what they're putting into their savings accounts than are cutting back on weekend getaways and/or vacations. Finally, the older you are, the less inclined you are to curb those Vegas-visitin' urges. That may be the only truly bad news for Vegas, at least to the extent that it's put its eggs in the basket of the 21-30 crowd.
