David McKee

Strip gaming revenue, ‘meh’ though it was, actually looks good in the context of Las Vegas visitation in July, which plummeted 61%. There hasn’t been a convention since April, which certainly hurts. Air travel was horrible, down 64%, while drive-in traffic wasn’t quite so bad, off 10% overall (thanks, Utah) but 17% down at the California border. (Not so good for Primm.) Strip room rates were an average of $116/night, so the news wasn’t all bad for the resort industry but revenue per available room was a paltry $48/night. Hotel occupancy was 42.5%, down 48.5% on a 17% lower room base. The Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority will have to crawl pretty far up the ass of these numbers to find a positive spin. Maybe they can derive it from the news that Downtown Project mogul Tony Hsieh has bought three restaurants, a vote of confidence in Sin City. We wish we knew what Hsieh intends to do with his Tamares Group legacy, the ex-Western Hotel but nothing has been heard from Hsiehville on that front for a long, long time. There was some loose talk of making it an e-sports stadium but, thanks to the Downtown Grand and Luxor, that ship may have already sailed.

It’s too soon to know what the handle on NBA playoff games is but, in terms of viewer interest, the player walkouts initiated by the Milwaukee Bucks may be a moot point. Viewership for the first week was down 20% overall and 28% lower in the prized 18-49 demographic. Then again, the games are competing for viewership with One Life to Live: Sports Illustrated reports that the games, in addition to being played out of season are often shoehorned into daytime viewing slots, ones more closely associated with game shows and soaps. Bettors who have money on canceled games are more wont to be irked than people who can’t watch because they’re working nine to five. This not only puts activist players on a semi-vacant platform, it weakens the NBA’s bargaining position going into the next TV contract, which could have been worth more than $2.6 billion—but probably won’t be. No wonder some players are saying they should placate The Man and let the games continue. (The Las Vegas Aces did not play yesterday, although it’s unclear whether the postponement was initiated by the team or the WNBA.)