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Holiday Visitors to Las Vegas on the Rise23 December 2000LAS VEGAS -- Dec. 23, 2000 -- As reported by the Associated Press: "About 10,000 more visitors are expected to head to Las Vegas this Christmas holiday weekend compared with last year, industry experts say. "...The Las Vegas and Convention Visitors Authority is estimating 202,000 tourists will hit the famous Strip over the three-day weekend. That's compared with about 192,000 last Christmas, said Kevin Bagger, senior research analyst for the visitors authority. "The increase in visitors is being attributed in part to the August opening of the newest Strip megaresort - the Aladdin hotel-casino, Bagger said. "...In the past, December was a slow time for tourism in Las Vegas. But that began to change as megaresorts started popping up along the Strip, said Alan Feldman, spokesman for the MGM Mirage, which owns the MGM Grand, Bellagio, New York-New York, Mirage and Treasure Island among others. "...Feldman attributes the increased Christmas holiday draw to the city changing from emphasizing only gambling to a destination resort focus with the advent of the megaresort. "...Then there's the New Year's holiday, which is one of the city's biggest weekends. Officials are estimating 263,000 visitors will show up for the New Year's Eve celebration, also up from last year. Last year about 251,000 visitors hit the Strip to ring in the Millennium..." |