 Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter! Related Links
|
Gaming News
Top Economist Lists Risks for Las Vegas20 April 2001LAS VEGAS, Nevada – April 20, 2001 –As reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal: “The tremendous growth experienced in Las Vegas over the last 10 to 20 years has helped the city remain economically vibrant during recessionary times in neighboring states and throughout the nation, a top economist said Thursday at Cashman Center. ”But like every economic expert, Sung Won Sohn delivered some bad news with the good. ”`I think there are risks. I made a laundry list of risks,’ Sohn said at a presentation of the Las Vegas Perspective 2001, an annual synopsis of Southern Nevada's demographics, lifestyle, business and industry, retail, real estate and tourism. ”…`If employment goes up or down 1 percent in the nation, Las Vegas goes up or down 1.75 percent. If you look at jobs, employment is more volatile here,’ he said. ”Other risk factors facing Las Vegas include availability of capital for new megaresort development, the strength of California's economy, energy prices, Indian gaming and the Asian economy, Sohn said. ”…`Simply because the economy here has been growing so fast, this rapid growth has masked any potential economic problems we may encounter,’ he said. ”…Indian gaming is going to hurt Reno more than Las Vegas, he said, because people are coming here not as much for gaming as for a resort experience. ”But gasoline prices, already high and expected to surge during summer demand, and natural gas and electric bills that have increased by $450 a month for many Californians, will take their toll on the 30 percent of Las Vegas visitors who drive in from California, Sohn warned. ”…A former White House chief of monetary policies and financial markets in the Ford administration, Sohn said the historical pattern of gaming revenue is not very sensitive to the ups and downs in the U.S. economy. ”However, room occupancy rates do follow the economy, and with no new megaresorts under development to create demand, Las Vegas can expect a softening in leisure travel…” |