A month or so ago I was having a conversation with an acquaintance about the current state of Las Vegas and the casino industry. My acquaintance was a lifelong Las Vegas resident who had moved to Arizona to seek out his fortune, and he was fairly disgusted with the state of the gambling establishments in Las Vegas. I asked him why he thought it was that way, considering all the benefits we had just previously discussed. His answer was quite revealing, so pay attention if you want to know what the “Nexplanity” really means when it comes to Las Vegas’ lack of concern over taxes, income inequality, lack of effort to retain existing customers and the problems with the Gaming Commission over the years.
Perhaps in hindsight, local and state government officials would have been better served by maintaining the Convention Center over and instead putting on bigger events and attracting more visitors to the newest casino, instead of investing all of their cash into a gambling casino that pays no taxes and doesn’t pay anything for the use of its property. You see, a casino owner can spend as much money as they want, so why should the government regulate their activities? It makes no sense, yet this is exactly what is happening.
I suppose one could argue that the slot machines are important in Las Vegas because without them people wouldn’t be able to gamble at all. Well, that may be true, but then you look at the other gambling establishments in Vegas and they all have plenty of slot machines, which is where the bulk of the tax money comes from. Yet, why is there so much hostility towards these businesses when it comes to gambling in general? The question should be; why is there so much hostility towards the gaming industry, including the casinos and their employees?
It seems the anger at the casinos is a result of the fact that the gaming industry took up most of the funding for the entire city of Las Vegas. Without gambling being an integral part of the local economy, the casinos are in danger of going out of business, and without that funding behind them, they’ll lose most of their social standing and customers will flock to the new places that they’re betting their money on instead. In the case of the slot machines, some locals blame the homeowners of the area for not making enough money to cover the mortgage on their houses. Others blame the poor management of the casinos themselves for the poor gambling experience they’re providing to their residents. Regardless of whose fault it is, it’s a lot easier to blame others than it is to take any actions ourselves and try to fix what we’ve done.
If you or someone you know suffers from a gambling addiction, whether it be online, at a land based casino, or at a local strip club, you owe it to yourself and everyone else to seek help. Many gambling addicts go back and gamble some more once they’ve been treated, but that’s no guarantee that they won’t return. In addition to that, gambling addiction is a serious matter that can have some very serious negative consequences. Living with a gambling addiction isn’t a good situation to be in, and you should do everything you can to get treatment for your problem.
While you might think that casino goers in Vegas always tip well because they’re used to winning, the truth is that they tip because they expect to win – and winning is what gambling is all about. You should never feel shame or guilt when you win at a casino. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, you should feel ashamed for giving people the opportunity to cheat. In addition to this, it’s important to remember that there are many great places to win money if you don’t want to gamble at all – why keep betting for a casino when you can just walk away? With all this in mind, it should be pretty obvious to you that you should make a change and get help for your problem, because gambling isn’t worth it.
