During the past ten years or so, I've been hearing a lot of intelligent discussions about the future of Las Vegas. Now that sufficient time has passed, that future is now and the "Doom Forecasters" of years ago have quieted down a bit! But not completely.
The future is always uncertain and sometimes years away, but we have to admit that anything is possible if given enough time.
It has been proven that if a billion monkeys pounded on a billion typewriters, one of them would eventually pound out the Declaration of Independance. (Might take more monkeys and more typewriters, but you get the idea!)
The only certain thing you can rely on about the future is to "Expect the unexpected!"
Some people are able to do that well enough and plan accordingly and
reap the resulting rewards.
But not many!!
My military experience has taught me to expect the unexpected and prepare a well formed plan to meet that unanticipated contingency. I am not an expert in this area and have often been called a pessimist in my efforts to visualize the cons rather than the pros of any future business venture.(If we intend to go on a 4th of July picnic next month, I plan to have a great time, but I also plan for rain!)
With that in mind, let's take a look into the future of Las Vegas and see what can possibly go wrong. When that is evident, we can plan to make things right.
WATER : H2O, or the scarcity thereof, is probably the number one main concern and was the major topic of conversation years and years ago when the City of Las Vegas, Nevada was considering the possibility of NOT allowing another two story, 100 room, hotel/casino to be built on Las Vegas Blvd. But even without resolving this major concern the permit was granted and the hotel was built and the Colorado River still continues to flow freely on its venture to the ocean way beyond the Boulevard.
Fourty years later and the Colorado is still flowing freely, but now I understand it never meets the sea.
It is about 2000 AD now and you still hear about the scarcity of water from the good people of this fine resort city in the desert. These fine people are still concerned! Just as they were in years gone by!
We, as visitors to this fine city, still see little signs on little tables in big casinos, "Please ask your waiter for water!"
That's about the only water conservation effort I've ever seen.
But it must have solved the problem, for millions more are drinking and bathing now and filling pools in backyard gardens. And many, many new hotels are offering many, many more rooms with hot and cold running water with no restrictions whatsoever.
And the Colorado still flows freely in its southward flow towards the sea miles beyond Las Vegas Boulevard.
It's amazing what a little table-top, conservation sign can do!
It must be working! Or someone's working overtime to produce the water that this growing city requires every single second of every single day!
But please remember this!
The time may come within our lifetime when we may be asked to bring our own water with us to Las Vegas and maybe a couple of gallons extra for the ice cubes!
"Check your water-bag, sir?"
GAS : Gas has always been a major concern for this oasis city in the desert. Las Vegas is dependant on gas and other petroleum products to get us there and then to get us on our way back home once they got our money.
Thirty years ago or more, there was no gas to get! If you were lucky and parked in a long line overnight, you might wake up the next morning to the honk of the car behind you telling you to move ahead and get your 4 gallons of fuel. If you were lucky!
When gas is scarce, people don't drive and airplanes don't fly!! And no one walks to Vegas!
Vegas suffered! It took a lot more gas than 4 gallons to get there and back!
Vegas suffered bad! It was almost like a ghost town and if the problem lasted much longer, the casinos would have surrendered to the desert's shifting sands.
In today's volitile world, the scarcity of petroleum could be another major problem for everyone. We can always join a car pool and a drive a short distance to work, but how many of us would join a car pool to drive to Las Vegas?
Not many, I think!
How many weeks can even the best of casinos take a beating by not giving a beating to the weekly customers that used to come "a beating on their casino doors"?
Not many, I bet!
So, petroleum is a major concern!
NEW STUFF TO SEE: Not me, but a lot of people go to Las Vegas to see the "new stuff" that Las Vegas is so famous for!
Admit it! I'm sure many of you are one of those. You don't go to Las Vegas to gamble or raise a lot of heck or see the dancing ladies! You go there to see the new hotels and casinos and maybe some red rocks out in the arid desert. These new and unseen sights are your main attraction!
I'm more than willing to bet that 30% to 40% of these tourists in Las Vegas today are there to see the "new stuff, and would not be there at all if there was no new, "new stuff" to see!
Within the next few years, all of the "new stuff" will more than likely have been built and already seen, and "new stuff plans" may be few and far between, so all these "new stuff folks" will take vacations elsewhere to see the new stuff they have yet to see.
So, it is my contention, that Las Vegas will have to continue to offer "new stuff" on a continuous basis in order to keep the visitor volumn riseing and the profit margin high.
Make sense??? Maybe not! But it's fun to think about!
I bet ya the casinos are thinking though!
------------------
will800
[This message has been edited by will800 (edited August 30, 1999).]
_________________________
will800
Previous Topic
Index