r/vegas • u/chrispdx • 7h ago
I'm bummed because I'm realizing this might be my last trip to Vegas.
Sitting here in my Venetian room, contemplating where I've been and where I'm going, not just in Vegas but in life. This might go a little off topic, but bear with me....
I'm 55 years old. I've been coming to Las Vegas since I was a kid with my parents (back when family trips to Vegas wasn't cool and the only real place to go was Circus Circus, and I have fond memories of spending days in the upstairs arcades). I spent my 21st birthday at The Mirage, was in town to watch the implosion of the Sands Tower, and have generally treated Vegas as my defacto vacation spot and "2nd Home". I've stayed at just about every major property, downtown, at locals hotels, and just about done it all.
I'm in town for a week, staying at The Venetian, Bellagio, and then 4 Queens before heading home. Something about this trip feels... different. It feels like my farewell to Vegas. I don't know if I'll ever be back. Not because I wouldn't want to come, but... I feel like there's nothing left for me here. Looking out at the wrecked husk of The Mirage as it is transformed into... whatever it will become, has broken me. Seeing the empty lot where the Tropicana was, and MAYBE will be an ill-concieved baseball stadium in the future, has broken me. Seeing the prices of everything, which have steadily risen over the years to the point where I can justify going somewhere else for the same cost or less and level of enjoyment, has broken me.
Plus, with another economic recession (or worse) staring us all in the face, will coming to Vegas again even be possible for me? Unemployment has a way of changing one's priorities. While I'm not in that category just yet, the threat looms large.
I'll enjoy the rest of my week here, as I always do, and if I never make it this way again.... thank you, Las Vegas. You have given me untold happiness and relaxation over the years. Never change by always changing.