Goodbye To The Vegas We Know

Perhaps no city has seen as much change as Las Vegas has over the past 30 years. What started as a dusty town with a few scattered casinos for those building the Hoover Dam, soon became a risky town run by individuals with Mafia connections, and then turned into a corporate run Disneyland for adults.

Through these changes, people started to look at Vegas differently. Some felt that the change was good as it brought a more modern, high tech feel to it. Others felt that with every new casino attraction and mega-resort, Vegas was losing the character that made it so great. Now again, change is in the air.

A couple of days ago, the shareholders of Caesars Entertainment and Harrah's approved the merger of these two companies into one. But what does this mean for Vegas and the rest of the gaming community? Plenty!

1) There will be less competition in Vegas as there are now fewer casino companies in control. Take into consideration the MGM/Mirage and Mandaly Resorts merger, and that adds up to even fewer companies.

2) Fewer hotel owners will equal higher hotel room rates.

3) Fewer casino managers will mean that casinos will have fewer reasons to offer comps and various promotions to attract players. After all, if you don't like Casino A, you'll just go across the street to Casino B which is also owned by them.

4) Vegas casinos could lose the uniqueness they each hold now. Wouldn't it be easier/more economical to run each establishment like the others?

5) It will be difficult for new competition to become established. Whenever anyone tries, what would stop the multi-billion dollar companies from flexing their political muscle to put the squeeze on the newcomer?

Don't get me wrong - I love Vegas! And I love many of the individual casinos that line the Strip. But it's this love that I have that makes me worry about what the future holds.

One thing is for sure - The days of 99 cent breakfasts, $1 shrimp cocktails and liberal comps are a thing of the past. We can only hope that the little things we take for granted won't begin to disappear as merger-mania continues.