But I think Arnold’s position is just his beginning position, like all good negotiators do.
I just got back from a few days in Vegas and can tell you it was pretty dead for a holiday weekend. Stats that I saw on the news there:
– Rooms rates down 30% yoy
– Visitors down 15% yoy
– Convention attendees down 30% yoy
This sounds bad enough but doesn’t really hit home without an on-site visit…
We visited with some residents who have a new hobby – pointing out newly constructed – COMPLETE – stores that have not been occupied and won’t be for some time. The one that sticks out in my mind was a Taco Bell complete with signs…vacant and with no plans to open.
One of our friends there works for a local engineering firm who said the management feels there won’t be a need to design a new building in Vegas – casino or commerical – for 5 to 10 years. They’ve laid off 25% of their staff with more to come (luckily they are surviving from work imported from other locations).
We visited the 2-month old M Resort at the peak of Sat night on a holiday weekend…if I didn’t know better I would have thought it was a Monday night on a normal work week. Very slow, ratio of staff to guests was extremely out of whack. More cuts are coming out Vegas way, for sure.
