Gambling losing its appeal in Las Vegas
By Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times
Gambling, once the mainstay of Las Vegas, is slowly taking a back seat to other entertainment in Sin City.
The latest survey of Las Vegas visitors found that fewer people go to the city to gamble and that first-time visitors are more likely to travel there for a wedding or a convention or to visit friends and family.
The number of visitors increased to 41 million in 2014, up from 39.7 million in 2013, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau. But as hotel occupancy rates and hotel tax revenue went up, gaming revenue for Clark County fell from $9.7 billion in 2013 to $9.5 billion in 2014, according to the agency.