Stretch & Take Flight

That sound. The unmistakable sound of slot machines as soon as you land at Harry Reid International Airport. Your Vegas experience starts the moment you step off the plane and into the desert heat.

I’ve been coming to Las Vegas regularly since 2012. I even visited twice in 2021. I’ve been fortunate to have had the a well rounded Vegas experience. I’ve spent time off the strip at different restaurants. I’ve gotten intoxicated to the point of missing an entire day in Vegas. The only other American city I’ve probably spent more time in than Las Vegas (that I didn’t live in) is Miami.

Vegas is always a great time.

But it’s 2025 and the world is literally in peril.

We’re living in a non-recession recession. Jobs are not hiring. (Trust me on this) Everything except salary and wages have gone up. And then there’s a whole genocide that has been waging for nearly 2 years.

When people are facing hard times, the first things they cut are the extras: travel, hair and nail appointments, dinners, movie dates. Everything has to go.

In New York, I started hearing the rumors that tourism in Las Vegas has hit the skids. There are videos on YouTube about how this squeeze is being felt from everyone from the Uber drivers to the servers and the dancers.

After skipping Las Vegas in 2023/2024, I was ready to come back. I planned a short trip for Memorial Day weekend with my bestie. Unfortunately, she had to drop out last minute but I continued forward with the trip.

The trip started off rocky. Literally. I flew in on Frontier airlines. One thing about Frontier? Baby they are ghet-TOE! But I had a flight credit from a previous delayed flight I was on which made my ticket price $47. You can’t beat that with a stick. [I’m writing this on a Spirit flight back to New York which only cost $60. I will fly any airline for a travel deal on a holiday weekend.]

I was coming at the end of the holiday weekend: Sunday – Tuesday. A lot of people start Memorial Day weekend on a Thursday or Friday and leave Sunday or Monday.

I took the first flight out of New York and landed just before 10am on Sunday. I headed straight to the IHOP for the steak omelette breakfast with an espresso martini topped off with a Cardi B whip shot.

My hotel of choice when I visit Vegas is the Sahara Las Vegas. Located at the south end of the Strip, the Sahara has gone through renovations the last few years and it looks amazing. Of course, I couldn’t check in at 11am so I quickly changed into my bathing suit and headed to the Azilo pool. After a multi-year renovation, the Azilo pool opened in 2022. With screens surrounding the pool and jacuzzi, two large bars, Azilo is primed for entertainment.

I thought I would spend an hour there while I waited to check in. That one hour turned into four. I was having a ball! The music was great. My pina colada was potent and my carne asada nachos were delicious.

After four hours in the sun, I finally checked in my room at about 4:30pm. A renovated king room with a view of the monorail and the Spring mountains in background. I showered and decided to nap after a long travel day with no sleep. That 45 minute nap wasn’t enough.

I quickly got dressed and did my makeup in preparation for Miss Jackson, if you nasty. The concert started at 8:30pm. At 8:10pm, I was still in the hallway taking selfies. Luckily for me, Ubers were readily available and I took the 10 minute car ride to the Resorts World theater. I arrived promptly at 8:35pm and Janet already started.

I looked amongst the song titled drink names and decided on the Anytime, anyplace: a version of the espresso martini. I headed upstairs to the Mezzanine level to find my seat. As I made my way to my row, I was shocked. My section was nearly empty. The first two rows were filled but the back rows were empty. Who is the promoter?

Miss Janet Jackson put on a show! For two hours, she ran through her 40 years of hits and even some of the most obscure album cuts. She sounded and looked good. The audience had good energy. All of the elements of a great show.

I spent the rest of the weekend relaxing.

I went off the strip to the Imperial sushi buffet. The buffet was much cheaper than the options on the strip. While en route back to the Sahara, I got into discussion about the state of Las Vegas with my uber driver. He said he could definitely feel that tourism was down. A week where he would make $1400, he had only made about $700. On a holiday week.

Later, I took the monorail from the Sahara to Caesar’s Palace for a little window shopping and vibe check. It was crowded but not as crowded as I’ve ever seen it before. That was pretty much the energy for the rest of the weekend.

Vegas felt empty.

The reality is that you can’t surmise on the state of Las Vegas by visiting on a holiday weekend. It takes weeks, months, and even years of careful data collection. But the consensus from the locals on TikTok is that Las Vegas is feeling the heat.

Literally.

The heat of less tourists. The heat of declining revenue.

But Las Vegas isn’t without hope. Since 2020, more than 300,000 people have moved to Nevada. My brother has even had a home built in Las Vegas in the last year. It’s clear that the city needs change and fast. They have to bring visitors back to Sin City.

How they’ll do it? We’ll just have to wait and see.