Las Vegas is starting to suffer from the downturn in the U.S. economy and record high fuel prices.
From: casinocitytimes.com
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — For more than a decade, Las Vegas has been the envy of the nation in at least one regard: its explosive growth.
Year after year, the region’s economy marched in step with fast-rising gaming revenue. And the population advanced at the same pace. As last year drew to a close, officials announced that Clark County had topped the 2 million mark — 620,000 people had arrived since 2000.
It’s a story Nevadans have grown accustomed to hearing. And its repeated tellings have fed the belief that such growth would never end, that Las Vegas was immune from the economic pressures that affect the rest of the country.
We may need to think again.
In the past week, several signs, read together, show that long-held assumptions about growth in Southern Nevada could be fundamentally changing.
On Wednesday, the region was hit with two negative forecasts.
The airlines serving McCarran International Airport urged the county to hold off on construction of a third terminal because of concerns there would not be enough flights to fill it. County officials rejected the request.
And Clark County School Board officials announced that during the 2007-08 academic year, the district finished with 4,281 fewer students than were enrolled in September. The district is now predicting abnormally low enrollment growth of about 1.5 percent for the 2008-09 academic year.
Also last week, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded its outlook for Nevada’s economy and two of the state’s top gaming companies, Harrah’s Entertainment and Station Casinos. In revising its bond rating for the state, from "stable" to "negative," Moody’s cited "uncertainty" regarding gaming industry revenue, the national economic downturn, record-high fuel costs and weakness in the housing sector.
The firm also notified MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands Corp. that their ratings might be lowered.