Vegas 2 - 2025 (12 Viewers)

[Vdubman]

This is almost off topic, but I've watched several youtube videos about the decline Vegas and how it's become nearly a ghost town.

For those of you who have been going to the Vegas race for years, how have you noticed the city changing? One of the common gripes are fees for everything now.

I have been in Vegas two to five times a year every year since 2012. It is absolutely less busy than it used to be, back in the late twenty-teens it seemed ridiculously busy. It feels a lot more quiet there nowadays. MGM’s q3 earnings back up my feelings as well. I don’t think Vegas will ever die but I don’t believe it’s thriving.

 

[Nitrobug]

TF car.

Here is the story from Comp Plus https://competitionplus.com/david-davies-uninjured-after-on-track-incident-in-las-vegas/

 

[LoPony]

Here is the story from Comp Plus https://competitionplus.com/david-davies-uninjured-after-on-track-incident-in-las-vegas/

Puts Elite and Hart in an awkward position. I’m sure all this is laid out in signed contracts, if they exist yet, but still. What a bummer.

 

[LoPony]

He did; gave her a big hug a little later after patting her on the back. Oh well; racers have emotional moments too. We all recall when Matt Hagen, who all but had the Championship locked up, then gave it away in Round 1 at the Winternats. He walked off - waaaay off - and sat down alongside a semitrailer with his head buried in his hands for a long time. Seen 'em so upset the tears were flowing during the track-end interview. Seen 'em so mad they wanted to punch somebody and on occasion, did or at least thought about it. (Capps/Bazemore, Torrence/Ferre, Force/Pedregon, Force/Beard, Grays/Elite Motorsports, Al Hoffman and Ed McCulloch/everybody).

The Force/Pedregon thing…they may have had a rivalry. Looking back at it now, the on-camera business was poorly acted and almost surely staged.

The Tanner Gray/Enders thing was hilarious. That was genuine.

Alex Laughlin got into it with a lot of people too, haha.

 

[J. S.]

"......He’s quite young anyway, I guess that’s what makes it especially unattractive......"

If I'm not mistaken, he isn't young at all. He's in his early 30's. He looks younger because he still has a "boyish" face. Many of them seem young compared to some on this site like me, but in a few years he'll be close to middle-aged.

I doubt smoking the tires is the driver's fault. That's a rare move for that car to not make it down the track.

 

[z28]

Smashing stuff when things go south happens in lots of pro sports. Just google "baseball pitcher smashes in dugout" (yes I know that reads weird) and you will get a bunch of articles about pitchers smashing stuff after a bad outing or getting lifted. You can also find some stuff googling "football player throws helmet."

I like that Prock shows emotion. D. Wilk does too, altho more verbally. Tony Stewart declined talking on TV after he went out in Dallas ( I think it was Dallas.) Some probably keep their anger/frustration internally, which is fine too, but I think showing it is fine.

and don't forget Bobby Bode sailing his helmet. Smoke said he'd buy him another. Much better to take it out on something than somebody.

 

[z28]

Puts Elite and Hart in an awkward position. I’m sure all this is laid out in signed contracts, if they exist yet, but still. What a bummer.

They will have an inventory done before final price is determined per Freeman

 

[J. S.]

Anyone know how Ryan Horan did in the Worsham Funny Car today? Did he get his license?

 

[LoPony]

They will have an inventory done before final price is determined per Freeman

Well, that should be interesting. “One wing strut, one cockpit padding, one fuel pump lever, one left front tire, one wheelie bar”, etc… …

I have no idea how bad the crash was cause I didn’t see it, but considering when a top fuel car goes over a wall, it generally isn’t good. I’m hoping we are pleasantly surprised and that the car can be repaired.

 

[mick]

good to hear the driver of that TF'r (davies) is ok

 

[tb]

Don't know if Elite was going to actually use any of Hart's cars next year, Mike Green said that they are switching over to canopy cars and they use a little different style frame.

 

[LoPony]

Don't know if Elite was going to actually use any of Hart's cars next year, Mike Green said that they are switching over to canopy cars and they use a little different style frame.

Josh Hart’s old car was supposed to go to elite, right? Maybe this one is just a writeoff then

 

[LoPony]

and don't forget Bobby Bode sailing his helmet. Smoke said he'd buy him another. Much better to take it out on something than somebody.

Somehow, that didn’t bother me.

But let’s look at the real pros. Bernstein, Amato, Greg Anderson, Blaine Johnson, Doug Kalitta, Dallas Glenn, Bruce Allen. As far as I know, these guys never pitched fits or slammed things around, and if they did I never saw it or heard about it.

A winner takes losses with humility, and acknowledge that it’s part of the sport. I’m sure they’re frustrated, but they are sportsmen, first and foremost.

 

[Joe]

Josh Hart’s old car was supposed to go to elite, right? Maybe this one is just a writeoff then

I heard Josh's backup car went to Chuck Lofton. He's been driving one of Mitch Kings cars in IHRA.

 

[ZWeinstein]

This is almost off topic, but I've watched several youtube videos about the decline Vegas and how it's become nearly a ghost town.

For those of you who have been going to the Vegas race for years, how have you noticed the city changing? One of the common gripes are fees for everything now.

I was in Vegas in early August for a couple days for a quick vacation and I was chatting with my Lyft driver going from the airport and he said he was making about $200 less a week than he was the previous summer. Its not a ghost town by any means but the strip as a whole has noticed a double digit percent drop in visitors in the last few years. Off-strip joints have faired better but I think I read recently something like a 2-3% drop. A lot (but not all) of it has to do with the bean counters for Caesars & MGM shooting themselves in the foot trying to nickel and dime everyone the moment people walk through the doors. Everything from 6/5 blackjack & triple zero roulette on the gaming side to overpriced food even with casual dining options to what I think is the worst, the charging for parking even if you are staying at a resort. This is unfortunately not a Vegas only issue, I work in the gaming industry in Arizona and I've started to see some of the nickel and diming stuff happen here, not to the level of Vegas but still concerning to see. They have started to reverse course on a few of these things but it will take time to undo the damage.

When I go to Vegas I do very little gambling because honestly, I can do it at home and get better comps for less than what I would there. Only big gambling "attraction" for me the first few times going to Vegas was live craps and we got that in Arizona three years ago. Most of what I do is go to shows, visit museums and exhibits and check out a few restaurants and then find a cigar lounge to smoke away a few hours. When I go to the races I dont even bother with the strip because its too much of a pain in the ass to get in and out of if you are driving. Ill stay at Cannery or find an AirBnB to stay at. Come to think of it the last two times I went to LVMS only off track activities other than food was stopping into Orleans to see a few buddies who work there and maybe play cards for an hour or so.

 

[LoPony]

I was in Vegas in early August for a couple days for a quick vacation and I was chatting with my Lyft driver going from the airport and he said he was making about $200 less a week than he was the previous summer. Its not a ghost town by any means but the strip as a whole has noticed a double digit percent drop in visitors in the last few years. Off-strip joints have faired better but I think I read recently something like a 2-3% drop. A lot (but not all) of it has to do with the bean counters for Caesars & MGM shooting themselves in the foot trying to nickel and dime everyone the moment people walk through the doors. Everything from 6/5 blackjack & triple zero roulette on the gaming side to overpriced food even with casual dining options to what I think is the worst, the charging for parking even if you are staying at a resort. This is unfortunately not a Vegas only issue, I work in the gaming industry in Arizona and I've started to see some of the nickel and diming stuff happen here, not to the level of Vegas but still concerning to see. They have started to reverse course on a few of these things but it will take time to undo the damage.

When I go to Vegas I do very little gambling because honestly, I can do it at home and get better comps for less than what I would there. Only big gambling "attraction" for me the first few times going to Vegas was live craps and we got that in Arizona three years ago. Most of what I do is go to shows, visit museums and exhibits and check out a few restaurants and then find a cigar lounge to smoke away a few hours. When I go to the races I dont even bother with the strip because its too much of a pain in the ass to get in and out of if you are driving. Ill stay at Cannery or find an AirBnB to stay at. Come to think of it the last two times I went to LVMS only off track activities other than food was stopping into Orleans to see a few buddies who work there and maybe play cards for an hour or so.

I’m sure it’s less busy. Lots of businesses are shooting themselves in the foot by being too damn greedy and are figuring that out. Vegas is a poster child for the effects of an inflated economy. Going and gambling away your money is a luxury that almost no one has.

Unfortunate.

 

[teague14]

I feel like anybody complaining about somebody showing some emotion when losing absolutely has never played any type of sport or been in some type of competition at any high level before. As long as they’re respectful to the competition, than who cares? This is what most of them do for a living. They spend every second of every day wanting to be the best that they can.

I will raise my son to want to be the very best at everything he does. The second he doesn’t care or takes screwing up lightly, he needs to quit what he’s doing. Maybe take up video games or something.

 

[LoPony]

I feel like anybody complaining about somebody showing some emotion when losing absolutely has never played any type of sport or been in some type of competition at any high level before. As long as they’re respectful to the competition, than who cares? This is what most of them do for a living. They spend every second of every day wanting to be the best that they can.

I will raise my son to want to be the very best at everything he does. The second he doesn’t care or takes screwing up lightly, he needs to quit what he’s doing. Maybe take up video games or something.

Ah, you again. Welcome to our cozy discussion.

Maybe when your son loses a video game, and bashes in the new $2000 monitor that you bought him, you can rethink this idea.