There were more than 150 Division-I college football and college basketball games on Saturday morning but the sportsbook at the Venetian in Las Vegas was completely empty. There were maybe four people in total.
Why so dead?
Las Vegas continues to overcharge its patrons for things they cannot afford. This is just the latest example.
Las Vegas is dying.
A place that was once known as the gambling capital of the world has been on a sharp decline over the last 12 months. Visitor volume dropped approximately 9% year-over-year in September, which corresponds to an 8% overall decrease in visitor count for the first nine months of the year.
Hotel occupancy rates are falling. Airport passenger traffic is down more than 6%.
Las Vegas tourism saw several consecutive months of year-over-year decline in 2025, with significant drops in the summer and into the fall. That is not typical for the city during those months.
Everyone and their mother has a different theory about this concerning trend. Reduced international travel plays a role. As does the geopolitical climate. Las Vegas points to each of those things as the primary reasons for why the city is not dying, swearing that it will eventually bounce back. Maybe so!
However, the biggest reason for this decline is simple.
Increasing prices for hotels, food, drinks, resort fees, parking, entertainment, and even for gambling has made a trip to Las Vegas a lot less attractive. Especially in a world where 32 of 50 states can legally wager on sports from their phones. The same goes for table games, which have also moved online.
(The Aria hotel charged $26 for a bottle of water from the minibar in October. $26!!!!!)
It costs too much money to go to Nevada for something you can do at home. Period. I know it’s not a one-to-one comparison but I would rather drink a fifth of bourbon on my couch, bet on my phone, and go to a local bar with my friends than spend thousands of dollars to do the same thing in Las Vegas. There are plenty of local concerts and/or shows that don’t require me to travel.
The Venetian sportsbook was empty on a Saturday.
More than 130 Division-I men’s college basketball games were played on Saturday. There were multiple FCS playoff games in addition to Army/Navy. That doesn’t include professional soccer, hockey and basketball. It was a loaded slate of games for the second weekend of December.
I personally placed five bets from my phone before noon.
Meanwhile, the Venetian Hotel reportedly required any guest that wanted to sit at its sportsbook to spend a minimum of $100 on food and drink— in addition to the bets themselves. As a result, it was empty. Three, maybe four people sat in front of the screens. That’s it.
An entirely empty Sportsbook on a jam packed Saturday of games at the @VenetianVegas @YahooSportsbook
— GetACLSports.com®–Sports Investor (@TheRealMrACL) December 13, 2025
Why? Because they won’t let you even sit and watch a game without hitting a $100 minimum in food and drinks, regardless of how much you bet.
Avoid this place at all costs. pic.twitter.com/DWlw0tQ1Vn
Meanwhile, Las Vegas wonders why it’s dying. Hm.
Maybe it’s because people don’t want to spend $100 on food and drink while watching the game on which they just bet. If the bet wins, that is more money to spend later. If it loses, the book get the money.
Why required an additional $100 on top of it?!