Could Las Vegas Be Next Bankrupt City?

We have all been watching Detroit and wondering how that whole mess is going to play out.  The last I heard is that the folks on the city's pension plan may get only $.20 on the dollar.  Yep that is tragically sad for those folks who depended on those pensions....however, this is what happens when liberal unions and politicians choose to IGNORE MATH for decades.

Of course our Federal Government is also ignoring math and playing with Social Security, Medicare and all sorts of other entitlement programs...so we wonder if we will continue to see cities fall first and if so, could that be sort of a harbinger of what is coming for the whole nation?

Now we have news that two of America's "sin cities", Las Vegas and Atlantic City...may be heading the way of Detroit.

MYFOXNY.COM - With the closure of the recent Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, rumors of the bankrupt Revel being sold to Hard Rock, more than half of the mortgages in Las Vegas under water, casinos opening up all around the country and online gambling legislation underway in various states, it seems as if the reasons for the very existence of Atlantic City and Las Vegas are in serious jeopardy.
Beginning in the late 1940s, Las Vegas became known as the 'adult playground of the world.' Celebrities knew they made the big time when their names graced the billboards of ‘Sin City.’ Gamblers hoping to make money would flock there all year and families looking for a nice getaway would enjoy relaxing by the extravagant swimming pools under the hot desert sun, seeing the various shows and concerts, and whenever possible, sneaking away to the blackjack tables while their kids slept.

It was paradise.

On the other hand, Atlantic City, once a major vacation spot during the roaring 20s and 1930s, as seen on HBOs Boardwalk Empire, collapsed when cheap air fare became the norm and people had no reason to head to the many beach town resorts on the East Coast. Within a few decades, the city, known for being an ‘oasis of sin’ during the prohibition era, fell into serious decline and dilapidation.

New Jersey officials felt the only way to bring Atlantic City back from the brink of disaster would be to legalize gambling. Atlantic City’s first casino, Resorts, first opened its doors in 1978. People stood shoulder to shoulder, packed into the hotel as gambling officially made its way to the East Coast. Folks in the East Coast didn't have to make a special trip all the way to Vegas in order to enjoy some craps, slots, roulette and more.

As time wore on, Atlantic City and Las Vegas became the premier gambling spots in the country.

While detractors felt that the area still remained poor and dilapidated, officials were quick to point out that the casinos didn't bring the mass gentrification to Atlantic City as much as they hoped but the billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs for the surrounding communities was well worth it.

Atlantic City developed a reputation as more of a short-stay ‘day-cation’ type of place, yet managed to stand firm against the 'adult playground' and 'entertainment capital of the world' Las Vegas.

The situation in Vegas isn't much better. The Great Recession of the late 2000s hit Las Vegas hard. As the recession wore on, and as gambling received approval in various jurisdictions throughout the United States, folks realized they didn't need to travel thousands of miles just to gamble.

Casino revenues and the price of real estate plummeted. Unemployment went as high as 14 percent, however unofficially, local officials said it may have been as high as 30 percent.

More than half of all home owners with a mortgage in the entire state of Nevada owe more than their homes are worth.

One local bought his condo in 2006 for $209,000, and as of 2012 it was worth barely $60,000.

However, in mid 2013 housing prices started to bounce back in what many are calling a new bubble. 

But according to Bloomberg.com this so-called bubble is simply from banks completing their foreclosures and holding onto inventory.  The increased value of properties has been attracting various investors and speculators, which is helping fuel this latest rise in real estate prices.
Experts say once banks start releasing the foreclosed homes into the market to start selling them, the prices may begin to get depressed again.

In Las Vegas alone, more than half of properties with mortgages are still underwater, or worth less than the loans against them, according to Zillow Inc., a real estate data firm. 
Trendy hotels like SLS Las Vegas are set to open in 2014, in an effort to reinvent the city as purely an entertainment paradise

One local said “The reality is, people just won’t fly to the middle of a desert to play some slots, watch shows and sit down for some blackjack when they can drive right near their town or city, or play legally online.”

Here;  http://www.myfoxny.com/story/24280415/the-next-detroit-atlantic-city-and-las-vegas-facing-catastrophic-collapse

Interesting.  We all have so many places to gamble away our money and time that we really don't need those "sin cities" anymore.  We have all the gambling we can handle at our local casinos and all the x-rated material we can handle sitting on all of our computers!!  Who needs Vegas?!?!

Of course we have no idea if these cities will make a big comeback or not, but it makes one wonder how many cities COULD go bankrupt before it starts to affect the entire nation.