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Can Adult-Centred Las Vegas Ever Be Family Friendly? /

Can Adult-Centred Las Vegas Ever Be Family Friendly?

Bringing your kids to Las Vegas is a really bad idea. And though the city might pretend to love families visiting, they really don't. Las vegas has been designed to be an adult playground from the ground up. It's sole purpose is for gamblers to have fun. From a business perpective, anything that takes away from that aim is bad. Because kids are forbidden by law from entering a casino, it means finding something else for the to do whilst mom and dad are hitting up the progressive jackpot slots.

family walking by the sunset in Las Vegas

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Wishful Thinking Will Not Change Las Vegas From Being Adult-Centered

The attempt to attract families to the Las Vegas Strip proved to be unsuccessful. This is highlighted by the failure of MGM Amusement Park. Many say that an amusing TV commercial produced by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority is responsible for its demise. In the ad, a father humorously informs his son that only broccoli is available as food in Vegas. The commercial portrays the father describing everything, including ice cream, as broccoli.

This leads the disappointed child to choose to stay home instead. That’s because some wiser heads realised that adult-centred Las Vegas is for adults to let their hair down. Where they escape to have fun and get away from their kids. If you can pull yourself away from the excitement of playing immersive jackpot games on Omni Slots Casino, then let’s have a deeper dive into why Las Vegas has failed to attract families.

The MGM Amusement Park

However, during the 1990s, adult-centred Las Vegas made an effort to encourage families to visit the city. Yet the outcome was far from successful. Contrary to popular belief, the failed attempt did not lead to a massive decline in revenue. In 1993, the new MGM Grand was unveiled, occupying the position of the largest single hotel in the world with an impressive 6,852 rooms. With construction costs surpassing $1 billion, the MGM Grand marked the first Las Vegas resort to explicitly target families since the opening of Circus Circus in 1968.

To cater to family entertainment, the casino featured a prominent “Wizard of Oz” display, while a separate $100 million amusement park was built on 33 acres of land behind the resort. The amusement park boasted various rides, including a roller coaster, log flume, rapids raft, and a simulated film studio backlot boat tour.

Adults Don’t Want Kids Shows

By 1996, Dorothy and Toto had disappeared, and by the year 2000, the amusement park had also vanished. The reason for its demise was disappointing attendance, which is often the case. The Las Vegas Review-Journal pointed out at the time that MGM Grand Resorts Adventures failed to consider the fact that a third of its visitors came from California, where theme parks were abundant and constantly introducing new thrilling rides.

But no matter how anyone tries to spin it, adult-centred Las Vegas simply isn’t for children. Having a fun fair or some rides only covers a few minutes of entertainment. What happens when mommy and daddy want to spend a 24-hour binge at the blackjack tables or playing jackpot poker?

Where’s The Magic?

There was only one other significant example of a family-friendly attraction that debuted in the 1990s and closed in the early 2000s: Caesar’s Magical Empire. It was an elaborate and technologically advanced wonderland designed for visitors aged 12 and above. It opened in 1996 but shut down in 2002. Despite offering a three-hour experience with dinner included, the admission price was a staggering $125 to $200 per person (also considered high back then).

Reviews of the attraction were mixed. Nonetheless, despite the closure of these two attractions, Las Vegas has continued to add new kid-friendly options every year since the start of the new millennium. And none of them have worked.

The Stratosphere, now known as The Strat, introduced three rides (X-Scream, Insanity, and SkyJump) that still provide thrills on its upper decks, although it removed its High Roller roller coaster in 2005. The High Roller was the world’s tallest coaster but also one of the slowest.

New Shows In Adult-Centred Las Vegas

There are still notions towards making a more family-friendly Las Vegas. Therefore, the city has shown a clear effort. Some of the current shows include Mac King’s comedic magic show at the Excalibur, Nathan Burton’s magic show at the Miracle Mile Shops, and Popovich Comedy Pet Theater, also located at the Miracle Mile Shops. In the previous year, a 7,000-square-foot video arcade replaced the former sportsbook at Bally’s/Horseshoe.

Additionally, the immersive Area 15 art experience, spanning 200,000 square feet and featuring the Virtualis VR game room, opened in 2020. It’s now expanding to showcase Universal’s first year-round horror experience that is not affiliated with a theme park.

Child-Friendly Las Vegas Is Pointless

Often the MGM Grand amusement park fails to attract families to the adult-centered Las Vegas. However, another prominent example is the discontinuation of the free pirate show, “The Battle for Buccaneer Bay.” This used to take place five times a night in front of MGM’s Treasure Island.

In 2003, the show was transformed into “The Sirens of TI.” In truth, it was an attempt to appeal to Gen-Xers with an MTV-inspired theme. However, the new casino owner, Phil Ruffin, decided to end it ten years later. While the media emphasized this closure as the removal of the last family-friendly aspect of Las Vegas, it actually marked the end of a different trend.

Changing The Adult-Centred Las Vegas Theme

Steve Wynn played a significant role in this shift by introducing his Mirage resort in 1989. Later triumphing over themed resorts with his Bellagio in 1998. The focus shifted from building structures like pyramids, Eiffel Towers, and Venetian canals.

Now they try to create an atmosphere of luxury and surpassing competitors in opulence. Interestingly, the casino area that was previously in use as a backstage space for both pirate shows is now leased by Victory Hills Exhibitions. Here you’ll find its Marvel Avengers Station attraction, which opened in 2016.

Numbers Speak For Themselves

The myth that adult-centred Las Vegas is not family-friendly is contradicted by some wishful statistical evidence. From 1993 to 1994, the number of visitors to Vegas increased from 23.5 million to 27.2 million. Thus marking the highest annual percentage growth in tourism ever. Excluding the recent post-pandemic recovery. According to the LVCVA, the proportion of families visiting Las Vegas rose from 7% to 12% between 1992 and 1996.

Today it stands at a staggering 21%. But as we all know, there are statistics, and there are statistics. These numbers are from almost 3 decades ago. Today, Las Vegas is a crude, loud and Godless place only dedicated to money. Gambling being a zero-sum game means that for every winner, there’s a loser. Except in this case, it’s the casinos who are the winners by a long way.

The Myth Of Family-Friendly Adult-Centred Las Vegas

In truth, here at Jackpotfinder.com, we find it difficult to believe that adult-centred Las Vegas is a family-friendly destination. When you witness firsthand the sheer number of pornographic flyers for prostitutes littering the pavements as well as the super aggressive pimps.

Then you’ll see that the city has rightfully earned its reputation as the ultimate adult playground. For grown-ups, Las Vegas’s allure lies in its vibrant and electrifying atmosphere, which revolves around indulgence and entertainment.

From the moment you set foot on the iconic Las Vegas Strip, you are enveloped in a world of luxurious resorts, captivating casinos, and top-notch entertainment. The city offers a plethora of adult-oriented activities. These include high-stakes gambling, extravagant shows, and renowned nightclubs.

There’s also a diverse culinary scene to suit every taste. Adult-centred Las Vegas encourages a carefree attitude and provides endless possibilities for adults to unwind. They can indulge their desires, and create lasting memories. But none of these things are really for children or anyone under the age of 18 years old. And why on earth would you want to bring your kids to a city based solely on gambling?

Stay At Home With Marathonbet Online Casino

Therefore, when you come across a commercial about “broccoli ice cream” in Vegas, you could see it as an attempt to attract families. But such things are truly futile. For parents to spend freely, they don’t need to be worried about what the kids are up to in the back of their minds. It’s the same story if you were gambling online at a casino like Omni slots Casino. After all, how on earth can you concentrate on winning the jackpot slots if you’re constantly being bothered by your demanding brat?