As a 40-year veteran of the casino industry, I have watched the post-pandemic era permanently alter the soul of our casino floors. Corporate operators and private equity firms have systematically eliminated a core piece of Las Vegas history: the casual, open-air live music lounge.
Venues that once hosted incredible local bands six nights a week have been wiped out. In their place, we now have high-margin sports books, luxury retail or hyper-exclusive cocktail lounges that charge premium prices. While casual tourists might not notice the missing music, anyone who knows this city understands that the traditional lounge scene has been completely hollowed out on the Strip.
This isn’t just bad for the classic Vegas atmosphere. It is devastating for our local workforce. Thousands of gigging musicians, tech crews and hospitality workers have lost steady employment. Compounding the issue is Nevada’s 9 percent live entertainment tax, which actively penalizes smaller properties for offering live music rather than incentivizing them to do so.
If we want to preserve the cultural identity that made Las Vegas the Entertainment Capital of the World, our state leaders must step in. We need tax exemptions for small-capacity casino lounges and strict entertainment mandates built directly into gaming licensing requirements. It is time to hold corporate resorts accountable for preserving the live music that built this city.
