The head of Caesars Entertainment, which owns a number of casinos and hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, made a revealing comment on a call with Wall Street analysts this month. “You’re bringing in higher-value customers, and we’re already full,” said CEO Tom Reeg, according to the Wall Street Journal. “You’re kicking out the lowest end. I see no reason that needs to stop or would stop.”

Las Vegas is leaving its everyman reputation behind. Fewer people visited in 2022 than in 2019, but gambling revenue rose by more than 25 percent. Hotel rooms, concerts, and restaurants have also gotten more expensive. And blackjack losses—that is, revenue from the game—neared $1 billion last year, the highest number since 2007, despite a reduced number of tables. Minimum bets have gone up; payouts for winning hands have gone down. Truly, for a loser, Las Vegas is the meanest town on earth.

It’s not that we ought to ensure lower-income Americans have equitable access to Vegas craps tables; states have made sure that there are ever-more opportunities to gamble away your paycheck closer to home. But the gentrification of casinos is part of a larger trend in which whole segments of the leisure, hospitality, and consumer goods industries have recalibrated to serve a smaller, richer clientele.

The gentrification of casinos is part of a larger trend in which whole segments of the leisure, hospitality, and consumer goods industries have recalibrated to serve a smaller, richer clientele.

Consider Six Flags: A recent profile, also in the Wall Street Journal, recounts the theme-park operator’s effort to justify higher prices with family-focused attractions, tastier food, VIP lounges with air conditioning, and better “streetmosphere,” including trees and sitting areas. In 2022, the parks’ admission price rose by 25 percent, and visitor spending rose by 22 percent, even as attendance fell by 26 percent. So far this year, customer daily spending is above $80 a person, almost twice what it was in 2019.

Something similar is happening with movie theaters, which have embraced perks from reclining chairs to dynamically priced seats to full meals to lure Americans away from their streaming services. This phenomenon is not confined to New York and Los Angeles; CMX CineBistro, to take one new offering, has locations in Cincinnati, Richmond, and Raleigh.

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