Visitors to Las Vegas are noticing thinner crowds at popular spots like the airport and the Strip, and many are embracing the change.

These days, local taxes can easily add more than $100 to the bill for a hotel stay - and the businesses don't even get the money. Your hotel bill may soon be getting higher - and it could have nothing to do with the room rate.

Your hotel bill may soon be getting higher — and it could have nothing to do with the room rate. A number of cities are upping the taxes they levy on hotel guests. The add-on expense, sometimes referred to as a “bed tax” or “tourist tax,” can equate to hundreds of dollars in certain instances, depending on the locale and how long a guest stays.

Mention Las Vegas to just about anyone, and images of the Strip with its bright lights, casinos, and unmatched energy likely come to mind. But beneath the shine, Las Vegas isn’t having its best moment. Although it might not be obvious to the average visitor, the city has been quietly battling a slowdown.

Those semiannual transitions between daylight saving time and standard time can be disorienting, leaving us an hour more tired in one direction or the other. In addition to making us bleary-eyed sooner — or later — in the day than our bodies are used to, these time changes have an impact on the restaurant industry, as customers' body clocks adjust in terms of eating times as well as when they sleep. Whether you operate a standalone restaurant or are at the helm of a chain or franchise — which aren't the same thing — daylight saving time can definitely shake up your business.

A federal government shutdown could cost the travel industry $1 billion a week and deliver a punishing blow to Las Vegas’ already faltering tourism economy, industry experts say, as mounting delays, unpaid airport workers and rising uncertainty deter visitors while Congress remains bitterly divided over keeping the government open.

Primm was once one of Nevada’s more popular gambling resorts, a less expensive, less flashy, slightly more kitschy alternative to Las Vegas that benefited from being a good 45 minutes closer than Sin City. It was the place where you could stop and ride the iconic freeway-adjacent roller coaster, ogle the Bonnie and Clyde “Death Car” or shop at the premium outlet mall. But a series of factors has contributed to Primm’s slow decline, including the COVID pandemic and increased competition from casinos popping up on tribal lands in California.

Las Vegas may feel the effects of a potential government shutdown, but experts suggest the impact might not be as severe as feared.