Next month, I’m speaking at the annual Stansberry Conference and Alliance Meeting put on by Stansberry Research. It’s an exclusive event reserved for subscribers, where analysts around our business will share their views on markets and where investors need to be paying attention.

It’s a great event each year, and if you’re interested in attending, you can learn more right here.

I’m sure artificial intelligence, the Federal Reserve – which will have likely cut rates by then – and Nvidia will be topics of conversation.

So, it might surprise you to learn that my presentation will be on the city itself – Las Vegas.

If I could pick only one city to see sustained growth for the next several years, it would have to be Las Vegas. That’s great news for residents and for the industries that support the town – gaming, hospitality, entertainment.

Today, I’d like to offer a preview of my presentation next month…

Las Vegas Is Betting Big on Growth

As many of you know, I’ve been going to Las Vegas, Nevada, for decades now.

It’s always for work, attending big retail and real estate conferences where I can meet and greet key people and get exclusive news firsthand. But, as many of you also know, I do make sure to have some fun in the process as well.

I bring $500 to gamble with every time, which I almost always take to the blackjack or roulette tables – games I know how to beat. Most of the time, anyway.

Again, this is for fun. I can’t claim any higher motive in playing the odds.

All the same, it does give me an up-close-and-personal perspective on Las Vegas vitality. A boots-on-the-ground view to add to my academic analysis that this place is thriving.

People want to be here. And why not when the city has so much to offer? As I wrote in May after attending the annual ISCC (Internation Council of Shopping Centers) conference:

First, an NHL team was introduced in 2017, complete with a brand-new arena. Then came the new Las Vegas Raiders and Allegiant Stadium. Finished in 2020, it seats 65,000 and was home to this past year’s Super Bowl…

And we have to mention “The Sphere.”

Opened in 2023, this 366-foot tall, 516-foot-wide, ball-shaped building features the world’s most advanced audio and video capabilities, making it perfect for live entertainment. Words don’t really do it justice, but this video is a great inside look.

My conclusion back then was that the city has changed from a somewhat seedy spot into “a world-class destination for luxury, amenities, and entertainment.”

Better yet, this bright-lights reputation is growing, with new features being announced left and right. When it comes to concerts this year alone, visitors can choose from Mariah Carey, Maroon 5, Shania Twain, Wu-Tang Clan, Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood…

Once again, this reflects the changing nature of the city. Gone are the Elvis impersonators. The town is a premiere destination for entertainment, and it shows with the lineup.

They all know Vegas is the place to be.

Or how about Play Playground, the latest exhibit at Luxor Hotel and Casino? To quote VisitLasVegas.com, it:

… offers more than 20 larger-than-life nostalgic games that will for sure bring you back to your childhood days. From Doctor, Doctor!, a game asking players to put "transplants" back with their steady hands (sound familiar?) to Perfect Popper, an activity in which participants place shapes in their correct places before the timer runs out (another throwback, right?), this interest space offers a ton of fun. Add in two bars to grab drinks at, and this is a fantastic day or night in Vegas.

Again, that’s at the Luxor, a four-star destination and one of the city’s most iconic buildings with its ancient Egyptian theme. So you’d better believe that MGM Resorts, which operates the asset, did its research before spending all that time and money on a new attraction.

It – and all those other businesses expanding into the area – expects its efforts to pay off. And I understand why.

The International Crowd Is Increasingly Loving Las Vegas

If you look at Harry Reid International Airport, you’ll find it features 16 international carriers that run 217 flights a week to and from places as close as San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, all the way to Seoul, South Korea.

Next month, that number will go up to 18, which will undoubtedly impact 2024 Vegas tourism. We already know international flights carried 2.2876 million passengers into Reid in the first six months, up 20.4% over 2023’s first half.

These are mostly affluent to extremely affluent people, the latter of which are looking for VIP treatment at every turn. This, of course, translates nicely into bigger profits for the Vegas economy.

You can see those profits in companies like VICI Properties (VICI), a gaming real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns world-class assets in Vegas (and elsewhere) like:

• MGM Grand

• Caesars Palace

• Venetian Resort.

Together with its 51 other leading gaming facilities and 39 non-gaming properties, VICI reported quarterly funds from operations (FFO) of $0.57 per share in the second quarter, up from $0.54 the year before. And it must be seeing equally noteworthy results today considering how it just increased its dividend by 4.2% to $1.73.

Moreover, this is despite how Vegas visits are still down since the pandemic.

Inflation plays a part in VICI’s rising success, it’s true. But so do the aforementioned international elite.

I stress their part in the Vegas scene because the U.S. economy could still be in store for a recession sometime soon. Judging by the recent job numbers – including major revisions for first-half figures – we’re not looking as unassailable as previously advertised.

For all we know, we might end up seeing a dip in overall Vegas visits in 2024.

Yet the crème de la crème of “Win City” should continue their stellar success rates nonetheless in the long-term as they continue to build out their reputation as the place the world wants to be.

If Vegas can reclaim its appeal after something as massive as a global pandemic… a mere recession shouldn’t hold it down for long at all. That’s why my bet’s on Las Vegas, both now and for the foreseeable future.

Regards,

Brad Thomas
Editor, Wide Moat Daily