![]() ![]() Visitor spending in Las Vegas totaled $36.9 billion in 2019, the LVCVA says. The destination is so popular that it has become known as the “ninth island.” What else is there to do?” Okihara said.Ībout 300,000 passengers have flown from Hawaii to Las Vegas in each of the last five years, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority. In 2019, before the pandemic, that number reached 335,488. They all recall the hours drifting by while on the casino floor or seated in front of a slot machine. Susan Akana - who describes Las Vegas as an “adult Disneyland” - said it’s more comfortable staying downtown because they are surrounded by other Hawaii residents.īut the main draw for the trio is the gambling. The Akanas like the Cal because it’s one of the few places in the tourist district that serves food from home. On Sunday, Okihara and her friends Susan Akana and her husband Moses had just returned from a weeklong stay at the California Hotel and Casino in Downtown Las Vegas. Okihara says she would fly there about six times a year before the pandemic and stay five nights each time. ![]() ![]() Oahu resident Sandra Okihara has vacationed multiple times a year in Las Vegas for decades. Editors Note: This is the first installment in a new series, “ Rolling the Dice,” which will take a deeper look at the perennial question of whether gambling should be legalized in Hawaii. ![]()
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