I'm reading 'n' hearing a lot about the A.I.-assisted retooling of The Wizard of Oz into a cinematic thrill ride that will play at The Sphere in Las Vegas…and maybe nowhere else. I have no idea how I feel about it and probably won't until I go see the film which I have no intention of doing. Part of that is, as I've been writing here, Las Vegas has become a very overpriced place to be. This is not just my opinion. Tourists are staying away in droves, grosses are falling everywhere and the crash is so real that it's been given a name. Everyone's referring to it as "The Gouge."
Would you plan a vacation in a city experiencing what everyone is calling "The Gouge?"
So I have no interest in going to Las Vegas. The city was my second home for a few decades to the point where I seriously considered buying a condo there and living half the time there, half the time in Los Angeles. The hotels there are dropping prices and offering discounts but not enough and not with a lot of sincerity.
Will the shunning of the city affect this new, expensive refry of the classic movie? I dunno but all the stories about the new version seem to be omitting one very important face about it: The price. Ticket prices for a Saturday matinee start at $138 a seat and go up to $349. If you need to pay for parking or you want refreshments, you'll find similar pricing…and that's just part of what's wrong with Vegas these days.