The lights of Las Vegas' economy have lost some glow
Marketplace All-in-One
Marketplace
4.5 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 9 October 2025
⏱️ 8 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Las Vegas is arguably the discretionary spending capital of the country, if not the entire world. This makes it a good barometer for understanding the current economy — not just of one city or state, but the entire nation. And right now, Vegas is grappling with declining tourism and a high unemployment rate. We'll visit Sin City to learn more about the slump. Plus, why is China stepping up controls on rare earth metal exports?
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, listeners. Marketplace's Webby-winning Kids podcast, Million Bazillion, is back for an all-new season. |
| 0:07.2 | Hosts Bridget and Ryan are answering a whole new set of kid questions about everything from royalties and franchises to why the heck we have a $2 bill. |
| 0:17.0 | Even grownups might learn a thing or two. |
| 0:19.6 | Million Bazillion is presented in partnership with Greenlight, the debit card and money app for kids and teens. |
| 0:25.7 | Give your family the tools to manage money wisely with Greenlight. Learn more at greenlight.com |
| 0:31.5 | slash million. And tune in to Million Bazillion wherever you find your favorite podcasts. |
| 0:38.6 | Some of the bulbs are burned out on the Las Vegas economic indicator. |
| 0:44.1 | I'm David Brancaccio. |
| 0:45.2 | Turns out what happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas. |
| 0:48.9 | Today a story from what is arguably the discretionary spending capital of the country to |
| 0:53.9 | help us understand the state |
| 0:55.2 | of the economy wherever you live. I'm just back from the neon Babylon, as some call it, |
| 1:00.5 | where I found that the economy has lost some of its glow. |
| 1:05.4 | On a pleasant recent evening, a few dozen, but not hundreds of people, stopped to watch the dancing |
| 1:11.6 | fountains in front of the Bellagio Casino. Is it me or did the Jets look like a bar graph of the |
| 1:17.5 | Las Vegas economy? Way up coming out of the pandemic through last year. But for 2025, more than a |
| 1:24.5 | dribble, but not a mighty flow. We love Las Vegas. |
| 1:29.2 | We know this because Jim here has the retro welcome to Las Vegas sign tattooed all the way down his calf. |
| 1:36.8 | He, Janice, and two pals have flown the 11 hours from Scotland, not for the first time. |
| 1:42.5 | Oh, no, no. |
| 1:43.8 | Maybe 10, maybe. |
| 1:44.9 | So you can compare for us. Do you feel that it's a little quieter here than on your |
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