Las Vegas has been relatively quiet for the past two holiday seasons but a new report in The Las Vegas Sun predicts that the City of Sin will be booming again this Christmas and New Year’s eve.

This holiday weekend, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority anticipates that over 250 000 visitors will pass through the city. Last year, 240 000 tourists spent their Christmas weekend in Las Vegas, so this year will mark a 5% increase in activity.

The non-gaming revenues are predicted at reaching upwards of about $160 million, while hotel occupancy is estimated at 80%. This will be one of the busiest times that Las Vegas has seen this year, as people from all over the country gather to celebrate the holidays.

In response to the news, many of the city’s most famous hotels are offering discounted rates. The Bellagio is offering rooms to $169 while the MGM Grand has rooms for about $125. On the lower end, the Hard Rock and the Palms have daily rates that are less than $100. You can even find hotel rooms for about $50 at The Sahara Palace and Imperial Palace.

If you don’t have plans for your holidays yet, Las Vegas is certainly somewhere worth checking this Christmas season – if you’re up to for taking a spontaneous trip!

Real estate developers found the Las Vegas Strip to present one of the most exciting building opportunities, neglecting to notice the city’s downtown core. As such, Downtown Las Vegas has been left barren, with a landscape of half-finished buildings, old rundown casinos and government offices.

Now, developers are beginning to see the value in the area and are looking at ways to revitalize the Las Vegas’ downtown area. After the recession, downtown Las Vegas presents an inexpensive but possibly profitable opportunity in the real estate market. As such, developers from across the country are looking into building in the area.

Currently, a new City Hall is under construction, which will be designed by Forest City Enterprises, the architectural minds behind The New York Times Building. The office will be 1.3 million be square feet of retail and office space and a hotel/casino in the local vicinity. A performing arts centre will also be built in the coming year, with costs estimated at about $500 million.

Mayor Oscar B. Goodman calls this a “mini stimulation package”, as it will certainly boost the image of the downtown core and, hopefully in turn, the economy.

For the past two years, Las Vegas casinos have been on a downward spiral that was caused by the global recession. Last year, many companies that were affected by the economic downturn started to see some recovery, but the City of Las Vegas trailed behind as casinos struggled to restore themselves to their former glory.

Only now, is Las Vegas beginning to see some sort of light at the end of the tunnel, as a new report has revealed that the city’s casinos experienced a 16% increase in revenue in October 2010. This is great news for the city and its resident as this is the first time in years that Las Vegas has seen any hope of recovery.

As a whole, the state of Nevada is also seeing improved profits. In October, the state saw an 11% increase in its gaming revenue. Nevada has recently had a hard go at it, while trying to recover from the recession. Many residents have chosen to relocate in hopes of finding work elsewhere, while the state’s tourism industry suffered greatly due to the dismal performance of Las Vegas Casinos.

Now seems to be an ideal time to start buying back those casino stocks, because it won’t be long before land-based casino operators are seeing soaring profits once again.