by Calculated Risk on 9/15/2014 02:28:00 PM

Just an update ... during the recession, I wrote about the troubles in Las Vegas and included a chart of visitor and convention attendance: Lost Vegas.

Since then Las Vegas visitor traffic recovered to a new record high in 2012, although visitor traffic was down slightly in 2013.

Convention attendance in 2013 was still about 18% below the peak level in 2006.  Here is the data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.  

Click on graph for larger image.

The blue bars are annual visitor traffic (left scale), and the red line is convention attendance (right scale). 

Through July, visitor traffic in 2014 is running 3.9% above 2013 - and on a record pace.

Convention traffic is up 5.4% from last year, but is still way below the pre-recession peak - although I wonder if the previous convention peak was related to "How to Flip a House" and "How to Buy with no money" type conventions!

In general, the gamblers are back - and the conventions are returning.