It's Entirely Possible That the Drought in Tourism to Las Vegas Has Ended and Those Luxury Hotels Are Again Charging Stratospheric Rates

Over the past several weeks, I've been fascinated by the bargain-basement prices charged by deluxe hotels of Las Vegas in the months of November and December. And I reported, with mouth agape, on the availability of deluxe suites at hotels as glamorous as the new Vdara, in the City Center development there, for as little as $105 a night, even $99 a night.
 
So it was with high hopes that I recently consulted the January and February booking charts for such five-star properties on "the Strip" as the Vdara and Aria, only to feel slapped in the face by what I saw. Would you believe $499 a night for suites at the Vdara on some January dates? Or $399 a night on others?
 
It appears to me that the drought in Las Vegas bookings, at least for the deluxe hotels, has come to an end, confirming the claim by the Occupy Wall Street people that the super-rich of America are doing quite well and continue to have money to burn. Or that a steady increase in the number of Chinese visitors to Las Vegas is starting to affect occupancy rates. Whatever the explanation, Vegas appears on the brink of becoming pricey again. Be forewarned.