Las Vegas is considered by some to be a crass, dirty cesspool of immorality and shady characters. However, these people seem to be fixated on a stereotype of Las Vegas that barely existed in the past, if it ever existed at all.Yes, Las Vegas is known as Sin City, but most people in town aren't necessarily looking for anything more than the time of their lives. They want entertainment, great food, and a little of that legendary Vegas luxury.Since the late 1990's, Vegas style has shifted steadily up-market. Vegas luxury means 320 thread count sheets, 32 ounce filet mignon, and individual hotel rooms of more than 2,000 square feet. Casinos drip lush crushed velvet, frame themselves in gilt trim, and have deep carpets that make you feel like you are walking on air. Recreation areas include reflection pools, saunas, and top-tier spa services.

Everywhere you go there are VIP lounges with your name written all over them.This bet that luxury would be the lure that hooked ever-increasing numbers of visitors coming to Las Vegas seems to be paying off.Millions have flocked to the desert to bask in the bright lights and feel like they are getting away from all the drabness back home. However, while Vegas luxury boomed along with the housing markets, many are now wondering if the posh aura can be maintained.As the stock market falls and the economic situation gets bleak, what will happen to Vegas? Some things are already happening.

If you have been to Vegas lately, you know that Vegas luxury icon Encore will be sitting across from an empty lot for a while. Echelon, another high end casino development, has been put on hold. Many other projects that had not begun are fading to paper dreams for architects and developers.Of the 51,000 hotel rooms that were going to be added to Vegas over the next 5 years, only 25,000 are still on the books.And yet, those who love Vegas luxury and the decadent feeling of the city will not be disappointed. In fact, having to cut back just a little may actually be a good thing for the luxury marketers in Las Vegas.It seems counter intuitive, but the key to luxury may actually be minimalism, a very anti-Vegas term.As new luxury developments sprang up, the concept of what defined Vegas luxury started to shift. On the Wynn resorts side of things, some speculated that Vegas was going to be imitating Dubai and shifting to ultra high-end offerings.

The flip side of the coin was luxury without taste-tacky knock-offs and imitations that were stunningly gaudy.By eliminating some of the unprofitable gaudiness from the Strip, a touch of recession may actually help save Vegas luxury from fading away. After all, one of the reasons Vegas feels so good is because it's not like everywhere else. If false luxury were to spread indiscriminately, it would lose a touch of its special charm.Even better for you, though, is the current blooming crop of discounts. With the recession slowing visitor traffic, even the top Vegas luxury hotels are discounting room rates, throwing in breakfasts and offering more free club passes.For less than you might imagine, you can now have the best that Vegas has to offer.A luxurious Vegas adventure is waiting . . . .