Usually when I go to Vegas I stay off the strip at more locals-oriented casinos and it's obviously much different from the vibe on the strip. There are so many of these locals type casinos out there that it seems like half the city needs to be gambling addicts for all of them to stay afloat.

So exactly how common are gambling problems when one lives in Vegas? As for my own personal experience, I have a friend's family who lives in Vegas and his mom and sister regularly blow most of their paychecks on slots and it's pretty sad. But that's just one datapoint.

Just looking for other people's experiences, especially from people who live in Vegas. Is it just a small subset of Vegas residents who have super super serious problems, or is it more a larger subset of people who have mild problems?

What is a super serious problem vs a mild problem to you?

When is it a problem at all.
FOr example a person is on time with all payments on debt BUT
nearly all of leftover money is spent on gambling...is this a problem to you?

Eh I suppose for me personally I would say I had a problem if I lost so much gambling on a regular basis that I was regularly short on normal life expenses - e.g. rent, car payment, utilities, etc.

I've never really been to any locals casinos. Is the vibe really that different from a strip casino?

It probably looks like the crowds in a place like Tunica which means older, uglier and poorer - no offense locals

Totally different
It might as well be a different city

Well for one thing if you try to get to the cashiers cage at one of the Vegas local casinos on a Friday you will likely be engulfed in a sea of people trying to cash their paychecks. Additionally a large proportion will be wearing shirts or hats emblazoned with that casino's logo and something about a slots tourney. As to poker they are imo more likely to be lags to the point of being maniacs. Convenience plays a big part in it too - why drive 1/2 hour to the strip, fight to park and walk some distance to poker room when you can park just outside the room?

I think you have a rolling X% serious gambling addicts that move in and out of the city through attrition and various forms of death.

The real bad ones are probably the rich guys that can replace it in easier ways, or at least it takes longer for their world of debt to come crashing down.

The locals casinos don't need gambling addicts to stay afloat, they just need bored old people....there might be a lot of overlap there but an 88 year old lady pissing away her retirement is probably not a huge long term life problem for her.

I worked at 4 different companies in my 4 years in Vegas. Half of everyone I worked with had a gambling problem and the other half were in denial about theirs. It's pretty standard for the local scene.

Don't have an answer but this video provides some insight into the mindset:

Funny you post that because seeing that exact video is what prompted this question in the first place. How common is this dude's story? Is he the typical local? Worse than the typical? Better?

The typical poor local probably. In town on a daily basis you hear stories from strangers, co-workers, & friends about a jackpot that " " just won, and it creates this environment of child-like hope for poor people who have low education, low opportunity, and low skills to make it out of the hole they're in. This guy's story I would say shares about 99% commonality with the homeless/tunnel dwellers that kept chasing the dream while not realizing the crazy addiction they're developing. The ability to ruin your entire life's work in one 4 hour window any day of the week, 24 hours a day is a decision that many people aren't able to make rationally.

The saddest case I ever saw in Vegas was an ex-coworker of mine, a complete sweetheart of a woman from Mexico. She was early 30s maybe, lived in Vegas for 3 years with her boyfriend that moved her to Vegas with him and their kids. I used to give her rides home when we worked at the same call center in Henderson and there would be times when she literally was afraid to go home because she blew the last couple hundred dollars on her lunch break at Green Valley Ranch on slots. Her BF was really no better. We lived in the same neighborhood, I would often see him and her both at the local Dotty's whenever I would go in to buy a pack of smokes. I left the company, and maybe 3-4 months later I get a text from her that they were evicted and staying in a motel. She also gave me a link to her escort profile on backpage and said that she "wishes she didn't have to do this for money" but she was broke and willing to "do anything" in order to have money to get by for a couple more days.

Instances like these become way too common for a small town like Vegas. It's crazy how living there you see these people & behaviors and write them off as just regular Vegas life. Being 4 months removed from there, you really get to see how truly ****ed that city is once you strip away Casinos and the tourism industry. I can only imagine how tough it would be to raise a family there.

QFT.

Damn yo.