Las Vegas Went Luxury. The South Asian Wedding Industry Got There First.
Hotel rates in Las Vegas have risen faster than in any other major U.S. market, and the city that once ran on $9.99 buffets now rents one-bedroom sky villas at Caesars Palace for $1,500 a night. The Wall Street Journal documented the shift this month: postpandemic Vegas builds its calendar around big-ticket draws like Formula One, the NFL, and arena concerts, and visitors pay full price for everything else once they land. A $26 bottle of water made headlines last year. Back in 2019, fewer than a third of visitors came from six-figure households. That share has only grown since. None of this surprises anyone who has planned a Punjabi sangeet or a Telugu reception on the Strip. The South Asian wedding industry found Las Vegas's luxury infrastructure more than a decade before the Journal did, and built an entire parallel economy on top of it. Bellagio now markets its Ballroom for mehendi nights and its Poolside Courtyard for haldi, with pheras staged against the same Fountains to...
