The Tropicana, one of the first luxury properties on the Strip, spent much of its life targeting middle-class guests. Its ties to organized crime and a shifting competitive landscape brought that flashy era to an end. It was sold to Ramada in 1979 and, despite ownership changes, was operated as a budget-friendly resort until it closed.

Now, as Las Vegas visitors demand more high-end experiences, the city is competing less directly with longtime gambling hubs such as Atlantic City, New Jersey, or Laughlin, Nevada, 90 miles south of Sin City, Belarmino said. Instead, “our guests are telling us they consider us at the same time they’re considering San Francisco and New York, which makes us a value in comparison to those types of destinations,” she said.

The bargains may not be as close at hand as they once were.

“Those $20 nights and no resort fees are probably in the past on the Strip,” said Nicholas Irwin, a colleague of Belarmino’s at UNLV who is research director for its Lied Center for Real Estate. “People are worried that we are prioritizing that [business] growth as opposed to growth of our children and our workforce.”

UNLV researchers expect the population of Las Vegas’ Clark County to grow at a steady 1.6% rate this year and 1.4% next year, partly driven by Californians who are relocating to the area, like Alicia Muscs, 26, who works for a travel booking agency inside MGM’s New York-New York casino. She said she moved to the city in April for its lower living costs.

According to Irwin, recent California transplants are 15% to 19% wealthier on average than their new neighbors in Nevada, and the influx has put pressure on demand — and prices — for goods and services in the metro area. That could cause political ripples in Nevada, a closely contested swing state where both presidential campaigns are vying for voters’ trust on economic issues.