Amid tourism bust, Las Vegas revives 'What Happens Here'

There's nothing like a crisis to send people running back to the tried-and-true. That truism holds for cities: Las Vegas, in the midst of a tourism slump, is returning to its iconic tagline "What happens here, stays here." According to The Las Vegas Sun, the city is abandoning a gamble that didn't pay off: slogans that acknowledged the nation's rough economy ("Crazy times call for crazy fun"), which failed to entice tourists to return.

Needless to say, the stakes are high. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reports that the number of tourists has slipped 6 percent this year through July, while convention attendance has plunged 26 percent. The result? Gaming revenue in the Strip has dwindled by 13 percent to $5.17 billion. That's caused publicly traded gaming companies to take a beating. MGM Mirage (MGM)swung to a loss in the second quarter, while sales declined 17 percent. Shares of MGM Mirage are down more than 50 percent and Wynn Resorts (WYNN) more than 20 percent from their 52-week highs.