I grew up in the NE with relatively frugal parents. One of their friends convinced them to go to Atlantic City one Wednesday morning, so they gave in and went. It was the 90's when they went, I recall it was $20 for the bus and they gave you $20 in quarters when you got there. I remember getting a call from my parents after school to check up on us, and then complaining about how much it sucked, they didn't get it, and they were dying for the stupid bus to return so they could come home! I don't even think they got a nice lunch together, and my mom was weird and hated the beach, so the boardwalk wouldn't have been an option.
FF to 2001, and hubby & I decided to skip the ridiculous "requirements" of the east coast wedding, so we did a destination wedding in Vegas, mostly b/c there were no residency requirements to get married there. I recall having to go back to my in-laws room to pick up something for the wedding that they had forgotten to bring, and by the time I got back, the entire wedding was nearly over. Those places are HUGE!
10 years later, hubby & I decided to go back for a vacation and to check out the real Las Vegas. Other than stopping by the wedding chapel to take a peek, we did not step foot in any casinos. We saw the Vegas sign, we took in a minor league baseball game, we went to the Hoover Dam, Red Rock and did a quick overnight trip to Los Angeles. I scored a newly renovated massive timeshare for $250/week, just around the corner from the strip, and we rented a car for about $150. We grocery shopped and did quick meals in our cool apartment, hung out at the pool, did some mini-golf, visited a chocolate factory, it was a great vacation and really cheap too! That's the Vegas I love. I'm not a millennial, but I fail to see the draw of casinos too.