Why Formula 1 Is The Biggest Mistake Vegas Ever Made 

Is there anything I missed?

What is inexcusable is that this money could have gone to something like a functioning light rail system, but they always claim they don't have funding for it. Instead, they have funding for stupid stuff like this.

Corruption is everywhere. We used to go to Vegas two to three times a year, but for the past ten years, the price for anything has gotten out of hand.

In Summary: $700m public money into a Billionaire's football stadium - OK $500m public money into a Billionaire's baseball stadium - OK $40m of public money to repave public streets - BAD

As a huge fan of F1 and a longtime follower of the sport, I find it crazy just how poorly organized and how money hungry the corporations are, I feel bad for the people of Vegas genuinely, I feel like everyone can live without a track in Vegas

I work for a utility. They only started working with us late last year. What they wanted done would cost over a million dollars. They quibbled and squabbled about paying it - who would pay, the City / County, and / or F1. It got barely down to the last moment before we wouldn't have had time to do the monumental amount of work they needed before they finally worked out the payment. Of course, they wanted US to pay for it, but none of the work benefitted us and wouldn't have been done if it wasn't for this race. They should have started this work 2 years ago, not try to squeeze it all in THIS year. It is a right mess, and for a billion dollar venture, so dumbfoundingly ill planned.

I am hearing on F1 sites that lots of fans are pissed that the heavily increased room rates have been slashed as many rooms have not been sold and they are asking for refunds. Many F1 fans say it's cheaper to fly to Europe for 2 weeks, see 2 races and have a vacation.

I’ve been following F1 as a fan for 50 years. No way in hell would I show up to be ripped off in Vegas for this race weekend. I’ll just watch it on TV thanks.

I’m a die hard Vegas fan but over the years everything has continues to cost more and more. I’ve gone from 6+ visits a year to maybe one. The great deals have dried up. For that kind of money I can go to a number of other destinations. And with F-1 there’s no way I’d be anywhere near there! Forget it!

It’s a great idea! Think of all the money being made! Working for the city council right now would be so lucrative. A whole lot of envelopes being transferred under tables, and a lot of palms being greased! Good ol’ Vegas baby!! Winners win, and losers lose.

Every member of the Clark County board needs to be voted out. They OK’d this mess. A massive investigation needs to talk place to see where the pay offs went.

What a fantastic, insightful Video. As a Brit I had no idea how much disruption this event was causing the locals of LV. Hope it works out for you guys and thanks again for a fantastic program.

This is the reason why Europe has extensive public transportation underground.

Great to see F1 in Las Vegas. That is what Las Vegas is all about. Shows, extravaganza, sports, betting, gambling and having fun. I understand there are more people living in Las Vegas, but Las Vegas is Las Vegas. That is part of the package when living there. Las Vegas is firstly for entertainment.

Las Vegas used to be such a great 4 day weekend spot. It was safe, drinks were a buck and a nice room was thirty five. Great golf courses were open to the public for about $40. With a cart. And a great ribeye steak was $15. And most casinos had that horse race game that you’d pour quarters into for an hour and seemed like you always broke even.

I know that I'min the minority, but I'm a Vegas local who can't wait for this event! I love seeing the track take shape over the past few months and finally seeing cars on track will be well worth the wait

I was debating coming down but when I heard rumor's of the chaos getting setup and saw the prices I was like I'm better off setting an alarm and watching it at home. India spent $400 mil USD to build a dedicated F1 track (i.e. not street circuit) over a decade ago. F1 did the mandatory 3 races there and the track has basically been abandoned every since. Similar things have happened else where too.

Was there over Halloween weekend and it was INSANE with all the construction. Uber, Lyfts, and Taxis were stuck in non-stop traffic and we walked as much as possible because of that. Though that was hard since half the main sidewalk on the Strip was closed to build grandstands. I go there at least once a year and this one was tough. Amazing reporting Jacob!

I was in Vegas recently and you're right Jacob it was awful we couldn't drive any where. And waiting for the deuce was nearly impossible I hope Vegas gets better because we didn't have any fun ❤

Jacob, thank you for breaking this down the way you did. It's important for people to know the behind the scenes. Great job!! 👍

I'm a Vegas native and a Formula 1 fan, and I think all this headache is worth it, lol. I hope the event stays here for yearrssssss. It'll be like America's Singapore GP.

My wife and I visited Vegas from Scotland for the first time back in mid-October. We went to see the show at Sphere, but were excited to have the opportunity to take in the sights and sounds of Las Vegas too during our brief stay. What a mess the place is. The Strip is a nightmare for all the construction; famous views like Bellagio Fountains blocked from The Strip; pointless taking a taxi anywhere along the strip for the gridlock so fighting your way through crowds of people corralled through narrow pavements. Everyone I spoke to at the U2 show, all who had travelled to LV for the concert - every single one commented on what a nightmare Las Vegas was, that they wouldn't dream of coming back just to visit as a tourist and they would caution everyone they know against making the trip themselves. Such a shame and ultimately that's how the city will truly pay for this utter folly.

I don't get why they are doing this. Someone got paid off.

Yup the gridlocked traffic with honking was a regular part of our LV vacation last month. Super informative video. Thanks!

I'm 71 been watching racing all my life...The Vegas F1 race on ESPN was one of the best ever...See You Next Year. Solid Gold Thumbs Up for Vegas F1's future.!"

I'm not going anywhere NEAR Vegas until this shit is done.

The impact on locals in Singapore is very minimal every year and there’s a noticeable uptick in people spending cash around the island. It’s not just Europe that doesn’t have a tipping culture like the US, it’s the rest of the planet.

You were spot on! You left no stone uncovered. I work at the MGM Grand and this has been a huge headache..

This was a great video. Well done!

Los Vegas residents can expect a property increase that will never go away.

The great overstatement is the boom to local businesses. I worked in Albert Park where the Australian Grand Prix is held every year and all the local shops were told they would make a killing. It never eventuated. Yes, there is a lot more passing traffic but that's all people did, they just went past. Although the construction becomes streamlined and gets quicker every year the grandstands etc still takes a couple of months to put up and another couple of months to pull down again. It's just not worth the hassle. Your real customers want to see the Bellagio Fountains not scaffolding! You will have it for four to six months of the year! Every year!

Jacob, you did a great job on this. Best report I've seen on this desaster. We live exactly 3 miles from the mess.

Great job. A local's perspective. Nicely done. Greed is showing through. Thanks Jacob.

Been to Vegas often and I have always looked forward to the experience. Going there next week and I am , for the first time, absolutely dreading the trip. With traffic a nightmare, I have to use the monorail ( based on some comments, not looking forward to it.) Cancelled 2 shows so as not to worry about being late and throwing away hundreds of dollars. And now the threat of a strike. Never been to Reno , but I'm told it's real nice. No one in authority will lose a moments sleep over it , but you lost a loyal customer.

What’s been frustrating is that there has been almost no communication between the city or F1 with the communities that live on or near the race site. No updates on when they won’t have access to get in and out of the roads that lead home, no warnings that internet would be down to lay lines for the event, and no info on what to expect the actual race days when the roads aren’t accessible. I worry about people who rely on outside assistance and no delivery/Uber/taxi driver on the planet will come near the area.

You are correct about tipping in Europe. We tip a little, but pay our employees a good salary. Just like with every other job. Just like tax is included in the prices you see. No surprises when you pay.

Hey Jacob my man, since you did ask I'm going to throw in my two cents as a fan of racing, specifically Formula 1. The real reason F1 has been allowed to tear up The Strip and many of the surrounding streets and why barricades have been put up weeks in advance of next week's race is that financial estimates indicate that the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix is expected to bring in $1.3 BILLION over the three-day weekend for the CITY (not Formula 1, not the FIA). Since Las Vegas has spent "only" a few ten million dollars on infrastructure development to bring the event to its city (with Formula 1 footing the vast majority of the bill), that means that if that projected financial windfall for this event is even in the ballpark, this year's Grand Prix will be the singularly most financially successful event in the ENTIRE HISTORY of Las Vegas. The upcoming Super Bowl in 2024 is expected to bring in only HALF of the money that this one F1 event will. Plus, since the Formula 1 Driver's and Constructor's Championship is held every year, so if both parties sign a multi-year contract agreeing to race this circuit in the future it stands to reason so long that the racing is good (which we'll have to wait and see to make an informed decision on that) this could be one of the most sacred cash cow events in Las Vegas every year moving forward as well. To address but not excuse some of your complaints, pretty much everyone familiar with F1 is aware of the darker side of the sport. Organizations like Liberty Media (and individuals like Bernie Ecclestone before them) didn't get rich or grow the sport as much as they did without some shady business dealings here and there. The examples you gave in your video unfortunately show proof of the penny-pinching it's capable of where safety isn't involved. However, safety is the reason those barricades tourists complain about being put up so far in advance - both the city and F1 were very worried about people camping out for a good view and severely risking the structural integrity of the walkways which aren't built to hold as many people as are expected to turn out and watch the race. Still, having been stuck in Las Vegas traffic rush hour traffic more times than I can count when I resided there I can only imagine how inconvenient and frustrating it must be to get around right now and I wish a more streamlined solution had been developed that didn't impact locals as much. Nevertheless, I think (and hope) your pessimism is unwarranted. Formula 1 drivers race a multitude of street circuits every year, shutting down major thoroughfares across the world. The organization has held many races in Monaco, Dubai, and Macau - all towns with a similar MO to Las Vegas. Yet in those places race weekend is celebrated. Hopefully the current growing pains Las Vegas feels will subside once it experiences what its like to host an event of this size, and if the racing is good I would actually put all the money I have on this probably actually being the best investment decision LV has ever made. Even if its just a one-time-shot thing, Las Vegas's treasury and tourism departments will almost certainly be very very happy with how this turned out no matter what the local/other tourist backlash is. As I said, just my two cents.

Lets talk about the 40 million , from what I heard it was told to F1 that it would take 40 million to re-surface the streets. but the streets where in bad condition so the cost doubled to 80 . so they Asked not demanded that the city contribute as they have already spent 400 milllion of there money, and since its estimated that the area will bring in over a billion dollars of new revenue . 40 million is a pittance :)

Another fantastic job Jacob. Thank you for bringing this mess to light. There should be a class action against this kind of incompetence.

Great job! As a local I'm wondering if the casinos will have worked out their dispute with the Culinary worker's union in time. As a Lyft driver, I can tell you that the construction has been a real nightmare. 40 minutes to go from the Sphere to Resort world on a Thursday night. ugh!

Great video. Unfortunately I just postponed my trip to Vegas from 🇬🇧 this month due to this. It's terrible. Hope it isn't going to be months of chaos every year around this time.

I'm an F1 fan who has been to races at Indy, Montreal and Monaco. I was super excited when this race was announced being close by (plus loving Vegas) and booked a timeshare on the track. Then the tickets started to get released and I was shocked by the price. I anticipated getting gouged for everything while at the event, but $2500 for an ok race seat was absurd. Add the venue fees that they'd have to overcome, plus the added hassle of walking the strip that I'm sure they are going to crowd control and you realize it won't be that fun. So I canceled my room. I can't figure out how this pays off for Vegas. First year construction will be the worst, but in future years you'll likely have a month on each side setting up stands and lights. Then nobody but race fans will be in Vegas that weekend, why would anybody else come and put up with the hassle? The organizer is selling ~100k tickets yet Vegas has 150k rooms, this isn't going to be epic tips, this is going to be a bust for workers. The organizer should have to guarantee at least 200k tickets to make this a net gain for Vegas.

I was so excited about coming to Vegas for my 43rd birthday on November 10th but because of your videos you saved me from coming down. I think we are going to put it off till February hope by then things will be back to normal down. Plz keep doing the update videos. And plz continue to do them after.. the race.

Great video and it’s crazy how much money those corporations have and they still want the public’s money ? I wonder where the money actually goes.. definitely informative and thanks again for all the updates I stay watching I’m making sure everything is back to normal before I go back to Vegas honestly 😂🤷🏻‍♂️

I really enjoy and appreciate the content of your videos. Thank you very much for all of the info.

I was in Vegas two weeks ago and that F1 mess is terrible! We had to wait 15-30 minutes for a cab or Uber. Before this F1 mess, the longest I've ever had to wait for an Uber or cab was 5 minutes. I learned my lesson and won't go to Vegas during the F1 season.

I used to live in Vegas and it will always have a place in my heart. Since I left, you got the stadium, the sphere, NHL and NFL moved in, and now F1 is coming to town. There’s no place in the world like Vegas, and it needs to continue being that way. Change is uncomfortable, nobody likes it, but it’s necessary. Vegas can never become predictable and stagnant or it will stop being Vegas. Those of you who live and work there, I was like you. You all know why people come to your town. They come to forget about their lives at home. You’ll adapt to this big and uncomfortable change like you did many times before. We love you and thank you for taking care of us when we visit. Oh, and when it comes to F1, I’m Team Ferrari 🏎️!

I really enjoy your videos and honest&direct commentary! Thank you!

Excellent video, thank you for the update on F1 finances, I found it very interesting. Looking forward to your next one. Stay blessed.💯🤟🇯🇲

Taking F1 to Las Vegas is a total mistake. As a regular visitor to Vegas from the UK I am amazed that this was even given the go ahead. Clark County board seriously needs to be held to account. For years F1 venues have been 'Cash Cows' to fulfill the money lust of the F1 community. They did not start going to the middle east for nothing, thats where the money is. But Vegas is different. I have imense sympathy for the hotel employees & other Vegas workers who have been royally shafted by this event. F1 should be paying wholesale for this gig. no if or buts. Just to think F1 could have gone back to Long Beach CA with no more agrovation than the Indy Car race. But Long Beach is not where the cash is. The sooner this charade is culled the better. Shame on you Vegas.

When I initially heard about F1 racing in LV, all I could think is ......isn't there enough stuff going on already? When you have so many people crowded into one place at the same time you have the makings of a disaster.

Great video as always. The prices for the F1 in vegas is crazy I went to the F1 this past may in Monaco i paid $1200.00 for gold seats overlooking the mega yachts. When I checked last the Vegas price for tickets is $2400.00. I'm glad I went to Monaco.

On my last trip to Vegas, after driving through the construction mazes, I decided that F1 can F off. It was bad enough they want to charge you for parking while you give them money, and "free" rooms cost around $50, and the buffets that managed to survive the pandemic are ridiculously expensive. Add F1 to this mix and sorry Vegas, I'm not coming.

The most hectic move Vegas has made in awhile.

Such a good and needed video, Jacob! There have been so many stories and reports, with many being contradictory, about all of this, and you summed it up in 15 minutes! I think that you are absolutely right on with your assessment of things 👍

YOU DA MAN JACOB!!! SPEAKING DA TRUTH FOR US RESIDENTS AND LOCALS!!!

Locals hate this thing. It's made everybody's lives miserable for months. We could have hosted a huge tennis tournament, of which there are none in Las Vegas, and it wouldn't have impacted anyone's ride to work.

My wife is in the hospitality industry in a hotel inside the F1 loop and she was finally given the pan to get to work. She has to park at the convention center and take the monorail to work. This adds over 10 miles each way to her commute and then the added time of parking at the convention center and taking the tram to work. And then she has to do this to get home. The location she works is not doing anything as far as monetary compensation for the F! delays to just get to work. I was surprised that they are not paying the employees at least 1.5 hours extra each way to get to work and then leave during the F1 event. Her hotel has made it mediatory to be at work or risk points which could result in termination, just like New Years Eve. She is already pessimistic about all of this. Hopefully she/we are wrong and this is a great event for locals.

I was in Vegas at the end of October and made a note/told my friends to avoid Vegas at all costs between late Sep and late Dec as long as F1 is going on. The visit was mostly snarled traffic and long taxi/uber rides. Forget strolling the strip to look at the sites because everything was blocked by grandstands, fences, scaffolding, and cloudy film covering glass overpasses. I was glad people started tearing off the window film. Thanks for the local perspective. Hopefully, when they do their post event financial analysis, they take into account the lost revenue in the weeks leading up to and after the event.

They could give free healthcare to every las vegas resident for that price. They could upgrade all the schools. They could increase mental health services and take on the homelessness crisis. But they'd rather give it to f1

Excellent video, you just gained a new subscriber!

Another great video. Reminds me of what happens to most Olympic host city, spend a lot of money and get little in return. Question...why didn't they build a road course on the outskirts of the city like they did with the motor speedway? Seems like that would be a win/win for everyone.

Totally agree… they’re trashing Vegas for nothing. They pay off that is promised will not be anywhere near worth it.

Excellent video, interesting and well researched. Thank you.

I mean, the 50/50 split on the bill does make kinda sense... you don't expect an outside company (outside to Vegas) to come to the town, repave the street of Las Vegas where the race will be held, fix track issues to have a good pavement and then take off saying "thank you, see you next year" even though they will be using that for only a weekend of the year

I was in Las Vegas in September and saw the start of this construction. It was horrible. Thank you for this video. More people need to know what is happening there. The strip is a mess. These cars drive at night with no lights that’s why there are lights and stands all over. Please show more pictures of what they are doing. I wanted to go to Las Vegas but I’ll wait until they clean up this mess. I hope it’s worth the billion dollars.

Man, it would be cool if we took this as a lesson to provide an alternate to driving in our cities. A straight line crowded boulevard such as the strip seems like a perfect place for a simple underground subway line. To bad they quit on it…

very good video and info!! good ob jacob!

This is very good I shared it on Twitter X thank you! 🙏🌎🇺🇸🏁

This whole year has been a nightmare to me because of this. My usual 25-40min commute turned to 3-4hours on a daily basis costing me and other strip workers our valuable time, gas, babysitting expenses, and our mental health. But of course these greedy companies, executives, and officials don’t care about the regular guys. It’s all about the money.

Brilliant reporting. As a F1 fan I was confused when Las Vegas was announced but just assumed it would be slightly out of the city. What a mess.

Hi Jacob, I just arrived home from Las Vegas 2 weeks ago and my god the traffic was horrible. From the airport it took almost an hour to get to Planet Hollywood. There is where I was booked for 2 nights. On the way to the airport going home, we had to wait a half hour just to get a cab, and another 45 minutes to get to the airport. I thought I was going to miss my flight to Long Beach. It will be a while before I go again. I will go to Palm Springs instead. I usually stay at Agua Caliente in Rancho Mirage. Excellent Hotel and Casino. Forbes rate it 5 stars. Love It.

im glad you gave perspective from both sides, first time watching one of your videos, it was really good :)

I was going to go to Vegas this month but decided against it. I'll go when this F1 nonsense is gone and the cyber attack issues have been resolved. What a mess.

Great video! This was a colossal mistake in my point of view. We (all of our family members) were thinking of visiting LV for the first time since Covid. We visit two to three times a year and always once in November. This crazy disruption put a hold on our plans. I am certain many others also did the same. I can guarantee you that our hotel fees will keep going up on an ongoing basis. Also, was this all really worth it? Time will tell and good luck to all involved.

I appreciate your video very much. Well done. You do it well.

Class action lawsuit for Las Vegas residents for having subsidized this yet having no view access. Locals shouldn’t need tickets to view what their city FUNDED. 💀

Thank you, Jacob. Well researched. As a local, I completely agree. The traffic has been absurd, and it's not over yet. Let the billionaires who own these companies pay their own fees.

as a harcrdcore F1 fan from europe since the 80's i feel for the people of las vegas . The moment it was announced that Las Vegas would host a F1 race we already knew it would be over the backs of the hardworking people over there. there's only 1 reason its been hosted there is ... money. Even F1 drivers themselfs like max verstappen say, it wont be good racing there, we only there for a show. Unfortunately its Liberty media who decides. I wonder whats gonna happen if this race is turning out to be a snoozefest, (wich likely will be when it comes to racing itself) Good chance they pull the plug after 1 race and go t go different country. So all this for maybe 1 race...

I really enjoy your vlogs. They are very Informative 🎉

Was in Vegas in April this year. Saw a lot of streets getting ripped up and repaved that are branching off the blvd such as Kobalt. Pretty sad to see all the trees and other aesthetics get ripped out of the ground as well...

On a positive note, the sphere is awesome! Graphics are sick and the sound is better than any concert Venue I’ve ever attended. Will be back to see U2 again (after the F-1 cloud has passed). Thanks for the great reporting Jacob! I always check in with you before a visit to sin city!

I gotta commute to the howard hughes corporate pkwy area every day for work, and the commute to and from that area is a recurring nightmare. To hear that the financials of this project was not in good order before a hammer was lifted is salt on the wound. Nothing surprises me anymore with civic projects in this city; pure and absolute chicanery! Dude - fantastic job with researching the info and disseminating it.

And yet, no one asked for a race in Las Vegas, but for FIA, Austin and Miami wasn't enough.

Very informative video. Thank you.

Many thanks for this. I hope you can do a follow-up after the race, about what worked, what didn't, and how it can be improved next year.

I'm part of the local hospitality workforce pushing the culinary union to strike at least one of the race days to show every single non-working class decision maker in our city that we've had enough of the greed and corporate malfeasance that has only hurt this once amazong leisure destination over the last two decades.

Yep, Europe definitely doesn't have a tipping culture because you have to pay a living wage in Europe. And not make employees rely on tips to make a descent wage.

Great job !!! Thank you

Not a US citizen at all but I am a huge formula 1 fan and I have to say I sympathise with the residents of Las Vegas, its unfair that this event will be so disruptive for residents, especially considering the majority don't want the event happening. And if I'm honest, the majority of us f1 fans don't want it either. There are already 2 races in the US, only Texas being good. There is no need for another one just for 'the show'

Holy hell, what a complete cluster f-! I have a friend who lived in LV for just over 20 years (and has seen the massive explosion of development)..BUT once she heard about this event coming, what the plans were. She saw it coming, how much of a mess this will cause. Plus, simply not being happy there anymore. My God, she was right. And she thankfully found a position in a different city...far from LV and moved. I've been out there multiple times, earl and mid 90s..again early and mid 00's - as construction, the Strip started looking like a mini city (City Center esp.), traffic back then was the worse I have experienced in my visits...now if I were to head there just to get away...sput of the second vaca, no, this is a hard pass! Sadly, it looks miserable. As for this multi-billion dollar corporate greed slime Liberty Media, eh, .its sickening, but not shocking at all! 😠Hope this is ONE TIME event, and it never happens again in LV for the sake of the businesses losing money, everyone that lives there....tourists that come but do not wish to deal with this gridlock.

Jacob you do a great job 👍🏼 Thanks Bro

The Tropicana ramp has been going for what feels like 2 years now. There doesn't seem to be an end in sight. You correctly highlighted that it is one of 2 or 3 "entries" and exits on and off the Strip, and now I avoid it like the plague and just go down LV Blvd to 215.

Miami went through the same type of situation for their first F1 race last year. This will all be an afterthought in the next few months after the race. This is HUGE for the local economy, tourism, every aspect of Las Vegas. Those calling for heads to roll don’t seem to remember what this town is for. It ain’t for locals. It’s tourists. Without tourists, Vegas is just another ghost town in the middle of the desert. Inconvenient, but true.

As a Vegas local I hope this event falls flat on its face and is a huge embarrassment for the city. Can’t wait to vote out the city members who voted yes on this monstrosity

So wild that the Singapore GP, which is also a night Street race in a metropolis, starts the Wednesday before the race, and by Friday at 0300, the final inspection is done and the track is “open for business.” Then they have to tear everything down the Tuesday after the Sunday race. They’ve done this for YEARS with minimal fuss.

I hope all the hospitality workers call off F1 weekend. I've always been excited about going to Vegas, but that came to a screeching end when I was there this past September.

As I said in another post elsewhere but will repeat here as on topic: After the last 6-months' debacle with F1, the County Commissioners should actually look at "reimplementing" F1 out at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Complex where an F1 course could have been readily cobbled together with the NASCAR Track, NHRA Dragstrip, the road course, and the frontage roads. For the extra $100 million or so in road repaving costs and other construction done on The Strip/Harmon, Spring Mountain, given the infrastructure already there at the LV Motor Speedway, F1 wouldn't have needed the paddock construction, etc. Glad that we have idiots in charge of all these major decisions!!

Good coverage on this, Jacob! Sadly I cancelled my usual October visit because of all this madness. I hope it's not a permanent reduction of a trip to Vegas

As a F1 fan from the states (first time watcher) I looked into going of course, well the hotels jacked up their prices and the ticket prices were ridiculous so I would rather spend that money to go watch at a proper circuit Spa, Zandvoort, Monza, Silverstone , Suzuka etc or even COTA. Vegas may be a cool place, but most F1 fans want to see great racing, not another street circuit.