Bruce,
I live in Las Vegas. I'm a publisher here, and attend a lot of conventions and trade shows.
Conventions drive this economy. Over 23,000 conventions held here in 2006.
Hotel prices depend on several things, most notably: time of year, weekend vs. weekday, what events are going on.
I've seen hotels rates as low as $25/night, off strip, in the last few months. And this was not a terrible hotel. (hotels.com seems to turn up some good prices.)
At the same time, the new major hotels on the Strip (Wynn, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM, Venetian, etc.) can demand high rates because occupancy is over 95% on weekends and over 85% on weekdays. No trouble selling rooms. But prices do come down during slower times.
I suggest checking the Convention Calendar maintained by the LV Convention and Visitors Bureau (lvcva.com/meetings/convention-calendar.jsp). See what's gonna be here when you plan to visit. Or find a slow time and visit LV then -- you'll probably find significantly better hotel rates.
One or two big conventions can drive prices through the roof. And turn streets into parking lots.
Robert
editor@FirstTimeInLasVegas.com