Ritz-Carlton Las Vegas to Close

Just how hard is Vegas getting hit these days? This hard:

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co will close its five-diamond property in Las Vegas this May, after the hotel struggled with a slide in demand and revenue.

"It's nothing the hotel did. It's a simple lack of business and a decline in the tourism industry," said Ritz-Carlton spokeswoman Vivian Deuschl.

The owners of the 348-room property, Village Hospitality LLC, an arm of Deutsche Bank, will stop funding the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas day-to-day operations on May 2.

"That was the owner's decision and we reluctantly agreed to go along with it," Deuschl said.

Luxury properties have been hit hard in the past year and a half. Corporate travel and business from associations accounts for the bulk revenue of these hotels, but companies and groups have cut back on travel spending in the past year.

Gee, I wonder if Obama's two swipes at Vegas, including the first crack about not getting on your private jets and having meetings in Vegas, might have contributed to this? Well, let's see:

Luxury hotels have also suffered from the backlash from the so-called "AIG effect," referring to the uproar caused by American International Group's decision to fly top brokers and executives to a resort shortly after receiving a bailout check from the U.S. government.

"The whole demonization of luxury meetings and companies' pulling back on having their high-end meetings in luxury hotels -- this has had a tremendous impact on Las Vegas," Deuschl said. "I can't think of another destination that has had to defend itself more against comments from politicians."

The 350 former employees thank you, Mr. President.