LAS VEGAS | When he thinks of F1, Wade Bohn sees his turnover melting like snow in the sun in Nevada, 18 months of nightmares, countless sleepless nights and health problems.
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And yet, this native of Las Vegas was jubilant when he learned that his city would host an event in the premier discipline of motorsport.
Bohn owns the splendid gas station and convenience store painted in Coca-Cola colors on the corner of Flamingo Road and Koval. THE problematic quadrilateral that everyone wants to avoid at all costs, locals and visitors alike.
Last year, it lost 65% of its regular sales compared to 2022. This year, it slipped a little deeper, at 70%, into the financial hole that F1 would have dug. For example, in November 2022, he had recorded sales of $682,000 in his accounting books. This year, after 19 days, the amount stands at…$131,000.
“I won’t even reach $200,000,” he struggles to say, nodding in front of his business where The Journal met him. During our 45 minutes of discussion, no vehicle stopped at his pumps and store.
“I sold around 2,300 gallons [10 500 litres] per day previously. Now it’s barely 700 [3200 litres] per day. There’s a lot of money siphoned down the toilet,” he complains.
For what?
All you had to do was watch it get carried away, pointing in all directions like a weather vane in a storm.
Towards the paddocks, one of its entrances blocked due to a pedestrian bridge or the horrible temporary metal bridge spanning Koval Lane and diverting traffic from its business. He is not the only one; its competitor located nearby is experiencing the same anxieties, like the companies roped off on Flamingo Road.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS-DAVID ROULEAU
“It makes me sick. I fear losing everything. If this race is still here in year 4 of the contract, I’m finished. I have already laid off 50% of my employees. It’s sad, because at the same time as I see my business collapsing, they are losing their jobs.”
No need
“It’s been so quiet for weeks that when the representatives come to restock the goods, I don’t buy anything, because I don’t need anything. And Shell doesn’t send the big tankers, because I don’t sell enough gasoline,” he says.
Bohn is also one of those who decided to sue F1, Liberty Media and its Clark County for damages caused and significant financial losses amounting to several million dollars.
“The destruction caused by a 90-minute race that we receive once a year is inexplicable. I don’t understand the concept. This is our city.”
Like Randy Markin (read other text), he trashes the study on the $1.5 billion economic impact of the 2023 Grand Prix. According to him, it’s window dressing to embellish the situation and sweep all the negative effects under the rug.
On the books, Vegas lost almost half a million dollars putting on this race.
