Gas is awfully critical in the US where most areas have no real mass transit options. A guy with a decent $40,000 a year job ( gross) could easily find himself spending $100 a week on gasoline just to get to work and back.
$5 gas will prevent people from buying homes, eating out, taking vacations, etc. Then everything else will go up along with gas ( except your paycheck). It will become really easy to change your mind about flying to a place like Vegas from the East coast and then get treated like crap anyway, just go to a closer place. Even folks from LA won't go as often.
High gas will kill Vegas really bad, flights will cost more, people just won't go there ( or anywhere). They didn't have jets during the first Great depression, but if they did people wouldn't be flying to Hawaii for vacations in the 1930's....they won't be doing such stuff in the upcoming 2nd Great depression, either !
This shvt will be worse than the 30's very soon !