Why this legislative failure reveals the real opportunity hiding in plain sight

 

Yesterday, Nevada’s State Senate let Assembly Bill 238 die without even the dignity of a vote. Gone with it: Sony and Warner Bros.’ $1.4 billion Summerlin Studios dream, 10,000 promised jobs, and what Mark Wahlberg dubbed “Hollywood 2.0.”

As CEO of Black Sands Ventures—a Las Vegas-based company betting big on the next wave of content creation—I watched this legislative face-plant with the kind of fascination you reserve for spectacular Hollywood endings. Because while everyone’s mourning what Nevada lost, they’re missing what just became available.

Let’s Talk Numbers, Because Hollywood Loves a Good Pitch

The creator economy clocked in at roughly $200 billion in 2024. By 2030? We’re looking at $528-848 billion, depending on whose Goldman Sachs projection you prefer. Meanwhile, the entire domestic box office managed $8.75 billion last year—down 3.3% from 2023’s already disappointing $9.04 billion.

Read that again. The creator economy is already 20 times larger than theatrical releases, and it’s growing at 10-20% annually while box office continues its slow-motion slide into irrelevance.

This isn’t some future disruption we need to prepare for. This is happening right now, while Nevada’s legislature debates whether to subsidize yesterday’s business model.

What Actually Went Wrong (Without Burning Bridges)

Look, I get why AB 238 struggled. Sony and Warner Bros. initially bid against each other for the same incentive pool—which, let’s be honest, isn’t exactly strategic brilliance. When they figured out they were competing with themselves, they joined forces and asked for a twelve-fold increase in Nevada’s film credits. From $10 million to $120 million annually. For 15 years.

The 22-20 Assembly vote should have been the canary in the coal mine. When your “transformative economic opportunity” barely survives its first legislative test, maybe the value proposition needs some workshopping.

But here’s what the studios got absolutely right: Las Vegas is the future of entertainment. This city already owns the entertainment capital title. The infrastructure exists. The hospitality expertise is world-class. The 24/7 energy matches exactly how modern content creation operates.

They just pitched the wrong version of that future.

The Real Hollywood 2.0 Play

While Nevada’s senators were debating soundstage subsidies, the actual entertainment revolution was happening on TikTok, YouTube, and platforms most of them probably can’t even pronounce correctly.

Fifty million global creators are multiplying at 10-20% annually. The U.S. creator economy alone hit $50.1 billion in 2024. These aren’t kids making dance videos in their bedrooms anymore—though some of those kids are now pulling down eight-figure annual revenues.

The creator economy isn’t coming to disrupt Hollywood. It’s already bigger than Hollywood. The question is whether Nevada wants to build infrastructure for the industry that exists, or keep chasing tax breaks for the industry that’s shrinking.

At Black Sands, we’re building for the industry that exists. Creator communities where everyone shares in the upside. Sustainable ecosystems where success isn’t measured just in opening weekend numbers, but in long-term creator revenue streams, audience engagement, and economic opportunity that scales.

Why We Still Need Those Studios (Yes, Really)

Before you think I’m some anti-Hollywood digital evangelist, let me be clear: I absolutely want major studio facilities in Nevada. The Summerlin project, or something like it, needs to happen. Here’s why:

First, creators need somewhere to graduate. You start with a Ring light and a decent camera, but eventually you’re developing projects that need real production infrastructure. Having those facilities in Nevada creates a natural progression path and keeps successful creators in-state instead of losing them to New Jersey, Austin, or Atlanta.

Second, celebrity spectacle is Vegas’s bread and butter. A-list productions filming here generate international attention that benefits everyone in the local entertainment ecosystem. When Mark Wahlberg talks about “Hollywood 2.0” in Las Vegas, that’s global marketing you can’t buy.

Third, traditional studios and creators aren’t enemies—they’re increasingly partners. Netflix works with digital-native creators who understand modern audiences. Creators partner with studios for distribution and scale. The most successful entertainment companies are building bridges, not walls.

The Integrated Vision Nevada Actually Needs

Here’s what Nevada’s leadership should be thinking about: not either traditional studios OR creator infrastructure, but both, designed to work together.

Picture this: A Las Vegas where emerging creators access professional facilities, develop their skills, build sustainable businesses, then graduate to productions that use major studio infrastructure. Where traditional studios tap into a local ecosystem of creators who actually understand how audiences consume content in 2025. Where the celebrity attractions generate international attention that lifts the entire local entertainment community.

That’s the real Hollywood 2.0 opportunity. Not just bigger soundstages or better tax credits, but the first major market to intentionally integrate traditional production capabilities with creator economy infrastructure.

The numbers are stupid-good. It’s projected that the creator economy will double to $480 billion by 2027. Netflix’s market cap is $280 billion. Disney’s entire empire is worth $200 billion. We’re talking about economic opportunity that dwarfs individual studio deals.

What This Actually Looks Like

Nevada needs a three-pronged approach:

Continue pursuing major studio development with incentive packages that actually make sense for taxpayers. The infrastructure matters, the jobs are real, and the international attention is valuable.

Invest in creator economy infrastructure that supports the fastest-growing segment of entertainment. Not just production facilities, but the entire ecosystem: marketing, legal, product development, event production, business development.

Create pathways between these ecosystems so they reinforce rather than compete. The creators who build sustainable businesses in Nevada should have natural progression paths to larger productions using Nevada facilities.

The Vegas Advantage Nobody’s Talking About

Las Vegas has advantages no other market can replicate. The entertainment infrastructure already exists. The hospitality expertise is world-class. The geographic location works for both coasts. The 24/7 energy matches how modern content creation operates.

But the real advantage? No entrenched gatekeepers. Los Angeles has decades of established players, inflated costs, and “that’s how we’ve always done it” thinking. Atlanta has great tax incentives but limited entertainment culture. New York has talent but impossible costs.

Vegas gets to build fresh. The first major market designed from the ground up for both traditional and digital content creation.

Why This Matters Right Now

The entertainment industry is in the middle of its biggest transformation since the studio system ended. Streaming disrupted theatrical. Creator platforms are disrupting streaming. AI is disrupting everything.

The markets that thrive will be those that embrace change rather than resist it. That build bridges between old and new rather than choosing sides. That understand the future of entertainment isn’t Hollywood OR the creator economy—it’s Hollywood AND the creator economy, working together.

AB 238’s failure cleared the deck for something bigger. Nevada doesn’t need to be the next Georgia (traditional film incentives) or the next Austin (tech-friendly). Las Vegas can be the first: the integrated entertainment hub designed for how content creation actually works in 2025.

The infrastructure exists. The opportunity is massive. The timing is perfect.

Now we just need leaders who understand what they’re actually building.

The author is CEO of Black Sands Ventures, Inc., which focuses on building sustainable creator economy infrastructure and communities. Full disclosure: We’re betting our company on this vision being right.

Sources:

• Research Nester Creator Economy Report
• Coherent Market Insights Global Creator Economy Report
• Market.us Creator Economy Statistics
• Goldman Sachs Creator Economy Projections via MBO Partners
• Demand Sage Creator Economy Statistics
• Hollywood Reporter Box Office Analysis
• The Numbers 2024 Box Office Summary