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2/15/2025 3:55:10 PM
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Las Vegas is no longer a ‘value destination.’ But visitors keep coming


Las Vegas is no longer a ‘value destination.’ But visitors keep coming

Paid parking sign is seen as a cars and truck gets in a parking garage at The Strat in March 2023 in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye Las Vegas Review-Journal)A cars and truck gets in a parking garage at The Strat, on Monday, March 27, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye Las Vegas Review-Journal)Cars line up to pay for parking at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
When the mob ran the city's casinos rather of corporations, I always get a chuckle out of hearing longtime Las Vegas homeowners yearning for the days.

Sure, it's frustrating to see the long list of perks that bring clients to resorts continuously eroding. At least you do not have to worry about being buried in a hole in the desert.

Numerous readers called and emailed me with their disappointments late last month after 2 more time-honored customs fell.

Parking at the Strat is no longer free, according to signs at the residential or commercial property's parking lot. That comes as its owner, Golden Entertainment Inc., prepares for a brand-new golf tourist attraction that's opening quickly.

The Strat signs up with MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment Inc. residential or commercial properties and Resorts World Las Vegas in collecting cash for something that previously had been totally free.

Meanwhile, the old-school custom of serving free beverages to sports gamblers seeing video games at sportsbooks also has actually disappeared. Readers called me to grumble that Station Casinos homes need you to make at least a $50 wager in order to be served. Initially, I believed this strategy might have been unique to a hectic March Madness, however, no, Station officials verified that it's a companywide, all-the-time policy.

Station isn't alone. MGM validated that it has policies in location to serve drinks to gamers, not watchers. Caesars and Boyd Gaming Inc. did not respond to a similar inquiry.

Alcohol has actually always been utilized to attract gamblers to properties, and there's no doubt that the cost of alcohol and the labor to serve those drinks has been climbing.

Video gaming chiseling.

You see the sculpting going on in the casinos, too.

It's hard to discover a gambling establishment that offers low-limit blackjack video games that pay 3:2, not the more prevalent 6:5. When a natural blackjack - - an ace and a 10 or face card - is dealt, the gamer wins $15 on a $10 bet on a table with 3:2 odds. On a 6:5 table, the payment is $12 on the exact same bet.

Live roulette tables as soon as had a single green "0" on the wheel. Now, they have 2 and even 3, offering your house a higher edge. On even-money bets - - red-black, even-odd or high-low - - the house wins whenever the ball lands in one of those green slots.

Resort fees are high up on the list of practices most visitors would love to see go away. President Joe Biden, in his State of the Union address, gotten in touch with lawmakers to pass the Junk Fee Prevention Act, which would prohibit resort costs. Far, there's not much movement on that front.

Another Vegas staple that is primarily gone is the affordable buffet. COVID helped kill the array, however there are still some resorts with buffets - - at expensive prices.

Forget about dinner shows at gambling establishment display rooms. They're mainly gone. And the cost of any headliner program is high.

And yet, the current 2022 Visitor Profile study by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority found that simply 3 percent of 6,000 tourists were dissatisfied with their total experience in Las Vegas. When asked the main reason for their dissatisfaction, amongst those dissatisfied 3 percent, 15 percent said their chief complaint was that Las Vegas is too pricey.

So, longtime residents have grievances. Visitors, not a lot. Space rates are high - - and so are tenancy rates.

Not a worth location.

When was, the truth is that Las Vegas is no longer the value destination it. We can thank Disneyland for keeping its rates as much as make Las Vegas appear like a good deal.

We can't reverse the clock, so that leaves locals to grouse about what they miss out on.

One reader who e-mails me often is Rick Imker, who stated he was as soon as a constant local gambling establishment player who gave up on going to them because he was tired of all the nickel and diming.

Amanda Belarmino, assistant professor at UNLV's William F. Harrah College of Hospitality, states the public shouldn't anticipate the resort market to alter, which there are some advantages to rising costs.

" As Vegas continues to evolve, we have moved far from being a value destination," she stated in an email. "The bulk of our customers now see us as rivals with other big city locations. I believe it is impractical to believe that we will go back to discounts unless there is considerable pushback from consumers.".

Bellarmino stated things like charging for parking can enable resorts to increase pay and advantages for their employees, which assists the neighborhood more than permitting some discount rates.

" It's always simple to recall and glamorize the past," she stated. "But to be reasonable, I would rather have business that are attempting to maximize profit than finding more bodies in Lake Mead.".

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.

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Elwood Hill
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Elwood Hill

Elwood Hill is an award-winning journalist with more than 18 years' of experience in the industry. Throughout his career, John has worked on a variety of different stories and assignments including national politics, local sports, and international business news. Elwood graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism and immediately began working for Breaking Now News as lead journalist.

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