Las Vegas Strip casinos double down on unpopular pricing move

Las Vegas loves its added fees nearly as much as it loves neon. Most Las Vegas Strip resorts have simply made fees and added charges.

At all Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International resort casinos you won't actually pay just the nightly rate you agreed on for your room. You will also be charged "resort fees," which include so-called extras like internet service, pools, and gyms.

Even if you don't use those services, you have no choice but to pay them. It's not illegal, and many hotels around the country use this pricing tactic, but it is actually something that President Joe Biden talked about back in October 2022.

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"Last week, the Federal Trade Commission started work on a rule to crack down on unfair and deceptive fees across all industries, fees that were never disclosed and there was no way to avoid the fee, like processing fees for concert tickets or like resort fees," the president said. "When you think you’re paying one price to book a hotel, you only find out after checking out that there’s a 'resort fee' you never heard about that’s added to your bill."

Las Vegas Strip resort operators, including Caesars and MGM, have opposed those rules through the American Gaming Association.

Biden, however, has no pending legislation on charging for things that were once free. That's something that has become a new fact of life on the Strip as a long-time freebie has gone paid and one Las Vegas Strip megaplayer is raising its prices before a huge season for Las Vegas.

MGM raises parking prices 

Until relatively recently it was common for parking to be free to people visiting a Las Vegas Strip casino. That's still the case at most casinos around the country, but on the Las Vegas Strip, nearly every casino charges visitors to self-park their cars.

In the past, the theory was that free parking was a perk that got customers into your casino where they then spent money. The Strip, however, has gotten so packed with people that casino operators now see parking as an added revenue source rather than a service offered free to drive gambling, dining, and entertainment revenue.

"Rates at all properties have been raised to $18 for Mondays through Thursdays, and $23 for Fridays through Sundays. MGM omitted its former one to four-hour and four- to 24-hour rates," the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Some top-tier MGM loyalty program members still get free parking while Nevada residents get a three-hour free grace period before being charged. 

The Las Vegas Strip has huge events

A number of Las Vegas Resorts including the Wynn Resorts properties and The Venetian both cited the opening of the Las Vegas Sphere as a reason for charging for parking. That venue has been drawing 17,000 people on nights U2 plays the venue and it only has a few hundred parking spots. 

That means that people park at the neighboring properties and may not actually patronize that casino while also taking parking spaces away from those who do.

Las Vegas has a massive stretch of events that could draw crowds looking to park at resort casinos but perhaps not gamble or eat there. That includes the recently completed Formula 1 race, the CES show, the Super Bowl, and March Madness.

Currently, only the soon-to-close Casino Royale and the out-of-the-way north Strip properties Treasure Island and Circus Circus offer free parking on the Strip.

MGM did not comment to rhe Review-Journal nor did it issue any public statement about why it raised its parking prices. The change went into effect on Dec. 20 without any public notice.