Merry Christmas and welcome to Las Vegas!
Also, MGM Resorts is giving guests some coal in their stockings. Shocker.
Self-parking rates at MGM Resorts casinos have been bumped up across The Strip. Don’t shoot the messenger.
We caught wind of the parking fee increases in a message to Cosmopolitan guests. Cosmopolitan is now part of the MGM Resorts family, for better or worse.
Self-parking rates are now $18, Monday through Thursday, and $23 on Friday and Saturday.
Nevada residents continue to get three hours free with a valid license, except during special events. And there are a lot of special events.
The parking fee increases are already in effect.
MGM Resorts hotels in Las Vegas include: Bellagio, Aria, Vdara, Cosmopolitan, MGM Grand, The Signature at MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Delano Las Vegas, Four Seasons at Mandalay Bay, Park MGM, NoMad Las Vegas, New York-New York, Luxor and Excalibur.
Longtime Las Vegas watchers will recall MGM Resorts got the ball rolling on paid parking at Strip casinos back in 2016. Prior to that, casinos provided free parking.
Some Strip casinos still provide free parking, but the list is fairly short now: Tropicana (some “premium” parking), TI, Casino Royale, Circus Circus and Resorts World. Yep, Venetian and Strat caved to paid parking, as did Wynn. In the case of Wynn and Venetian, it was Sphere-related.
There are a number of ways to avoid paying for parking at casinos. You can move to Las Vegas, of course, as locals park free for several hours at most Strip casinos.
You can gamble a lot and get into a loyalty club tier that offers “free” parking.
You can also get the casino’s credit card. Those often bump you up into a tier that gives free parking.
For the most part, just brace for a swift kick to the testicular protuberances, as you’re going to get dinged $20 to send you on your way when leaving a casino.
The reasons for paid parking are complicated, beyond the revenue generation (parking fees deter problematic guests and help keep spaces for customers), so we get it. Still, parking fees are a terrible first and last impression when visiting a casino.
A ticking clock isn’t fun as a guest, and that costs casinos far more than they will ever generate from parking fees.
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