Las Vegas Center Strip casino greed

Over the past years, especially since covid, the trend to rip-off tourists in a way never seen before has become worse and worse. With resort fees being raised continuously, parking fees, amenity fees, reservation fees, this is one thing that I personally don't like at all.  Then most casinos stopped the buffets and replaced that eatery system by fast food courts or overcharged cafés, restaurants, whatever. With prices being raised as high as possible, the tipping goes up. Is the average income of the American family also going up at the same pace?  And what about all the homeless and the pan handlers that you get to see. The metro police keeps pushing these people away from the Strip so the tourists don't get to see too many of them, but they eventually come back an hour later. Where else would they go if they need money to get food or whatever they need for their sad life.

The casinos got bigger and bigger and then came the sport and entertainment idea. The F1 is the peak of what I personally believe the most useless thing to be brought to the Strip. For weeks before and after the event it blocks important roads and makes it even harder for tourists and probably locals as well to commute and get from one place to the other. Not my problem, I have walked away from the Strip long time ago. You have your racetrack already. Why not rebuilding it or building a nice F1 track nearby so it won't affect and hurt the traffic and business in the city? Why not building a F1 casino hotel nearby and making all F1 fans happy? What's the point in blocking the STRIP in November and watch these cars racing around and after that one night it's all over and takes weeks to go back to normal???

But then there are thousands of employees that have their jobs on the STRIP. The city's concept is based on entertainment and casino life.  With an airport right next to the action, the concept couldn't be any better. And the weather is nice all year though. So why is it changing to the worse for most of us tourists and do they really think all tourists are plain idiots? With a coffee in the morning at a vending place in a hotel/casino on the Strip being sold for 12 dollars or more ( plus tax plus tip of course), do they really think that a tourist doesn't realize what's going on?

And what's the point in charging 24 or 30 or more for parking if somebody wants to come and visit a casino? Is it to make money or is it rather to keep people from parking there and go elsewhere?

Speaking about Las Vegas' place where it all began (besides the Flamingo): The Downtown district. 

The Fremont Street Experience looks nice if you see it the first time you get there. The next year maybe when you come back it's still nice but not so nice anymore. And then with all the pan handlers and exhibitionists showing their skills but actually begging for money, it is something that I have seen and don't want to see any longer. If I go to a casino, I am there to gamble, and to eat, and drink. But I'm not going to Vegas to stand around in a big crowd with booze in their hand and being unable to speak because the band battles and the extra noise from DJs and private entertainers or whatever you want to call these people.  I feel that the whole trend is going into a direction that is no longer making sense. To me it looks like a desperate effort to make money, no matter what.

A place like Caesar's Palace once was a great casino to visit. It was classy and legendary. And then came the greed. Bigger and even bigger and more towers and the Mall adjacent and more shops and more rooms and more ...DEBT!!!  Now the casinos owe so much money that they have to generate so much cash just to pay off the interest for all the billions they owe. And do they really think that by charging 12 or 15 dollars for a coffee in the morning, offering 6:5 black jack with a minimum bet of 15 or 25 dollars /hand, triple zero roulette and 4-5-6 videopoker will do the job? Ask the people that control the Fountainebleau how they will get out of their financing trouble. They make 1.5 or 1.8M per day and still lose money because they owe so much to the banks. I mean, hey, how crazy is that????

I once believed in Vegas, because it was a value place to visit. I've visited Vegas more than 75x in my life and live on the other side of the world from there. It's because I love Vegas so much. But I love Vegas the way it used to be, but not what it turned into.

 There is still value and good gaming and genuine casino customer service available, but not on the STRIP. All these old-timers and people that have seen and lived there for years know exactly what I'm talking about. You can critizice me for bringing this all up, but it doesn't change a thing. Nobody likes the trend that turned Vegas from a value destination to a rip-off city.

And as for the few places and casinos that have not changed yet: Hopefully these last few places have understood that they are doing the things right and won't change. Because if they do, then it's really the moment when Vegas better shuts down the lights for good.

From Switzerland

Boris

Boris, out of curiosity have you tried Reno?  Much more laid back and gambler friendly from my perspective.  You may not get all the 'glitz & glamour' of Vegas, but I think you will find the gambling much better there.  As a bonus, you have Tahoe nearby which is a spectacular destination.
Reno/Tahoe has been brought up many times here in the forums as an alternate destination.  The only real negative is that getting to that area tends to be a little more difficult just based on availability of flights.
It might be worth checking into.

Boris,

    I agree with all you say.I hate food courts. Miss buffets a lot. Especially the inexpensive. When younger I stayed up late for $1.99 breakfast at 1am.Now in my twilight years I bargain hunt. Comp rooms and coupons. Yet I am financially comfortable so I splurge too. I still love Las Vegas.Yet like you I miss the old days a lot.

I too would recommend checking out Reno. You still get a bit of a gouge, especially at the Caesars owned properties but it is not as bad as Vegas.

Way more generous with room offers as well. I did five nights at El Dorado. Fully comped. I just had to pay hotel taxes which came to $15 total.And that is after only having a few hundred dollars coin-in. 

I would recommend staying in Reno (it's cheaper) and taking at least a day maybe two to visit the Lake Tahoe area. You will want to rent a car.

 You can drive all the way around the lake and stop at different parks and stuff along the way. It is a beautiful drive with great views. The parks on the California side are usually free and open to the public. Many of the parks on the Nevada side are private and charge a small fee. (About $10 a day per vehicle last time I was there) 

Another plus about Reno/Tahoe is the climate. It's a mountain town so the summers are not as hot. Lake Tahoe has ski resorts in the winter. 

The Reno Riverwalk is nice and I would also recommend checking out the car museum. 

Reno a good idea.I travel with my son. He lost his diamond status this year.( working on a Caesar's error) Anyway even at lower status no resort fee on comped rooms in Reno.

One more thing. I like the showgirls sexy. Maybe because I am old. Past several years a lot of raw sex.

I have come and lived( short time) in Las Vegas. Don't remember comics talking so much about oral sex. I can't go to a comic show with my adult son anymore.

I think most are.  There's a selection bias here, most of the folks who post here are a lot more savvy than the average tourist.  Watch people gambling, listen to their "advice."  Read all the online posts about how it's Vegas, and wasting money is fun.  Listen to people; probably over 90% of tourists bring money that they intend to lose, and their goal is to make it last longer before it's all gone.

I don't keep up with business news, but my understanding is that most casino companies are doing very well financially with the (mostly post-COVID) gouge.  Visitation numbers are down some and a few bones have been tossed, but the gouge continues because it's profitable.  That being said, you can still find decent deals and decent games if you don't have to stay and play somewhere spectacular.

I've advocated for Reno as a superior alternative to Vegas for some time now. I share Boris's disgust for what most of Vegas has become. I also have contempt for the unwashed masses of morons who enable the casinos to implement The Gouge. The prices the casinos charge, the horrible games, the general nickel-and-dime-you-to-death attitude...it just ain't fun no more. There are still deals to be found, like a silver coin hidden somewhere inside a giant steaming pile of horse manure.

And a fun little anecdote...when I was a little kid, we traveled in Mexico a fair bit, and I heard a lot of Spanish and learned it from context--so for quite a while, I thought that "turista" mean "idiot" or "sucker." Much later, I learned that I was wrong. But now I realize that I was right all along.

Never made it to Reno because of the long driving distance from Vegas.   Could be something for me somewhen in the near future. Right now I found a nice place to spend my time (and money) and they treat me good whenever I come by for a visit.  Nothing to say against a road trip to Reno and back some day.  Thanks for bringing up that idea. 

I would not suggest driving to Reno.  Take a flight.  There is regular service between Las Vegas and Reno on domestic carriers that can be inexpensive.  Frontier flies up there for cheap.  I'd normally not suggest that airline, but for short hauls like the flight to Reno it works.  You should check into it!  :)