I am a member of Enertainment.com and just got an e-mail for a discount on car rentals. Entertainment.com membership costs $25 a year and includes discounts for restaurants, hotel chains, plus a lot of other services and products
With the discount code that was in the e-mail I found a mid-size car through Budget for $320 for 5 days in December. This surprised me because I usually find the best rates though Costco, and Costco's best rate through Budget was $420, $100 MORE. Rates are still crazy high and much higher than I will pay, but maybe this signals a change for the better in rental car prices in the future.
My "car rental tipping point" for 5 days is about $220. I figure the airport shuttle to downtown hotel and return is $30 round trip plus a $10 tip (round trip) per person X 2 people = $80 - leaving me with a remaining cost of $140 for the convenience of having a car to hit other outlying casinos and restaurants for 5 days. This $140 is much less than i would have to pay Lyft to take us to Ellis Island, Southpoint, Rampart and some "locals" restaurants during my stay.
If I see any more car rental "deals" in the future, I'll update this.