We get this question so often that we tend to answer it once a year, during pool season. Here's this year's response.
A source in senior hotel management explains: "In the old days it was a deliberate policy, designed to get guests back into the casino early in the evening. These days, it's less about encouraging you to get back to the tables and more about safety and economics. There's a greater liability involved in overseeing a pool once it gets dark and it's not cost-effective to provide lifeguards, lighting, and cocktail service when most of your clientele is off partying somewhere else."
Of course, it still holds true that every Las Vegas casino resort would prefer that you were "off partying somewhere else" -- i.e., and spending money inside the casino -- than lounging by the pool for free. So sunset is when most pools close, around 8 p.m. in the summer months and 5ish during the winter (for those pools open year-round, of which there are many).
For a long time, the one exception was the Tropicana, which has long been famed for its luxurious pool area. They have three pools altogether, including an indoor-outdoor heated pool which, until this summer, was open all year round and 24-hours a day. But no more! For reasons they were unable to provide, this pool has now switched to the same schedule as the other pools and is only open seasonally from 9 am-7 pm. However, all is not totally lost. Although they're a lot less luxurious than the Trop, the Jockey Club and the Greek Isles still have year-round pools for their guests (the latter assures us theirs is heated to a terrifying 105 degrees!)
One last tip: If you really want to go for a swim and your hotel doesn't have a pool, or not one that's open, a number of the spas in town have their own pool, including those at the JW Marriott in Summerlin, South Point, the Las Vegas Hilton, and the Ritz-Carlton out at Lake Las Vegas, and all of these are open to the general public. If you don't mind paying the admission fee, which ranges from about $15 up to $45 for non-hotel guests, depending on the spa, then this is another option worth bearing in mind. For more information, check out our Spa section under "Vegas Info."
