This is an interesting question and one of which the current writer has had some first-hand experience. Hence, you piqued our interest and, with some digging around and the help of very nice lady in the business licensing department at Clark County, we think we have the answer to your question, which all boils down to licenses and taxes.
When it comes to business licensing and taxes, hotels and resorts fall under the category of "transient lodging," one of the definitions of which is "a room or suite of rooms which is occupied not as a principal residence by a person or persons for periods of less than 30 consecutive days." Certain amenities are also expected to be provided, including daily maid and linen service and a front desk, for example.
For the duration of your stay at a "transient lodging," you're subject to a nightly room tax. If you remain at a hotel for 31 consecutive days or longer, however, you technically become a permanent guest and are no longer subject to this tax. This constitutes no loss financially to the hotel, since they get no cut of these taxes and must hand them over to the county, the LVCVA, and various other entities, so we can only conclude that it must be the accounting headache that they wish to avoid by making sure guests don't overstay their welcome. Plus, they don't want to violate the terms of their business license, although from our understanding it's more likely to be frowned upon when a long-term rental/condo unit starts renting out rooms overnight, than when a hotel accepts a long-staying guest.
There are plenty of well-known examples of long-staying hotel guests both in and out of Las Vegas (Howard Hughes at the Dunes and Elvis at the former International both spring to mind). In these instances, most likely the applicable room tax was charged for 30 days and then the hotel completed the necessary paperwork to afford the performer the status of a permanent guest, or else no room charge was ever levied (comped rooms are exempt from the transient lodging tax).
As referenced above, the current writer can vouch for the fact that attention is paid in these matters. Over a decade ago, before I lived in Las Vegas, I was here for an extended business trip, which involved spending no less than five consecutive weeks at a major off-Strip casino. Toward the end of my stay, I crossed the critical 30-day mark and was told I would need to physically check out of my room and check back in again, at least in theory; in practice, the hotel was very understanding and did not subject me to the hassle of packing up my life and moving it to the room next door, although I believe I did have to go through the formality of checking out and back in again at the front desk. (As an aside, at this point the property also kindly waived my 35-page-long, $2,000+ phone bill, by which they were deeply embarrassed, since I'd been using a telephone charge card for the duration and had accummulated the $2,000 bill purely from the act of using the phone at $1/call. I needed that $2,000 for some kind of specialist ear spa...)
So, digressions aside, unless you're a major headliner or an incredibly high roller, it's unlikely that a casino is going to want to go through the necessary bureaucracy to keep you as a permanent guest and, apparent convenience aside, it's not something we'd recommend, for a number of reasons.
Price-wise, regardless of the current bargains to be had (see LVA's Top Ten Values), you'll almost certainly get a better nightly rate at one of the numerous extended-stay joints in town than you could at a hotel. These vary in salubrity just as the hotels and motels do, but while researching this we found average nightly rates of $34.99 for a three-month period at well-appointed extended-stay properties within a five-mile radius of the center of the Strip. Budget Suites was offering rooms for $199/week, including cable. If you're lucky, you might find a lower nightly mid-week rate on the Strip, but not on a Friday or Saturday night, and certainly not consistently for a 90-day duration. Most offer discounts based on the length of stay, so the longer you can commit for, the better rate you'll get. (Note: These accommodations are still subject to the transient lodging tax, for which you'll be charged on your first 30 nights. Thereafter, you'll be treated as a "permanent guest.")
If things work out and you're looking for something more permanent, according to the latest study we read average rental prices are expected to be in the $760/month range this year, rising slightly for the first time in three years. There's an approximate 10 percent vacancy rate at the moment.
Similarly, if you're actually going to be living in your room, as opposed to just vacationing, you will probably appreciate the additional amenities that a room designed for long-staying guests affords. In general, Las Vegas hotel rooms, particularly those in the "bargain" category, are notorious for their lack of amenities (see previous QoDs in the Archives regarding in-room coffee makers, refrigerators, and safes, for example). Having a fully-equipped kitchen, on-premises laundry facilities, and inclusive Internet access, can all save you a lot of time and money, on top of what you're already saving on the room itself.
A third consideration is whether or not you'd really even want to live in a casino, especially one in which you might also be working. Having worked from home from time to time -- not to mention enduring 5+ weeks residing in a casino -- the current writer can attest to the fact that psychologically, there's something very welcome about physically leaving your workplace at the end of the day. Depending upon your demeanor and predilections, it might not be advisable to live day-and-night surrounded by the 24-hour party atmosphere of the casino, when you have to get up for work in the morning. And beginning every day being hit with the soundtrack of casino noise from the moment you step out of the elevator, and before you've even had your first cup of coffee, gets old pretty soon -- for this we can vouch.
Las Vegas can also be a pretty lonely town, where it's not that easy to make new acquaintances; you stand a better chance of getting to know some at least semi-lasting neighbors who might share a few insights in a long-stay or rental apartment, than you do in a hotel where the person next door could be switching on a nightly basis and is likely an out-of-towner like yourself.
That's just our two-cents on the subject. If anyone out there has had experience of living long-term either in a hotel or long-stay complex, or would like to share some general advice about relocating to Las Vegas, feel free to shoot us an email and we'll share your feedback as an "Update."
