Starting at the finish, the CVS-into-Vegas Club rumor was just that. Nothing substantive was ever mentioned, although – with new owner Derek Stevens keeping all his options open – it could happen yet, but seems unlikely. Convenience retail is at something of a premium downtown (even with a couple of existing Walgreens), where the emphasis is on souvenir stores.
CVS Pharmacy-Photo is catching up, having just added a third location at Treasure Island. It also has stores just north of Circus Circus (at 2700 Las Vegas Boulevard) and in The Shops at Crystals, on the Strip around the corner from Mandarin Oriental.
As for Walgreens, it has five stores on the Strip, if you count the one just north of Sahara Avenue, across the street from SLS Las Vegas. When you consider the population density of the Strip and the fact that Walgreens has three stores in a two-mile stretch between Flamingo Road and Sahara Avenue, on Maryland Parkway, the phenomenon seems not so unusual. Granted, the number has grown somewhat in the past few years, what with one being built at Sahara and the Strip, and another being an anchor tenant of the recent Harmon Crossing mall, but it seems as if they somewhat make up for the obvious dearth of actual grocery stores.
One "new" Walgreens, on the ground floor of Palazzo, is actually a new version of a Walgreens that previously existed on that site. Its incorporation into Palazzo was a quid pro quo for Las Vegas Sands being able to build on the underlying real estate.
Walgreens spokesman Phil Caruso said he couldn’t get into the specifics of customer needs and store performance but added, "There may be stores in close proximity but they [each] serve a completely different constituency. There is certainly high-traffic customer demand down there. Yes, we have the prescription drugs and if you’re traveling that’s an option we offer." Caruso noted that, in addition to pharmaceuticals, Walgreens sells everything from toothbrushes to souvenirs … all manner of everyday items. He also mentioned Vegas’ high volume of business travelers, saying, "If you’re at work and you forgot something, we offer that convenience as well."
Considering that someone staying at Monte Carlo is unlikely to travel all the way up to Palazzo for a toothbrush, we actually don’t think the concentration of Walgreens on the Strip is illogical, let alone excessive. As you can see from the results of our 2014 Reader Poll, surveying the incidence and nature of any memorable spells of sickness here among LVA readers, almost half of the respondents reported perennial good health during visits to Vegas; however, from food allergies to Norovirus, and from spider bites to sunstroke, a good number of you have had need of medical attention/supplies during a trip to Sin City, so we're happy the Strip is able to accommodate your pharmaceutical needs, while relieved to learn that none of our readers has ever been bitten by a rabid bat.
