What’s Your Opinion about Strip Hotels' Locals Discount Nowadays?

What’s your opinion about the Strip hotels offering the locals discounts during this downturn period? It’s nice, but where are they with the locals when times are good? They don’t really do much for us then. We’re here all the time supporting them. Where’s the reciprocity? Kind of cheap of them, in my opinion.

This was a hard question to answer, because we completely agree with you.

Whenever there’s a downturn in the Las Vegas market (Great Recession, COVID, the current economy), big Las Vegas Strip players like Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International suddenly rediscover a deep abiding love for locals, one that they otherwise have no trouble forgetting when business is flush.

It’s not just the giants: Struggling Strip casinos like Resorts World are now claiming to be bargain-friendly, despite their continuing exclusive orientation. The Fontainebleaus of the world had no trouble dissing Las Vegans when business was phat (to use a term we didn’t learn in business school). Now they’re our best buddies, counting on locals to have very short memories.

These are the same companies (especially MGM and Caesars) that foisted the Las Vegas Grand Prix on a very unwilling public. Can’t see the Bellagio fountains for the three-month-long grandstands? Too bad. Stuck in traffic due to Formula 1 construction? You’re out of luck. Is your business suffering due to F1 disruptions? Tough.

And yes, these are the casinos that had no qualms about jamming you up for parking, let alone for that preposterous add-on, the “resort fee.” The fact that a few Strip casinos waive resort fees and other ridiculous imposts now and again ought to make us all question this industry orthodoxy: that such fees are the necessary price of being competitive. Sorry, but we all know it’s flat-out price gouging.

Unless they’re employees (and maybe not even then), locals are a pain to the Strip operators. They claim we clutter up their parking garages when there’s a Las Vegas Raiders game or a big concert at T-Mobile Arena or Allegiant Stadium, let’s say. So they make it as onerous and costly to patronize them as possible. And if out-of-town guests get clipped too, who cares? Not even locals sympathize with tourists.

When the present doldrums blow over (and they will), look for Strip operators to forget about locals lickety-split. You’ll see parking charges, resort fees, and high prices come back fast and go up from there.

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Bob Oct-19-2025

Downturn

What the Strip casinos seem to overlook is, the downturn is of their creation! The economy is doing ok, but People are wising up to the "Gouge" and seeking out better options. Even folks with lots of money Know they are getting screwed, with $23 bottles of water and $40 mixed drinks, Parking Fees, Resort Fees... But Hey, the LVCVA says "Nothing to see here folks, move along, everything's fine!"   They need to treat Everybody better, Locals and Tourists!

steve crouse Oct-19-2025

Corporate greed

Sadly, corporate greed has sucked every penny from the gambling public that used to help pay for an inexpensive vacation for me.

[email protected] Oct-19-2025

Remember their creed

"Our unstated corporate goal is to remove as much money from our guests as fast as possible with reckless disregard for their experience at our property."

Louis666 Oct-19-2025

Resort fees

" The Money you bring to Vegas stays in Vegas. Getting  hotels to not have resort fee will not magically bring prices ,down. What it will do is make clear what the real price is and then competition will bring prices down a little.  But until  prices are high enough to actually cause people to sostop spending and threaten profit margins not much will change

Bob Nelson Oct-19-2025

Pretty confident…

Just because Vegas has come back from downturns several times doesn’t mean it necessarily will again.  Sea changes happen.  A few years of this and several of the overextended resorts could start collapsing.  People have other options for entertainment.

Roger Gallizzi Oct-19-2025

Locals on the strip?

What an odd question to begin with.  What local goes to the strip only to complain about it?

Gene Brown Oct-19-2025

Make It Make Sense!

Why would Locals in vast numbers want to be on the Strip? There are casinos throughout Vegas that offer the same thing. It’s like living in Orlando without ever having to go to Disney or Universal. There are other options. Just to be on the Strip to feel special as a Local is ludicrous, in my opinion. A jackpot off the Strip is no less than one “won”, pin intended, than one otherwise, and without the excised disadvantages. The Locals are ahead of the game when they stay off the Strip, in my opinion.

PaulaNH Oct-20-2025

A great bargain

Use To go to LV 6-8 times a year. Free rooms, free food, free tournaments,great video poker, free valet and parking, no resort fees, no fees for “special” lounge chairs at the pool, great buffets, LVA book with GREAT discounts, lots of fun things to do be sides gamble ( loved going to at least 4 Stars games every summer), awesome customer service and on and on and on. Haven’t been back since 2008. Probably never will. Too bad. I had fun, got my money’s worth and just enjoyed the vibe of the City. My entire bankroll wouldn’t cover a week of rooms, food and vehicle now. May Las Vegas rest in Hades. Wouldn’t care if it became a ghost town now.

edibower Oct-20-2025

locals/out of towners

Seems to me if the locals ignore these temporary deals and keep patronizing  the off strip casinos and resorts that would send a pretty strong message.  Its like the strip casinos are dangling a carrot in front of the locals and once they take a bite they take it away (when things get better for them economically).  We come from out of town and always stay at off strip properties.  We avoid the strip at all costs and always will because of many of the reasons discussed at length on this site.  Like I stated it seems simple, ignore their temporary offers and stay away from the F1 race.  If no one takes them up on their offers maybe things might revert back to the more economical and customer friendly times......just a thought

Question of the Day - 19 October 2025

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