Question of the Day - 22 January 2018

For some strange reason, Las Vegas’ casino companies couldn't be convinced, charmed, or bullied into cooperation on this query. 

One refreshing exception was Boyd Gaming. Orleans Assistant General Manager Ron Bailey told us, “That's a great question.” He went on to explain, “Typically, casinos are designed so that the docks are in a location that's unseen by guests, toward the back of the building or where they cannot be seen from many rooms. We have deliveries almost every day of the week, which minimizes any congestion that could occur. It truly is a massive amount of product. However, our procurement and warehouse teams ensure deliveries are spread out to better manage the volume.”

Brian Ahern, media relations manager for MGM Resorts International, also provided this insider perspective. “Our resorts receive large deliveries nearly every day, beginning very early in the morning, that are often unseen by visitors and members of the public. That is because most property loading docks are located behind the properties and are not found along Las Vegas Boulevard. Once they are received at the loading dock, deliveries are sorted through the warehouse and taken to where they need to go – a process that takes place in the property’s back-of-house area and unseen by the public. This efficient process results in a seamless experience for guests, who can then enjoy our world-class food, drinks and other offerings.”

One exception we can cite is Cosmopolitan. We don't know how many at Cosmo there can see deliveries, but from the north-facing rooms at the Jockey Club, you can sit at the windows and see a perpetual parade of big trucks, some of them 18-wheelers with 40-foot trailers, coming up the driveway and disappearing down a ramp and into a special section of Cosmo's underground parking garage. Some trucks also use this right of way to deliver goods, mostly for the greenhouses, to Bellagio, and there's a drop-off area on the south side of the property, unseen by everyone except observers from the Jockey Club. (It sometimes makes for an interesting loading-unloading experience at the Jockey Club's main entrance.) 

So, yes, tremendous volume is moving through the casinos every day, but they’re mostly designed in such a way that the “long lines of semis” you mention are deliberately kept invisible to the casino patrons and hotel guests.