Question of the Day - 10 January 2018

The Monorail extension’s route is east on Tropicana Avenue from the MGM Grand station a half-block to Koval, south on Koval to Reno Avenue for a long block west, south again on Giles Street, then around to the west on Mandalay Bay Road, where it crosses over the Strip (the only place on the line to do so) and pulls into the Mandalay Bay station.

Essentially, the route will make a big “U,” with a couple of doglegs, to get from MGM Grand to Mandalay Bay.

Meanwhile, the free Excalibur-Mandalay-Bay tram runs in a straight line between the two megaresorts. From Excalibur, it's an express ride direct to MBay; it doesn't stop at Luxor and takes four minutes or so. From Mandalay Bay, the tram does stop at Luxor and takes seven minutes to arrive at Excalibur.

Presumably, the Monorail extension will either tie in or come close to the tram station at MBay. The tram, after all, will feed riders onto the Monorail from Excalibur, who’ll find it more convenient than to cross the Strip on foot and walk all the way to the MGM Grand station.

That’s why we believe that the Monorail extending to Mandalay Bay won’t impact the Excalibur-MBay Tram at all. Indeed, we reckon the two will be complementary.

Meanwhile, when the Monorail extension might be built is anyone’s guess. Even though the expansion project is included in the Regional Transportation Commission’s Transportation Investment Business Plan and recommended by the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance’s Community Economic Development Strategy and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Transportation Steering Committee, monorail usage is in decline. So the numbers aren't trending in the Monorail’s favor and the imposition of parking fees, especially at the MGM Grand and Caesars Entertainment properties, has arguably driven even more visitors and locals to seek alternatives.