There’s no room at the inn at Palazzo. Not permanently. But it’s not a good sign for a Las Vegas Strip whose room rates are bumping along the bottom, even during New Year’s Eve weekend. As Las Vegas Sands said, the decision was taken to “better reflect occupancy patterns,” which have been far from great, Strip-wide: 64% on weekends and only 39% midweek. Sands’ initial plan, back when casinos reopened, had been just to resume hotel operations at The Venetian. That went by the boards in a bit of irrational exuberance. Before long, Palazzo was curtailed to weekends-only status and is now dark altogether, except for its restaurants and bars. However, given recent Covid-19 restrictions (25% occupancy), one wonders how tenable that F&B exception is. Gambling will continue uninterrupted. (This almost goes without saying.) Sands has hinted at a Dec. 23 reopening for Palazzo, although a longer hiatus might make more sense. People don’t exactly flock to Sin City over the Christmas holidays. If Palazzo returns as planned, it will have some newish competition, as The Rio wades back in on Dec. 22, albeit only for weekends.
Scores and Roberts where never a good fit for that resort. The Taj got desperate and Hard Rock got stuck with them.