[Katie the heartbreaker]

Originally Posted by rhuff80

It's going to need to be many times worse than its been in the Valley for them to consider shutting down once open. Just won't happen. People get used to the new "normal" quickly. Good, bad, or otherwise.

The Spanish Flu of 1918 was relatively harmless in the first wave like COVID-19, but the second wave was deadly. It would be equivalent to over 2 million deaths with today's population. This would definitely shut everything down. This is a very real possibility, and yes, it could happen with COVID-19.

[Willy702]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

If it were free, there'd be wise guys who park for free in a casino garage then take a taxi to the airport for a flight. Nothing surprises me anymore. The fee keeps out all sorts of nonsense.

I used to do this all the time, MGM Grand was my go-to garage. Almost everyone I knew used a casino garage to do this and it was quite common for people to ask around how long could they get away with it for before getting towed. The taxi drivers used to offer opinions on it. I did I think a 10 day trip once, no problem. I'm sure people doing this were at least somewhat part of the desire to implement paid parking.

[LarryNJ]

I think the reason the Casino conglomerates decided to charge for parking was simply because they could.
A light bulb must have gone off in a bean-counters head one day- "Hey, we can add XXX amount of dollars if we start to charge for parking! What else are they going to do?"

I saw THIS:

https://www.lasvegasdirect.com/las-vegas-parking-fees/

It says 2020, but apparently it was written before the closures.

There isn't much that can drive me to go tho the Strip- Last concert at the Park was not a whole lotta fun (the sound in their showroom -for Charlie Puth-IMO was terrible), and they were remodeling at the time. I'm pretty sure I paid to park.

I met friends in town from Japan at the MGM Grand, where a round of drinks cost me $60, and a small snack at one of the restaurants was about $20. Pretty sure I had to pay for parking there too. I need those kind of expenses like a second mortgage!

For the most part, IMO the Strip is for Tourists, so like taking a trip almost anywhere- I've traveled quite a bit btw- You need to expect to spend an inordinate amount of money.

We went to get a coffee while shopping inside a small cafe in Harrod's London- They wanted $15 US.

I passed, and later a Taxi driver told me that there were stands along the roads set aside for them, where if I asked, I could get a cup for about $2.

The best part of travel, including to & from the strip from Henderson, is getting back home.

[clutchcargo777]

If they could charge extra for air, they would.

[BBMW]

Back in the day I used to go downtown to play. I usually parked at Binions. Downtown charged for parking long before the strip. But it was very easy to get validated, so you didn't have pay. In Binions, they had a stamp machine next to the cage. Just walk up, stick your parking ticket in, and get it stamped.

If they just want to make sure that people parking are actually using the casino and not just the garage, they could implement a higher tech version of this, keyed through the players club card. Play and you park for free.

Originally Posted by Willy702

I used to do this all the time, MGM Grand was my go-to garage. Almost everyone I knew used a casino garage to do this and it was quite common for people to ask around how long could they get away with it for before getting towed. The taxi drivers used to offer opinions on it. I did I think a 10 day trip once, no problem. I'm sure people doing this were at least somewhat part of the desire to implement paid parking.

[LarryNJ]

Originally Posted by clutchcargo777

If they could charge extra for air, they would.

Don't give them any ideas!!!

[LarryNJ]

Originally Posted by BBMW

Back in the day I used to go downtown to play. I usually parked at Binions. Downtown charged for parking long before the strip. But it was very easy to get validated, so you didn't have pay. In Binions, they had a stamp machine next to the cage. Just walk up, stick your parking ticket in, and get it stamped.

If they just want to make sure that people parking are actually using the casino and not just the garage, they could implement a higher tech version of this, keyed through the players club card. Play and you park for free.

You NAILED it!

Damn straight, they should do just that! Anyone can get a Players Card; they come up to you and bug you to get them as a matter of fact.

[KemBro71]

Originally Posted by LarryNJ

You NAILED it!

Damn straight, they should do just that! Anyone can get a Players Card; they come up to you and bug you to get them as a matter of fact.

Exactly.

I have to laugh my A off when I read comments here that people should think of free parking as a comp.

I mean...what a joke, and some people fall for it. If free parking is a comp that we need to "earn," how much should I feel obligated to push through the windows to earn a grilled cheese at the crappy coffee shop?

[equid0x]

Originally Posted by Willy702

Yes, the model is nothing like what it was. Most people aren't gambling much, if at all. The top 5-10% of gamblers in the hotel most nights are generating 70-80% of the gaming revenue. They aren't booking through these channels. The rest are far more price than property sensitive, especially once you get outside of the Bellagio, Aria, Caesars Palace, etc. For most visitors, if they stay at the NYNY or Flamingo, for example, it really doesn't matter. These are the properties that get sold more on OTAs.

I guess those really wouldn't be the ones I stayed in. I booked in the signature when it was a couple years old and it appealed to me at the time. It wasn't the fanciest but it hit all the marks and the price point I wanted. It was definitely better than some of the other options. Not sure what it's like now, though. I don't think NYNY or Flamingo would be on my list.

I'm not convinced lack of gambling is a market change driven by the clientele. Even cheap houses have high minimums, no comps, paid parking, ridiculously expensive buffets, etc. At some point the only real difference is the quality of the room and even that seems questionable these days.

[equid0x]

Originally Posted by caltrinity

I know a lot of us are happy to hear this news! I expect Caesars and other resorts still charging for self parking will follow shortly with announcements of their own.

"MGM Resorts on Monday announced free parking for all guests at its Strip resorts for the foreseeable future."

“MGM Resorts is updating many of our offerings as we prepare to welcome guests back, and that includes implementing free parking,” the company said in a statement issued Monday morning. “We couldn’t be more excited to open our doors and get back to doing what we do best.”

"The company’s exceptions are valet services (there is no timetable for the return of that customer amenity) and event parking, including Las Vegas Aces and Vegas Golden Knights games, UFC cards and championship boxing in the company’s arena lineup."

https://www.reviewjournal.com/entert...strip-2030770/

I don't want to be a pessimist, but we'll have to see how long this lasts. I'd like to believe that Casinos are finally listening to their customers again but I'm afraid it's really just desperation.