MGM Raises Resort Fees

Posted on August 5, 2019 by The Editor in Resort Fee and tagged Aria, Bellagio, MGM Resorts, Vdara.

It is now a little more expensive to stay at some MGM Resort International properties in Las Vegas as the daily resort fee has been raised to $45 per night at the Bellagio, Vdara and Aria.

At the moment the other MGM resorts in Las Vegas haven’t announced a resort fee increase with the increase for the moment just on their higher end properties. The new increase puts them on par with some of the of higher end properties on the Strip which include the Wynn, Encore, Venetian, Palazzo and the Waldorf Astoria.

Las Vegas visitors have resort fees always high on the list about things they don’t like but at least in the near term it doesn’t look like they are going away.

The Final Straw

Posted on September 24, 2018 by The Editor in Bar, Resort and tagged Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts.

Early this year we reported how MGM Resorts was phasing out plastic drinking straws at all its properties, now comes the news that Caesars Entertainment is now doing the same. At Caesars Entertainment properties in Las Vegas you can still ask for plastic straws or stirrers but they wont be provided automatically and some properties are already providing paper alternatives.

The elimination of plastic drink straws in Las Vegas is part of ongoing national trend to eliminate the straws to be more environmentally friendly with companies such as Starbucks and Mc Donald’s also looking to replace plastic one time use drinking straws with paper or other alternatives.

I’m fine with the elimination of plastic straws and stirrers for environmental reasons as long as alternative options are provided so you can mix up he contents of your drink when they start to separate. I don’t know why but i have a picture of a shady figure behind a bar or casino who opens his jacket to show rows of plastic straws and telling the customer i have many colored plastic straws and small ones or long ones or even curly straws and a special on plastic stirrers; Okay maybe that’s my warped humor but it seems the evils of plastic straws are just the latest thing that some people jump on the bandwagon as is bad.

[amazon_link asins=’B00B0OYRK4,B01N45XUAD,B00ASHBWY8′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’lasvegasinsideoutstore-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ec20fe18-c028-11e8-8633-0123e7708a5d’]

MGM Adds Another Fee

Posted on August 18, 2018 by The Editor in Resort and tagged MGM Resorts.

It looks like our friends at MGM Resorts International have figured a way to add another fee to the seemly endless add on fees such as resort fees and parking charges with a new fee at the spa and salons. The new fee is a 20 percent service charge which now applies in all its Las Vegas spas and salons. I don’t think a 20 percent service fee in the spa’s will stop people going to Las Vegas but all the combination of fees might make some consider going to less expensive destinations in the future which could hurt Las Vegas in the long run.

Wynn Breaks Rank On Parking

Posted on June 8, 2018 by The Editor in Parking, Resort and tagged Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, Wynn.

In a climate in Las Vegas where it seems the two major Strip operators MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment are constantly raising parking charges comes news that the Wynn Las Vegas is making a customer positive change to its parking; Starting July 1st customers who spend $50 in the casino will have their parking fee comped which is similar to Downtown properties where if you spend money at the property you get your parking comped. It would be nice if this was the start of a bigger trend to lessen parking and other fees but unless there is a big downturn in the number of Las Vegas visitors i cannot see that happening.

[amazon_link asins=’B07DH28Y77,1568581904,B005EU8HCO’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’lasvegasinsideoutstore-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’41930a54-6b19-11e8-86c1-ef3b9a38f211′]

Citywide Strike Threat Over?

Posted on June 5, 2018 by The Editor in Resort and tagged Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts.

It looks like the threat of a citywide strike from members of the culinary and bartenders unions may have lessened as MGM Resorts have followed Caesars Entertainment in reaching a tentative deal with the unions. This deal if it holds will stop a strike which was authorized by its members and could have happened as soon as June 1st but was delayed because of the ongoing talks.

If the deal is finalized with the two largest operators on the Strip it would mean that 18 of 34 Las Vegas resorts would avoid a possible strike and deals would still have to be made with the other resorts. A strike would be bad for Las Vegas visitors as well as the resort owners and, union members so hopefully the deals can be worked out to avert a strike. The strike vote wasn’t just about money and concerns things such as employee safety and a big issue is job security in a time when technology could replace a lot of jobs. I have been visiting Las Vegas often for a lot of years and remember the strikes of the Eighties in Las Vegas as well as the last citywide strike in Las Vegas in 1984 hopefully that threat will be over soon.

What No Straw In My Drink

Posted on June 1, 2018 by The Editor in Bar, Nightclub, Restaurant and tagged Aria, Mandalay Bay, MGM Resorts.

MGM Resorts have announced that they are going to be phasing out the use of plastic straws at its various properties. The program has started at the Aria and Mandalay Bay and will soon happen at all MGM Resorts properties in Las Vegas.

As the program starts you will still be able to request your server or bar tender for a straw but one won’t be automatically added to your drink; The eventually goal of the program is to eliminate all straws from MGM operated clubs, bars and restaurants.

The purpose of this program according to MGM Resorts is to eliminate the waste caused by disposable straws of which the company uses about 100 million a year. I can see how this will eliminate waste, but I can also see how this will save MGM Resorts a lot of money, so I wonder if the main goal is truly just to save the environment or cut out a cost. Either way a lot of places don’t give you drink stirrers anymore so now I cannot use a straw to stir my drink is it okay to use your fingers okay maybe not.