A weekend in Vegas means a weekend of escape: escape from commitments and obligations, escape from responsible behavior, and escape from—perhaps most critically for Angelenos who trek across the Mojave—paid parking.
Until now, Las Vegas' Strip resorts have (as far as we can tell) always offered acres of free parking for Angelenos freshly arriving off the interstate. But starting this spring, MGM Resorts, the owner 12 of the hotel-casinos on Vegas' strip, will begin charging a "modest" $10 a night fee for gamblers and revelers to park their cars in structures owned by the company.
MGM Resorts justifies their introduction of parking rates by citing how the company will use the money collected to "enhance" the "guest parking experience with [a] new parking facility," and "new technology amenities and upgrades to existing facilities," according to the Los Angeles Times
The $90 million strategy to overhaul MGM Resorts' parking infrastructure in Vegas will introduce features like a smartphone app for finding parking spots, according to L.A. Magazine. Thousands of guests paying $10 a night will also contribute to the payment of a giant $54 million, 3,000 spot structure MGM will construct adjacent the Excalibur, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal
MGM Resorts owns a dozen of the casinos dotting the Vegas Strip, including the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Luxor, and Mandalay Bay. Aside from MGM Resorts, the only other major player in the Vegas Strip game is Caesars Entertainment, which owns Paris Las Vegas, Caesars Palace, and a few other properties. A decade of mergers and buyouts have left Caesars and MGM the chief proprietors of Strip entertainment.
Caesars Entertainment did not commit either way to charging for parking or not, perhaps waiting to see what happens with MGM's new policy.
Time will tell, but for now you should expect to lose just a little bit more money the next time you go to Vegas.
