Are people finally waking up and saying enough is enough to the absurd resort fees, overpriced drinks, 6/5 blackjack, and nickel-and-dime tactics that have come to define modern-day Las Vegas?
It sure seems like the tide is turning. For years, Vegas had a reputation as a place where your dollar could stretch—a buffet for ten bucks, free parking, and comps just for sitting at a machine. But lately, it feels like the city forgot what made it special. Now you’re expected to pay $45 just to check into your hotel, $20 for a well drink cocktail that barely has any alcohol. And the parking? What was once free now feels like a luxury upgrade—can you believe they actually charge for that?
Vegas hotel occupancy is at 66% and home listings are up 77% from last year. Both of these combine for a bleak future. When I visited Vegas a few months ago, I left unimpressed—shocked by how expensive everything is—and the word "overrated" came to mind.
More and more visitors are starting to push back. I'm glad to see social media is full of posts from frustrated travelers swearing off the Strip entirely.
Some are ditching Vegas altogether in favor of more affordable destinations that still offer great entertainment and hospitality—without the insult of a “resort fee” for amenities they never use.
Vegas was built on value, excitement, and treating guests like royalty. If it doesn’t course-correct soon, it risks pricing out the very people who made it a global destination in the first place.
The message is getting louder: we’ll still visit—but only if you stop treating us like suckers. But the suckers still continue to bet slots—a wager that 99.9% of people will be down on for life. It’s a mindless random number generator computer with all the bells and whistles, flashy themes like buffalos, dragons, and cats—but at the end of the day, it could be a blank screen paying out 95%… which is awful and should be illegal.
Go into any Vegas sportsbook and you’ll see an empty racebook—if they even have one anymore. But every slot has someone glued to it, likely losing money.
When will people finally smarten up, refuse to pay resort fees, and demand Vegas start treating its customers better?
