MGM takes a gamble as it introduces charges for parking on Las Vegas Strip

It’s a city built on luring tourists with cheap thrills and free cocktails but a big chunk of the Las Vegas Strip will soon lose its most basic freebie: parking. MGM Resorts International has announced it will become the first major casino company to start charging visitors this year for parking. The move could bring in millions of dollars annually but is likely to anger city residents who are used to the perk of free parking. Meanwhile, regular visitors were using social media to say they would take their business elsewhere.

I don’t know that people will try to game the system. People will accept it or (it’ll) turn them off and they may try another property

Gambling analyst Alex Bumazhny

MGM will charge up to $10 for overnight self-parking at most of its Strip properties. The parking fees will come at Mandalay Bay, Delano, Luxor, Excalibur, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Vdara, Aria, Bellagio, The Mirage and MGM Grand. Analysts say it reflects the declining income from gambling at the hotels but competitors have no plans to follow suit. Corey Sanders, the company’s chief operating officer. “These decisions are really hard decisions to make but I think we have enough positive things to say about it and are creating enough enhancements to justify it.”

There’ll be initial backlash, but a month from now, three months from now, people will completely forget about it

Corey Sanders, MGM

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