Poker Writer
A Vegas influencer has started a campaign to end paid parking on the Strip. Heather Collins, creator of the popular Instagram account “Raised in Las Vegas,” is leading the charge. She has started a petition on Change.org to reduce the rising parking costs on the Strip.
Collins’ main focus is on how the parking fees are detrimental to Vegas locals:
In recent years, parking fees along Las Vegas Boulevard have become the norm. And for locals? Those fees add up fast. What used to feel like our backyard now feels gated by a parking garage arm and a credit card swipe.
She goes on to discuss how making parking more accessible again would encourage locals who often avoid the Strip in favor of suburban properties. In her mind, the elimination of yet another fee, in the form of parking, would go a long way to connect locals to the Strip and create a more symbiotic Vegas.
Collins said that the inspiration for this petition came directly from her 250,000 followers. She also has a billboard near the 215 and Durango that says “Make Parking Free Again” with a promotion for the petition.
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Which Strip Casinos Charge to Park?
Parking fees are almost uniform on the Vegas Strip.
All of the MGM Resorts properties charge the same fees, $20 per 24 hours on weekdays and $25 per 24 hours on weekends. These resorts include popular poker casinos Aria and Bellagio.
The Caesars properties have slightly lower fees of $18 per day. Caesars resorts also have free parking for the first three hours, meant to encourage locals to make quick trips to a casino. Still, three hours is a fairly short stay at a casino for someone who is going to gamble, shop, or eat for any extended amount of time.
Other Popular Poker Casinos
- Encore/Wynn parking is free for the first four hours and then charges $20 per day after.
- Venetian/Palazzo charges $20 on weekdays and $23 on the weekends.
Free Parking on the Strip
There are only a handful of Strip casinos that still offer complimentary parking.
- Casino Royale/Best Western Plus
- Circus Circus
- Sahara
- Treasure Island
Each of these casinos is located in the far North part of the Strip. They are all a far trek to the heart of the Strip, meaning that one would have to go out of their way to park at one of them in order to specifically save on costs.
Resorts World offers free parking to cars with Nevada license plates to help locals. But it charges $21 for any non-Nevada plated car.
Do the Parking Fees Discourage Visitors?
The parking fees are clearly a deterrent for customers on tight budgets, especially as costs in Vegas continue to rise. But is it really enough to discourage people from going to the Strip?
One reply to the billboard post says that indeed it does:
My husband and I used to go to the Strip all the time. We enjoyed walking around and going to the different casinos. Not now. We never go back as long as they have fees. Hope this works.
Further comments on a Reddit thread would suggest that the fees do indeed keep people away from going to the Strip as much as they would like to:
It’s all paid parking. Driving on the Strip is such a pain in the ass, I RARELY go down there. The few times a year that I go, I park in one central location and walk where I’m going.
As Collins suggests with her petition, locals who want to go to the casinos for an afternoon out are finding themselves priced out. Strip casinos may be focusing on out-of-town tourists who don’t blink twice at just another $20, but it can be detrimental to locals who aren’t looking to spend a ton of money for a day at the casino.
Another comment on a Facebook post bemoaning the parking fees adds to this sentiment:
I used to go to Vegas three times a year…when they started changing payout odds, charging for parking, raising prices on food, I said the hell with it. I now go to Indian casinos in our area, don’t pay for airfare, rental cars, room taxes, and resort fees. Shooting themselves in the foot when they have so much more competition… Ridiculous!
Parking Fees a Decade Old Now
Parking fees were not always a part of Vegas Strip life. Complimentary parking used to be the standard. But in 2016, MGM Resorts broke the traditional selling point of “acres of free parking” by charging for parking when T-Mobile Arena opened.
Caesars quickly followed suit in early 2017 by adding parking fees at several of its Strip casinos.
The Venetian/Palazzo parking remained an oasis for many poker players on the Strip for many years. That garage was one of the last free ones in a prime spot on the Strip for poker players attending Venetian tournaments or any other nearby venue.
But that respite from the parking fees ended in August of 2023 as it joined the others in charging for daily parking.
Wynn briefly zagged when competitors were zigging, reinstating free parking for a time. However, it reversed course again and began charging again in late 2023. Still, Wynn is one of the more favorable properties for poker players, since the staff there will validate parking for players with a tournament receipt or who play a cash session.
Collins has collected more than 9,000 signatures thus far. But industry sources such as Vital Vegas expressed doubt that the campaign will amount to anything meaningful.
