No. Vegas Isn’t “A Ripoff”- Your Whining is Obnoxious

I woke up this morning, logged into the ole Facebook account, was treated to another dose of negativity, and decided it was time for a difficult conversation.

Vegas isn’t a ripoff. You’re just obsessed with negativity.

This is aimed primarily at the “Never coming back” crowd that, for some reason, can’t escape talking about Vegas on the socials.

Everyone is familiar with “rage bait”, or content posted on social media to elicit an angry response – Negativity gets views, clicks, and engagement.

Oddly, in the Vegas corner of social media, “rage bait” is the positive content.

I can’t post a reel of a solid sub-$20 breakfast without a flurry of anger:

“19 bucks for some pancakes is ridiculous.”

– Palmer. The pancakes were 1/3 of the meal.

“Meanwhile Dennys is 699 lol”

– Steve… Denny’s? GTFO (respectfully).

“About $5 worth of food”

– Kirk, wait ’til you hear about overhead expenses!

“Used to be 95 cents”

– Alan, yes, the 1950s were wild. People also made $3,000/year, and could build an entire house for $7,000.

By the way, a nearly identical breakfast at a random Denny’s on 84th St. in Omaha, Nebraska, costs $13.49, and they ain’t paying Strip rents or union wages.

This anger is repeated in the comment section of nearly every post about attractions, meals, drinks, hotel rooms, etc. There’s a whole army of folks out there obsessed with ripping Vegas a new one at every opportunity.

Admirable dedication, considering they aren’t coming back.

Guys, Inflation Isn’t Exclusive to Las Vegas

Las Vegas is the only US city that’s compared to itself, 30 years ago.

Trust me, there aren’t any weirdos chirping in the Orlando Facebook groups I lurk in about how “Magic Kingdom passes only used to be a buck!”- It’s a Vegas-only phenomenon.

For some reason, guys like Alan, quoted above, think a whole breakfast should still cost 95 cents in Vegas, as if a city in a constant state of reinvention should freeze prices in time.

The graph below from the Federal Reserve, detailing inflation trends, doesn’t magically leave Vegas unaffected.

Meanwhile, Alan is expecting this:

Egregious bills for bottle service, expensive restaurants, and $25 cocktails tend to perform better on social media, so you may or may not be aware that inexpensive options are still out there!

I spent a couple of the most painful days of my life hunting down sub-$15 eats on the Strip and on Fremont Street. You’re not going to like them all, but there are some great options!

My final meal at Le Thai was my favorite. $13.50 for that flavorful masterpiece and a soda. Afterwards, I ate a whole box of Pepto Bismol.

On the flipside, I spent a couple of the best days of my life tracking down drink deals on the Strip and Downtown. I was a glorious mess.

While everyone else is squealin’ on the socials about how much bottle service was for some influencer at EDC, you can be enjoying Golden Gate’s open bar from 6-7pm nightly.

Everything is free. Free. Just bring tip money.

There’s so much freaking value out there. You just need to look past the outrage.

FFS, Stop Focusing on Outlier Pricing

An article this past summer titled “Las Vegas Hotel Charges $26 For a Bottle of Water” made serious waves in Vegas corners of social media.

Of course, the rage bait took off and garnered all sorts of buzz, as if every human on Earth didn’t already know that hotel minibars are overpriced. Everywhere. Not just Las Vegas.

The bottle of water in question was from a minibar at Aria, one of the more luxurious resorts on the Strip, and I was quickly able to devise a couple of solutions to this serious problem:

1. Grab a case of water at CVS instead.
2. Utilize the free water dispenser in your room. It’s called a faucet. The hotel even supplies complimentary cups!

Of course, those solutions don’t get views or clicks, and they don’t generate outrage.

All these months later, I still have angry “never comin’ backers” hopping in my comments spouting off about water costing $26 in Vegas.

Hotels in Las Vegas are a STEAL

Even after accounting for fees, you get more for your hotel buck in Las Vegas than in other major cities I’ve recently visited.

You think LINQ’s 300 sq. ft. rooms are small?!

My family recently stayed in a 185 sq. ft. room at Margaritaville in NYC that starts at around $185/nt after fees, but I paid over $500/nt during their peak summer travel season.

You can book a 460 sq. ft. City Room at The Cosmopolitan, a 2x+ larger room, for $181/nt after fees on select days now and in the future… and that’s not even accounting for a loyalty relationship.

Cosmopolitan also offers a better overall resort experience.

At Hilton Grand Vacations at SeaWorld in Orlando, our 400 sq. ft. Studio 1-King with a Kitchenette starts at about $232 after fees, while a comparable 582 sq. ft. room at Vdara, which also has a kitchenette, starts at about $131 after fees.

Vdara is also significantly nicer.

I have more examples chambered, but I realize it’s boring. So I’ll stop.

The point being, you get a lot of hotel for your money in Vegas, even without leveraging loyalty relationships. The value only increases after you do some gambling on a card.

Can you look at this rate calendar for Caesars properties and tell me with a straight face that there isn’t value here?

The problem: People don’t compare Las Vegas to other major cities. People compare Las Vegas to Las Vegas in 1990.

Resort fees – The Tantrum Need to End

Resort fees suck. Sure. 100%. Nobody likes them.

But they also aren’t going anywhere.

So we have a few choices:

1. Lump the fee into the total cost of the room to make a financial decision (the adult choice).
2. Stay at a resort-fee-free resort like Binion’s, 4 Queens, or Casino Royale (Hard pass on CR… All due respect).
3. Never come back to Vegas.

Choosing option 1 has made my life more enjoyable. Colors are more vibrant, scents richer. Hell, even food tastes better since deciding to take the path of acceptance.

If you choose option 3, you don’t need to make it your mission to tell as many people on Facebook.com that you are doing so. Move on with your life. You’re free now.

A couple more notes on resort fees:

• Resort Fees aren’t a Vegas-only thing. I’ve paid resort fees in NYC, Orlando, Chicago, and San Diego in the past few years.

• They aren’t really an “extra fee”. It’s a way for resorts to silo off a chunk of the room rate to make themselves look cheaper on online travel agencies, or OTAs, and to avoid paying commissions to OTAs on that portion of the rate.

• The fee isn’t really “for” anything. Resorts botched the messaging, saying it’s for calls, faxes, etc. (the stuff nobody uses), but it’s best to think about it as part of the nightly rate and move on.

• Most importantly, resort-fee jokes are tired. For instance, if someone posts a meal they enjoyed along with its cost, commenting “YoU FOrgOt thE rESorT Fee! HahaHA!” isn’t funny.

Gripe-Worthy Cash Grabs Certainly Exist

Now that we’ve covered all the frivolous complaints like mini-bar pricing, resort fees, and meals not costing what they did in 1991, let’s move on to some actual gripes that are rightfully frustrating.

Sneaky fees at restaurants: More and more restaurants in Vegas are tacking on “CNF Fees”, labor surcharges, venue fees, etc.

The fees are typically listed at the bottom of the menu in tiny print, and the staff will typically remove them if asked.

Always eyeball your check to ensure there aren’t any surprises.

Parking: Still seems counterintuitive for resorts that rely on folks spending time on-site to charge for parking, but here we are.

Just get the MGM Resorts and/or Caesars Entertainment credit card and park for free along the Strip.

Player Unfriendly Rule Changes: Changes to table game rules that increase the house edge, like 000 roulette and 6:5 blackjack, are brutal. Use Vegas Advantage’s blackjack survey to find a 3:2 game, or their roulette survey to find a game that fits your budget.

Your best bet is to visit an off-Strip casino focused on the locals market.

Resort convenience store Pricing: Most Strip resorts have a convenience store of some kind, and many don’t post prices. It’s annoying, and a tell that you’re about to get ripped off. Avoid. Hit one of the 1.7 million CVS/Walgreens/Target instead.

Look. I get it. There are things that irk me about the Vegas experience, too. It’s not perfect. Cash grabs and bad deals lurk around every corner, as there are in any major US city. But there’s also a TON of value.

Now, hit the comments and call me a shill.

Related: Since we’re chatting value, check out these “All-In” & All-Inclusive Hotel Deals