Alcohol consumption laws

I understand that they've banned the consumption of alcohol from aluminum or glass containers on Fremont... is that true, and if so, is it being enforced?

Also, is it still legal to drink a tall boy on the Strip? I did so in June and saw many others doing it.

 

It is true. It is enforced sporadically as I have heard. We didn't hit the downtown this trip, so I can't say. I can say nothing has changed on the strip. Different jurisdictions, so what happens on Fremont doesn't apply to the unincorporated strip.

 

can someone explain banning aluminum cans and bottles? glass I can see from a safety perspective but cans????

 

There are a LOT of bars on Fremont St. I mean on the "sidewalk". There are no worries about going thirsty. I saw a lot of plastic cups to meet your needs.

 

Couldn't answer the strip question but my past trip, I unknowingly walked out with a tallboy from GN to the D and no one said anything. The bartenders at the D said that I was lucky and they have seen plenty of people get ticketed for it (~$300).

I thought it was safety too but same bartenders said it comes down to money. The glasses people walk out with cost a casino ~40k a month. Didn't ask about bottles/cans but I figure recycling bottles and cans in huge quantities probably also nets them a hefty chunk of change.

 

Thanks for the info. Just wanted to make sure I'm not unknowingly breaking the law on the strip.

My understanding is that the liquor and beer being sold from stores on Fremont was heavily competing with Casino alcohol sales, so the Casinos got together and pressured the city to pass the ordinance.

 

Glass has been illegal on the Strip since Sept. too. Aluminum is still ok there.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/glass-containers-banned-strip-sidewalks

 

And We Have A Winner!!!

 

I am sure they do not mind those establishments not being able to sell to those that will immediately consume, but the real issue was with the growth of bars on east Fremont they had an issue with locals especially that were bringing alcohol from home and loitering around on the street and getting drunk and causing trouble

they were not entering the bars or clubs at all and thus bringing no business to the area and they were also not drinking from those establishments so there was no way to have an enforcement mechanism against those establishments (like if the bars and clubs were over serving people and sending them out into the street drunk to fight and cause issues)......they were just down there to hang out, get wasted and often cause issues

so they went to the extreme measure of banning cans and bottles because that is generally what people were bringing from home and even if they were buying from the liquor and beer stores (they were often not) the existing laws dealing with drinking in proximity to those places after making a purchase there were hard to enforce because an enforcement agent would need to see the purchase made and the container then opened within the area not allowed around the store and it was too easy for people (if they did buy at a liquor store) to walk far enough away to allow consumption legally anyway

just like in most places it was never legal to buy at a liquor store or beer store and walk right out the door and start drinking it......but with so many stores and with so many casinos and bars and clubs it was nearly impossible to prove that anyone had just bought from THAT store they were drinking close to..... and really they were finding most of the people they were having issues with came to the area with a 6 pack or 12 pack they were not buying single cans or even multi-packs from the stores in the area

also as to the casinos specifically (vs bars and clubs) one needs to remember that a very large % of people walking out of a casino with alcohol did NOT pay for that especially beers in cans or bottles so the casinos were not really losing a ton of sales to the package stores because a large amount of their alcohol is GIVEN away for playing and if anything a ban on open containers helps them not because of lost sales, but because some might be more inclined to stay a bit longer and play a bit more while the finish the last of the container

 

Did you happen to miss that all these Casino's had opened their own Bars right on Fremont Street?
Have you seen what they are charging for drinks on Fremont Street?
People in droves were buying Singles and 6 packs from the small stores and Not Paying The Casino's outrageous street bar prices.
And yet you still contend that the casino's were not the deciding factor in changing the law for Fremont Street.
It always was illegal to walk down the east Fremont street with alcohol as the Fremont Street experience has it's own laws and ordinances.

 

Lol, the FSE also passed measures banning package liquor stores from advertising in windows, selling malt liquor or beer in containers larger than 32 ounces, selling mini bottles of liquor and selling beverages with an alcohol content of 11 percent or more. Meanwhile, the casinos charge exorbitant rates on a single drink. Throughout history, it all boils down to politics and economics.

 

Very well stated... unfortunately, some folks refuse to allow the facts to interfere with a good story of Goliath stickin' it to David.

 

Because in Real Life That Is Exactly What Happens....

 

The casinos do or at least did have plastic cups at all the doors allowing you to transport you drink from one casino to another.

 

while casinos do have bars the facts remain that it was not casino patrons or even the vast majority of package store patrons that were found to be causing the issues

it was locals that had no intention of patronizing any business in the area be it a casino, bar, club or package store and they were found to be bringing alcohol from home a large % of the time

casinos, bars and clubs and casino bars and clubs have been in the area for decades and while the package stores have popped up more and more there was PLENTY of alcohol available in the past for anyone that wanted to get drunk and cause trouble and yet the issue really did not become an issue until east Fremont started becoming like a big street party which attracted locals to just hang out on the street and cause issues

the vast majority of people that drink in a casino for free or pay to drink in a casino bar and club were not opining for cheaper prices at a package store so they could then get fully loaded and cause trouble

the vast majority of people that drink in a casino for free or pay to drink in a casino bar or club do so because they desire to be in that atmosphere not because that was the only place they could find to get alcohol (especially in a place loaded with cheap drinks by the yard and other mixed concoctions by the gallon).....they were not suddenly seeing package stores and going "cray cray" and getting arrested and causing trouble because FINALLY they found a source of cheap alcohol in LAS VEGAS and they could finally get stupid drunk because it was cheap enough for them to do so

and even the regular old annoying bums and panhandlers were having no issue in the past getting drunk as a skunk and often to the point and PAST the point of being able to function to cause trouble....it was not until the "street scene" on east Fremont started up and attracted the same type of trash that infest every bar district in every city with a bar district on earth that trouble really started and Vegas being one of the few places where open containers on the street was allowed it escalated quickly because they did not even have to hit a single bar or club (or even a tourist area priced package store) to get drunk.....they could bring it right from home

is ANYTHING on the strip or on Fremont that is sold "retail" cheaper than you can buy it for if you get 1 mile (or less) beyond that area and make the purchase.....especially alcohol.....no of course not those are high rent districts relative to regular strip centers and grocery stores and out of tourist area package and liquor stores....sure a package store might be cheaper than a club or bar, but again it is not those club and bar customers that are the problem because they suddenly found a cheaper source of alcohol

 

Lol, I call BS. Crony-capitalism at it's best, the thugs at work to protect their bars, when the peasants find better deals on the street.

 

There was already A law that forbid the drinking of alcohol on East Fremont, all they had to do was enforce the existing law.
They used good sounding generalizations to make it sound like a change for the better, but it was a law made for the Casino's benefit.
For the price of a plastic cup they have gotten rid of most of their competition.

 

Most of my time on Fremont is inside the casinos gambling. I am hanging out on the street for a couple hours, though.
So if I have a plastic cup from the casino, can I go in one of the stores, buy a beer, go over to the trash dump the can in the cup and throw out the can? Maybe I have to bring it in the casino to dump it in the cup?

 

That's what I did, had a carrier bag with a few cans and we just topped up the plastic cup.