Boycotting Bad Gambling And Resort Fees

Something tells me I'm going to get some hate for even posting this since some are loyal to particular Casinos and their Corporations that own them, but I wonder if we could start a grass roots movement intended to get people to avoid staying, playing, eating or spending money at any establishment that has 1. Resort Fees. 2. 6:5 Blackjack. 2. Any blackjack from a shoe. 3. Crappy Crap Odds. 4. 8:5 JoB VP 5. Paid Parking. I'm sure there are more that could be added to the list. I know several of you find these things detesting and the more I think about them the more I'm falling into this camp.
I've posted this in the Strip Hotel Section since that seems to be the root of the problems.

Things I'm considering doing.

1. Reviews on sites such as traveladvisor explaining due to the above conditions the place should be avoided at all costs.
2. Trying to educate other visitors that they are contributing to the problems (in a nice manner)
3. Calling hotels from time to time asking them if they have a resort fee and saying Oh well I was considering, booking, playing, eating etc but I believe I will pass now. Please pass this along to your management.

Am I looking at a useless quest here or can I convince others on this board to participate?

The only way changes are going to be made is by us the customers taking advantage of the free market and choosing not to accept these conditions.

 

I don't disagree with you, but they all seem to have " bad gambling" in one form or another. we never really know what the slot payback percentages are. slots are bad anyway, but millions love to play them. and every week it seems they are reporting record visitation numbers. and for that reason they will continue to think that it is ok to gouge us at every turn. I try to avoid resort fees and 6:5 BJ, so I do my part there.

 

If you feel strongly about getting the attention of corporate in hopes of effecting change, it might be more effective to write a letter to Management (look up specific names or titles for each resort) and detail the reasons you will no longer frequent that resort - resort fees, parking fees, table odds, etc. IMO, calling a resort and telling whoever answers you don't like their whatever fees or odds will have little effect because there is no guarantee that info will be passed along to mgmt.

 

I'm not going to actively boycott.
I don't feel like I need to. The market will correct itself eventually.
Since Vegas has changed...I have too!

Vegas might be setting new records for the numbers of visitors, but it doesn't mean gambling has increased or that visitors are spending more overall.
During my April trip I didn't gamble on the day I arrived or on the day I left.
I spent more time in the spa & pools.
I did not visit the any of the retail shops at all.
I'd say I gambled less than 4 hours per day.
I DID look at the payout tables.
I did not bet MAX COIN all the time.
I didn't always use my player's card.
Some days I ate breakfast & ate during Happy Hour.

I hope someone in gaming development reads forums like these.
I was sick of seeing the same game selections in every casino.
I don't like most of the newest machines!
I GOT BORED OF SLOT MACHINE GAMBLING!
I actually spent more time on table games than I ever have before.
I actively sought out the oldest or most unique machines.

I USED to go to Vegas to gamble and drink.
Currently there is a huge variety of food/shows and beautiful resorts....
NOW gambling is just the filler between dinner reservations, show times & spa appointments!

I USED to gamble/drink so long that I'd forget to eat!
NOW I can't gamble long enough for the cocktail waitress to find me! (cocktail waitress service was rare on this trip)

 

Rotsa Ruck!

If people would simply avoid places that (have resort fees, parking charges, short pay VP, dot dot dot) they would be gone in a flash.

However, I doubt that there will be enough to do that to make any difference!

My suggestion is to simply wait until (not if, but when) the economy turns south and it ceases to be such a sellers' market in LV. Right now there's an ample supply of willing customers eager to take them up on almost any ridiculous terms they come up with!

 

I agree with dmr. Our last trip everything was packed both on the strip and downtown. resort fees and bad gambling will be here for the foreseeable future. You can bypass the bad gambling usually by going to your local casino. The resort fees and paid parking are common fees at many other destinations not just Vegas. They have a product we like in vegas and they know it and it's a sellers market.

 

To an extent. Our local (Council Bluffs - Omaha area) conditions are not the best by far, but far from, say, Rivers and Grand Vic in the Chicago area (talk about a sellers' market!), which are far worse than the Strip. Ours are kinda between Strip and off-Strip conditions.

Now in LV, we've moved almost all of our pleasure trip business over to Sams Town from Caesars/Flamingo/Ballys and such. Why? I can play all night on a few $20s and occasionally come out well in the good, while on the Strip, those $20s just seem to go **POOF!**

 

I like your ideas but actively putting them into practice in the numbers required seems mind boggling from a practical standpoint.

Las Vegas used to be an outpost solely for gamblers. Everything was geared for our benefit. Now the gaming tables account for less than 40% of casino income. Which 2-deck blackjack games with "normal" 3-2 have $10 minimums? How many of those 20-somethings look at the paytables or even care if they lose a few hundy? It's all about entertainment value. That, the club scene, and for many - so help me - shopping

LOL

 

I think a whole lot of us here are already doing that, I'm not boycotting, i just refuse to play 6/5 or pay a resort fee, why should I if I dont have to?

 

It's no surprise that gambling revenue has decreased as gambling has proliferated around the country. But instead of trying to do things to make gambling in Vegas more attractive they've chosen to screw the remaining gamblers as much as they can. I can play $5 minimum blackjack locally with 3:2 and $5 minimum craps at 10X odds locally. Why would I play 6:5 on the strip? I won't and I don't. Shopping? No thanks. Clubs? Nope. Dining? I won't overpay because of a "name". Unless a "celebrity" chef is actually cooking my food, no thanks. Shows? I've seen virtually all of them. Add in way too high resort fees and my visits to Vegas have come way down the last few years. I can gamble locally and there are many other places I love to travel to around the country/world.

The idea of a boycott is good in theory but visitor numbers are high and going up. The fees and bad gambling have had no effect on business. MY business yes, but in general, no.

 

Why don't you boycott gas stations on a particular day of the month as well because of high prices?

Las Vegas, and gambling, are a personal choice. Do you REALLY think that you, as an individual, have any say in how they operate?

IMHO, nice thought, but you're only placating yourself.

 

Boycotts and gas-outs have proven to be ineffective. Not enough participate.

 

Exactly my point . . . .

 

I agree that we should boycott them, but then again I am thinking about my next trip to Vegas - LOL!

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but if 2000 people on this board TOTALLY boycotted them, but the 43 MILLION that went last year keep going... well, you see the problem.

 

There are still only 3 years on record that have higher Strip gambling numbers than ever before. As the gambling revenue grows at slower paces, the other revenue at the casinos is growing at a much faster pace. A complete boycott by those who are savvy gamblers would have absolutely zero effect on the numbers. Quite frankly the casinos would rather lose the savvy player anyway, they aren't making much off him/her so they don't care.

While I understand some frustration by a lot of the posters here, none of this has really affected me. I don't play BJ, it bores me to tears. I've never stayed at Wynn, so the 2Xs odds there at the dice table isn't hurting me. At most other strip properties 3/4/5 is good enough for me, I usually don't go with full odds right away anyway, I like to feel the table out and then bump up if/when I'm ready. I stay at MLife properties and have not had to pay resorts fees on any of my comped rooms and don't feel that they are the ruination of Vegas travel that many of you feel anyway. I went to Mountaineer in WV a few weeks ago and they charge a resort fee, that's somewhat laughable but I'm not going to complain to everyone I know. Resort fees have become a part of travel, I deal with it. I'm not a huge player, I get standard rooms and a few back-end comps but not anything outlandish. Vegas has changed and is not the cheap vacation destination it once was, but it still holds a special spot in my heart and I will continue to go. For those of you for whom this has changed I guess it's time to move on.

 

OR... really take advantage of the "free-market" and invest (or borrow) millions (or billions) of your own dollars and build a competing entity and set your own rules, policies and fee structure!

 

At the end of the day, nearly every resort on the strip is bending you over in the same manner. If ONLY MGM casinos had high slot holds, shit rules for tables and fees, some educating of the general public might work to shift a player to another, better, resort.

But they all do it. So you cant tell someone, that plans on visiting Vegas, to take their business to another resort. People are stuck. Does Vegas care?
This is the third consecutive year a new visitation record was set. Convention business is up over 7%. Occupancy is what, over 90%? 43MIL people visiting each year.

The point is, Vegas will take 9 lost visitors and plug in 10 new ones that dont give a shit. Its sad, but its true.

I read somewhere that these resorts dont want to deal with players any more than they have to. They expect more, they want things for free. They wont pay for that $25 drink. They want an upgrade on their FREE room ETC.

Thy would rather have a prettier, younger, clientele drop $5K on table service at a club, pay rack rate for their room and take their date out to a fancy meal. Then give a gambler who drops $5K at that craps table their room, show tickets, meals ETC for free.

Thats Vegas now.

 

The good old days are history and won't return.

Either deal with that fact or move on.

It is what it is.

 

I rarely stay at CET or MGM properties preferring to stay at Cosmo, Palms, and Wynncore. Of course now Palms is part of Stations so I may spend less time there. For my next trip, rather than split my stay between Cosmo and Palms as I've done for the past few years, I'll stay 3 nights comped at Cosmo and 2 at a casino rate.

I don't get excited about resort fees. If I can stay in a comped suite at those properties and pay only a resort fee or casino rate and resort fee, I view it as having great accommodations for less than I'd pay a night at a Holiday Inn elsewhere.

My beef with CET is often I have booked a comped room in the "best" at the property only to be told it is not available when checking in. Now that aggravates me. At Cosmo, Wynncore or Palms, more often than not, I am upgraded but always get at least the room booked. I feel like CET plays a bait and switch game so I let my feet and play elsewhere do the talking and it doesn't matter at all to CET; lots of people happy to stay and play there.

Resort fees are a part of travel just as baggage fees are a part of travel with some airlines.

 

Good luck, spartacus.

You're kind of dreaming here. There are people on here individually who avoid resort fees or short paying games, or parking fees. Everyone sets their own line based on their own tolerance and preference.

But an organized boycott has a couple problems. First, no one wants to use their vacation to make a stand. Second, if you got everyone on this board, and even a couple travel advisor randoms to avoid properties, it would still be a tiny drop in the bucket to vegas casinos.

They fill up on conventions, on first time tourists, etc. A strip casino can more than half fill its floor with people who have no idea what short pay is at any game. A convention visitor cares more about proximity to their convention than a resort fee (which may be expensed anyway). A tourist cares more about good location and experience than best deal (especially when Vegas is a relative bargain compared to other US cities).

By all means, draw your own lines. Stay at Boyd downtown or off strip. Only play the good games. That is your micro contribution to the macro trend. And if you can enjoy a vacation doing it, good for you.

As for me, I can't ditch the resort or parking fees, but CET gives me comp rooms and not even the downtown places will yet. So the fee is still my cheapest choice. And I don't care that they have sucker games, I simply don't play them.