Vegas Rant Loaded With Fired Up Complaints Goes Viral, But Is It Justified?

Have regular people officially been priced out of visiting Las Vegas?

As OutKick readers know, I’m a huge fan of Vegas. I can’t get enough of Sin City. I got at least once a year, and have never had a bad time. You can read about my latest crazy experience here.

Whether it’s gambling at the Wynn or grabbing $1 beers at Stage Door, I’m always having fun and vibing when in Vegas.

Las Vegas rant goes viral.

Well, there are apparently some people who do not feel the same way I do about the state of Las Vegas, and that was on full display with a Reddit post that is blowing up. Some people seem to think the city has become far too expensive to visit.

The post reads as follows:

“Used to go to Vegas in my 20-30’s alot, back in Stardust days, early Venetian/Bellagio. Now I mostly make a trip out with my dad to play 2-3 rounds of golf and then bet on sports for football and play some table games and leave on Sunday redeye. Typically we stay at MGM property this time it was the Aria. Just was in shock that Wednesday table limits were 25/50/100, mostly 50/100. Food incredibly disappointing, Bellagio buffet has to be the worst $60 buffet in the world. Javier’s at Aria, while a cool vibe, 2 carnitas tacos for $32 is just robbery was still hungry needed 2 entrees. Ceasars sportsbook now charges $75-250 to watch games, though the $250 includes full bar from 8am-5pm not a bad deal when a bottle of domestic beer is $10-12, oh and drink tickets $200/bet at Aria, $400/bet at Ceasars, insane they are that greedy when btl beer is like $1 their cost. Overall just dont think Vegas is worth the price tag these days, not worth going out there with a gambling budget less than $5k.”

Lots of interesting points, and people had plenty to say in response. Check out some of the reactions below, and let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com:

• I agree with you. I placed $500 in sports bets at the Linq and went over to the barsports book to get a drink and watch some games. The sportsbook area was completely empty and I sat down. It was maybe in my seat a minute when I was appointed by staff who stated that it was $25 to sit where I was at. I’m staying at your hotel, I just placed some bets in your hotel and I just bought a drink. Vegas is nothing but nickel and dime micro transactions now. Also, a double vodka soda at the pool bar was $36.
• I’ve been to the strip 3 times over the past 5 years and each time has been worse than the last. The entire Vegas experience is designed to siphon as much money from you as possible, it is mentally exhausting. Sounds like it used to deliver more value for the money back in the day, but in my opinion it is not worth it at all now, unless you hate money.
• I had the same thing happen at Cromwell. Completely empty sports book, sat down, “sorry sir those seats cost $100”. No other seats in the area, bar closed, just standing room. I left and went downtown. The greed is out of control.
• I’m a local. I liked going to the strip but lots of fun things are now being nickel and dimed by the casinos and by nickel I mean $25 and by dime $50. Everything is super expensive and the companies are super greedy. They will stay this way till people stop paying their inflated prices which hasn’t happened yet unfortunately. Companies like McDonald’s and Starbucks has seen pushback on their greed and have lowered prices. I’ve seen prices fall at grocery stores too (at least the sale prices are back to what they were) but still waiting on the strip. Some stuff like hotel rates have fallen already but the food is still insanely overpriced.
• Vegas was ruined once mgm and Ceasars bought everything. Monopolys suck!
• Covid also f*cked a lot of stuff up. Like peppermill was 24 hours and same with most stuff on the strip. Like every resort had plenty of options for food or drinking at any hour of the day. Not the case anymore. You are lucky if that neat restaurant you wanted to go to is open till 11.
• The strip for shows and entertainment. Downtown Vegas/Fremont for food and lodging unless you have points on the strip.
• I stopped staying on the strip 10 years back.  I go to Vegas to gamble, drink, look at interesting/odd people and see weird stuff. Downtown still has all that at a decent cost. I still take the Deuce to the strip for one day of the trip.  See whatever is new and interesting on/near the strip, then head back downtown.
• I was just there a week ago. I stayed at the luxor and went to their food court. 2 slices of pizza and a Stromboli cost me $60. When I do the conversion to canadian, that cost me almost $85. That’s just criminal. I get it’s a tourist spot, but still.
• You definitely have to have a pocket full of money to go there these days. Also the will not to care if you spend every cent of it. It’s probably always been like that but at least there used to be freebies. Nothing is free in Vegas, if they could charge you for breathing their air, they would.
• I don’t gamble, but in the last 5-7 years or so that I’ve started coming to Vegas I’ve seen a sharp increase in the price of just about everything. I went to a Starbucks during my last visit and got a tall coffee and a large tap water. It was over $12
• It wasn’t even that long ago say 5-6 years when you could sit in the Sports book and watch the game for free and every $10 bet was a free drink. It’s crazy that a few years later it’s $100 for a seat and $500 in bets for a drink. That’s not price gouging it’s pure insanity. They have chased away anyone who isn’t a high roller, no wonder revenue is down 30%
• The Strip sucks. Stop going there and they will eventually get the message.

Sigh, I feel like I have to have this conversation with people online about every five to six months when a viral post complaining about Las Vegas pops up.

Is it expensive? It can be. Is it still a great deal compared to other vacation spots? Without a doubt, and anyone who doesn’t believe that has no idea what they’re talking about. There are bargains all over the place.

You can gamble much cheaper in the Fremont region than you can on The Strip, or you can simply go to Ellis Island which is a short walk behind Flamingo and Horseshoe.

Whatever you do, do not play 6:5 blackjack. You might as well just donate your money to the casino. That’s for suckers. If you want to play at a very nice place like The Wynn, you can go before the busy hours and you can find 3:2 blackjack at a reasonable price.

As for food and drinks, there are deals all over the place. Stage Door has a $3 hot dog and beer deal, Hogs & Heifers – the most entertaining bar in the city – has reasonably priced drinks and the best bartenders in Sin City and there’s cheap food all over Fremont and off The Strip. Ellis Island has a great steak deal in the mornings.

Are we noticing a trend? While I love The Strip and always stay on it, there are deals to be had all over the place if you do a little searching.

A look at a nice cocktail I enjoyed while in Las Vegas. (Credit: David Hookstead)

Don’t sour on Las Vegas because people only stick to The Strip and have no idea how to find a bargain. I’m just a blue-collar working class guy, and I still always manage to have fun. Do you have a fun Las Vegas story? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.