WHEN I USED TO GO TO VEGAS IN THE 1960S, EVERYTHING WAS DIRT CHEAP AND A TOP SHOW COST ONLY $15

The extreme tactics Las Vegas hotels are using as hotspot faces worst crisis in years

 

By Alice Wright 

 

Daily Mail

Aug 29, 2025

 

Las Vegas hotels are rolling out big incentives — including free nights and thousands of dollars in casino credits — to lure visitors back to the city. 

Sin City saw an 11.3 percent drop in visitors in June compared with the same month last year, an astonishing fall that means almost 400,000 people stayed away. 

That decline translates to less spending in restaurants, shops, shows and at hotels, where occupancy fell nearly 10 percent, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. 

Desperate hotels are rolling out the red carpet and freebies to fill rooms.  

'The reason we came was my wife got offered four free nights, $125 in food and beverage credit and $150 in casino credit,' Tom Connolly told The Telegraph.

'The hotel solicited us to come out here. To me, that suggests they need the business,' 70-year-old Connolly said of MGM's New York-New York hotel. 

Other visitors have detailed similar generous offers.

'I’ve got two options - four comp nights at a high-end MGM property and $350 food and beverage or four comp nights at Excalibur and NYNY with $1,000 food and beverage,' one excited tourist explained on Reddit. 

 

Tourists are receiving generous deals from Las Vegas hotels worried about lack of bookings

 

MGM Resorts reported a nine percent fall Las Vegas earnings in the quarter ending in June. 

'Headed to the airport now for a week in Vegas. Starting at Fontainebleau for three free nights, $500 in free gambling and $200 in resort comps,' another guest said. 

'Over to Paris for four free nights $400 in free gambling and $300 in resort comps. Ending at Nomad with four free nights, $1000 in free gambling and $750 in resort comps. 

'Also going to two shows and a hockey game on them,' the guest added.  

'Five nights completely comped including fees,' a third added without specifying the hotel.

'All food and drink for my wife and I comped for the entire six days. Couples massage comped and $200 in free play.'  

MGM Resorts did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment. 

Retail expert Neil Saunders of Global Data told the Daily Mail that Las Vegas as a destination has itself to blame for the slowdown. 

'What used to be a reasonable trip is now much more expensive,' Saunders explained.

 

Sin City saw an 11.3 percent drop in visitors in June compared to the same time last year

400,000 less people visited the city in June compared to the same month in 2024 

 

'There are all kinds of fees that people have to pay at hotels and some of the service standards and generosity with things like free drinks while in casinos have tightened.'  

'Some people now don’t see Vegas as worth the money and that hits visitor numbers.' 

A visitor recently shared her shock after she was charged $26/£19.11 for a bottle of Fiji water from the minibar in her room at the Aria Resort & Casino. 

And a British magician was also left outraged after he was billed $74.31/£54.63 for two drinks at Sphere in Las Vegas. 

Las Vegas is considered a 'canary in the coalmine' for the wider economy because, unlike many other tourist hotspots in the US, its visitors are primarily domestic rather than international. 

'The reduction that we've seen is largely domestic, and at its core is a concern that consumers have about the economy, about their financial situation and their jobs,' Steve Hill, chief executive of the LVCVA told The Telegraph.