I remember when I first noticed it. About 10 years ago my friend Minnie (who has lived in Las Vegas for 40 years) had a meeting at Mandalay Bay. She was running late, and pulled into valet. The valet said, "Are you staying in the hotel?"
She said, "No, just here for a meeting."
"I'm sorry but the valet is full, and we can only take hotel guests."
Minnie said, "I understand" and tried to hand him a $20. "This is for you. I'm late for a meeting."
The valet said, "I'm sorry, I can't park it if you're not staying here."
Minnie's reaction was, "Am I still in Las Vegas?"
Vegas was the town where a $20 handshake got you an upgrade to the presidential suite, or front row to see Frank Sinatra. Eating at a casino was cheaper than buying food and cooking at home. I started to look around and saw that now the buffet wasn't $4.95, it was $49.95. And it all just kept coming:
Resort Fees
Late check out fee
Early check in fee
Pay for the coffee pods in your room
This year - pay for parking
And finally - pay for drinks while you are gambling at the bar.
Benny Binion is rolling in his grave. (Bennie was the first guy to start giving away free drinks to his players.) It has gotten so bad that this was an article recently
discretionary comps help casino build loyalty. Think about that. It has gotten so bad that someone thought it noteworthy to report on a casino giving out comps!
Change is inevitable. This all was brought to mind this week when I stopped by The Klondike for their $1.49 bacon and eggs. I thought, yeah, this is what it was like. But at the same time I came out reeking of cigarette smoke. Not everything about the old days was so great.
