The Latest: Analyst calls Vegas Strip parking fees a gamble
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The latest on the plan by MGM Resorts International to charge for parking on the Las Vegas Strip (all times local):
12:40 p.m.
An analyst says MGM Resorts International is taking a gamble as the first major casino company to charge for parking on the Las Vegas Strip.
The casino giant said Friday that it will start charging $10 or less for overnight self-parking at most of its properties in the spring.
Gambling analyst Alex Bumazhny with Fitch Ratings says it's standard to offer free parking at U.S. casinos. He says the MGM fee is also more than double the $4 charged by casinos in rival Atlantic City.
But Bumazhny says many of MGM's properties are concentrated on the southern end of the Strip, which could make it less likely that a visitor going to a specific restaurant or show would park elsewhere.
He says that if it's successful, competitors will likely follow suit like they did with resort fees.
___
10:15 a.m.
A big part of the Las Vegas Strip will soon slash away its most basic freebie: parking.
MGM Resorts International will announce Friday that it will become the first major casino company to start charging visitors for parking this year.
Most of the casino giant's properties will charge $10 or less for overnight self-parking. They are Mandalay Bay, Delano, Luxor, Excalibur, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Vdara, Aria, Bellagio, The Mirage and MGM Grand.
The move could bring in millions of dollars of revenue each year and change the landscape of the tourism hotspot that's increasingly catering to visitors who come for other pricey attractions besides gambling.
The charges will begin this spring, coinciding with the April opening of the company's T-Mobile Arena.
MGM also will build a nine-story parking garage and improve existing ones.