With the harder times ahead for an already tough economy, Las Vegas casinos are turning to freebies to keep their customers happy and playing at the roulette wheels. To keep business booming, casinos are relying on free hotel rooms and other discounts to bring players back to the casinos.

It has been reported that Vegas has rode through hard economic times but the current state of affairs has made a huge impact on the gambling industry in the area. The slowdown of the economy due to home foreclosures and high gas prices are seeing more and more people just staying at home.

The casinos have found that when they give away free rooms and discounts they have been able to keep their hotels full. Occupancy has only been down one percent this year but gambling revenue has gone down six point five percent.

The senior vice president of Harrah’s Entertainment, Jan Jones, stated that people still want to visit the city and it is their “destination of choice” but their budget is less than normal. Harrah’s Entertainment operates almost one third of the Strip in Las Vegas. Jones has stated the members of their bonus points programs who are known to spend higher amounts will receive a free room.

The MGM Grand has taken an aggressive promotion approach. They have been giving $300 return voucher for a two night stay at the hotel. THE president and chief operating officer at MGM, Jim Murren, stated that it is “no question that people are spending less money now”.
It will be interesting to see if future promotions will still bring people in to the casinos to play such games as roulette and the slots or if the current state of the economy will continue to lower the amount consumers will spend at the casinos in Las Vegas as well as other areas.



- 2008-09-24