When you go to a supermarket, pricing tends to be pretty transparent. If a tag is wrong, the supermarket will honor the item as priced and take the tag down to correct it. But what if there’s no tags to begin with?
Such is the case with casino essentials shops – when you walk in, you’ll never see price tags listed there, so you can’t get sticker shock until you’re already at the register. But what if part of the purpose was to be able to change pricing based on how busy the property is?
Vital Vegas sounded the warning on this one before the pandemic, but things haven’t changed in intervening years, and as prices go up things just get worse. So let’s cover some scenarios, and ways you can combat it.
Gift/Sundry/Essentials Shops
Let’s start here. We recently observed 20 oz. soda being sold for $6.50 at one Las Vegas property – it’s certainly getting out of hand, and the hilarious part is that even within the same property, you can do better. The Las Vegas Review-Journal recently surveyed prices at a number of these shops and found some prices moved more often than others, and for no clear reason.
For instance, that same property had vending machines on the hotel floors selling 20 oz. sodas for $3.00. So if you’re craving a Pepsi, perhaps start on your own floor with the vending machine to lock in a better deal, especially late at night if you’re not up for a longer walk.
Regular Vegas visitors know the ABC Stores and drugstores like Walgreens and CVS will give you a better deal on drinks, snacks, and other common Vegas buys. There’s enough of these locations on the strip and downtown that most casinos have one within walking distance.
Some strip hotels have removed mini fridges from rooms, taking one benefit that can help when buying more than one drink at a time, but you can always turn your sink into an ice bucket to keep drinks cool, or pick up one of those disposable coolers at the drug stores.
Finally, delivery apps can help bridge the gap, although delivery fees and tips can drive prices up substantially, so it may not offer much savings in the end.
Restaurants
Some restaurants don’t post menus with pricing online, and that’s in part because some now have different menus for weeknights and weekends, for instance. Once again, that ability to control pricing is awfully tempting for businesses trying to wring the most they can out of guests.
But players can opt for value through advertised happy hours and specials, for instance. The TAP bars at MGM casinos in Vegas have been offering a 3/$33 promotion during the week, which includes an appetizer, main item and beverage.
Some restaurants still post their pricing, and in those cases you can expect things to be a bit more consistent.
Parking
Most Las Vegas casinos charge for parking now, regardless of whether you are a hotel guest or not. Most charge more on weekends than weekdays, and now many charge for “Event Parking,” busier days where they know they can get even more out of people. How does $50 for parking sound?
Players with just the second card tier can generally get free parking, so this may be a time where a well timed tier match or concentrating play with one of the big Vegas companies can be helpful, and able to be accomplished without breaking the bank. There are a few casinos that still offer free parking, which might open some options.
Bonus Tip: ATM Fees
We’ve seen some people claim ATM fees shift by the day, but can’t find any evidence of this ourselves so far. That said, ATM fees at casinos have been on the rise; MGM was speaking to their recent fee hikes earlier this year, for instance.
One of the simplest ways to avoid the fees is to withdraw money from your bank before a trip. Using your own bank’s ATMs or branches will avoid fees. You can also venture away from the strip or downtown to find one of your bank’s branches, especially if you bank with one of the big national banks.
There are some low fee ATMs around if you know where to look. The Jockey Club adjacent to Cosmopolitan, and Casino Royale next to Venetian and Harrah’s, are often known for their lower ATM fees.
We also saw one enterprising player who suggested if you make a deposit into a sportsbook app (which are available in Nevada), and then request a withdrawal in cash in person where the app allows, you can avoid an ATM fee – that’s a clever way to get around things! Just make sure the app doesn’t require any sort of a playthrough before withdrawing your money, as that could ultimately cost you more than the ATM fee.
Check out our previous article on avoiding casino fees for other ways you can save money.
Yeah, I’d say that surge pricing not a winning strategy for the casinos in Las Vegas. In June 2025, the city saw a decrease of around 400,000 visitors compared to the same month in 2024, marking a sharp decline in the number of people coming to Las Vegas.
That’s true Pete – we shared some of our thinking about that recently – but other stats weren’t so dire – the high end properties were least affected, and gaming revenue was pretty flat despite the visitation dip. Since the pandemic, it seems like there’s a chase for a higher-end spender, as opposed to breaking records in visitation. It makes us wonder if some of this is on purpose.