Caesars Entertainment to Charge Locals for Self-Parking

By Scott Roeben, on October 28 2017
2 min read 24 comments
Las Vegas

In a move surprising virtually no one, Caesars Entertainment says it will begin to charge Nevada residents for self-parking on Nov. 2, 2017.

The company will charge locals for self-parking at seven of its Las Vegas resorts.

Caesars paid parking locals
All those years spent learning Photoshop are finally paying off.

Nevada residents have gotten a free pass since Caesars rolled out paid parking to non-residents in April 2017.

The resorts where locals will now experience the adrenaline rush of paying to self-park include: Bally’s, Caesars Palace, Cromwell, Flamingo, Harrah’s, Linq and Paris.

Self-parking will continue to be free at Rio and Planet Hollywood, mainly because nobody’s all that thrilled to visit the Rio and parking at Planet Hollywood is operated by Miracle Mile Shops, not Caesars.

Guests who park at the seven Caesars Entertainment resorts listed above for fewer than 60 minutes will continue to park free. Nothing says “Stay, relax and gamble awhile!” like giving people a one-hour deadline before they want to bolt.

Las Vegas Monopoly
We love paid parking announcements because it’s another excuse to share this photo and provide this link.

While there was a hue and cry when paid parking was first announced by MGM Resorts back in January 2016, at this point, there’s likely to be some hue but not much cry because locals make up only a small portion of guests at the major Strip casinos.

In a statement, a Caesars Entertainment public affairs spokesperson said, “Blah blah blah, blah blah improved parking experience blah blah blah blah.”

Paid parking has been a windfall for Las Vegas casinos seeking to bolster their bottom lines. None of the casinos with paid parking is anxious to say exactly how much they make from the new policies, but we estimate these “found” profits run in the bajillions.

There’s a way to get around paid parking at Caesars Entertainment resorts, but it has a caveat. Customers who get the company’s Total Rewards Visa Card are upgraded to Platinum tier status and receive free self and valet parking. The caveat: Cardholders must spend $5,000 or more on the card in each calendar year to maintain their Platinum status.

Free parking is also available to those who get the M Life Rewards Mastercard from MGM Resorts. We did. It’s free and we quite enjoy not paying for parking when that money could be better spent on cocktails, thank you. The M Life Mastercard has no spending minimum.

Caesars parking structure lights
One of the enhancements presumably paid for by parking fees are these space indicator lights. We’ve tried to hate them, but they’re pretty handy in a crowded parking structure.

While we understand the business reasons behind instituting paid parking, it doesn’t make the fees any less irksome when we visit our favorite Las Vegas casinos.

There is some consolation, although not much, in knowing parking at Las Vegas resorts tends to be much less expensive than parking in other comparable cities.

Yes, there are still Las Vegas casinos on The Strip where parking is free, although the list is dwindling.

Las Vegas Strip casinos with free parking:

  • Tropicana
  • Planet Hollywood
  • Treasure Island
  • Venetian and Palazzo
  • Casino Royale
  • Circus Circus
  • SLS Las Vegas
  • Stratosphere

Several Strip-ish casinos have free parking: Westgate, Hooters, Hard Rock, Tuscany, Silver Sevens, Ellis Island and others.

Parking at Palace Station, Gold Coast, Rio, Palms, Orleans, South Point and M Resort remains free.

Get all the details about paid parking on the Caesars Entertainment Web site.