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Resorts World Las Vegas Eliminates All Free Parking

Resorts World announced on Thursday the end of free parking even for its rewards club members. As of June 1, only club members who have attained a new “Elite Tier” status or above can park without paying.

Resorts World’s parking garages, once free for all to use, are now a perk of spending at the property. (Image: vegasfoodandfun.com)

Elite requires players to earn 3,000 tier credits from dining, shopping, or gambling at Resorts World.

For all non-Elites, self-parking will cost a flat $18.

When the glitzy $4.3 billion integrated resort, owned and operated by Malaysia-based Genting Group, opened on the Strip’s unhappening north end in June 2021, it promised perpetual free parking to all.

Resorts World broke that promise two years later, reserving free parking only for patrons enrolled in its Genting Rewards loyalty program, regardless of their spending record with the property.

Final 4

As of June 1, the only Las Vegas resorts to still offer free parking will be TI, Circus Circus, Casino Royale, and the Sahara.

The Sahara’s parking is still free. For now. (Image: KSNV-TV/Las Vegas)

However, upgrades to the Sahara’s two garages earlier this month, which, according to the resort’s website added “the latest technology to improve your safety and experience,” have cast doubt on how much longer this will be the case.

The Sahara’s website now reads that parking is free “for hotel and property guests.” This suggests that the aforementioned new technology may have been installed to prevent people from parking there to visit the adjacent Wynn and Encore, which only offers free parking for three hours to anyone not registered at their hotels.

In case you’re not keeping count, the last time we updated the list of Strip resorts with free parking, it included the Tropicana, which is currently being demolished. The next time, Casino Royale may also go the same way, since plans are being made to replace it with a 699-foot tower.

Free self-parking also remains available on the Strip at the Fashion Show Mall and the Shoppes at Mandalay Palace. Aria’s Shops at Crystals also offers free valet parking.

A bank of parking ticket machines at New York-New York on the Las Vegas Strip. MGM Resorts, New York-New York’s owner, became the first Las Vegas resort chain to charge for parking in 2016. (Image: travelzork.com)

Fee For All

Free parking was a staple of the Strip from the day it began until 2016. That was the year MGM, which operates the Bellagio, Aria, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Park MGM, Mirage, New York-New York, Luxor, and Excalibur, became the first casino company on the charge for the Strip tradition.

For a year or two, most competitors kept their self-parking free as a selling point. Eventually, all caved. Longtime holdouts Wynn and Encore finally relented last year, blaming pressure from The Sphere.

That you once parked for free at all Las Vegas Strip casinos will be a story you tell your grandchildren one day, just like the stories you tell them about drinking in them for free and (if you’re old enough), once getting your room comped because you gambled $100.

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MGM Resorts Online Room Reservations Return, Company Denies IT Job Posting

MGM Resorts International has resumed online hotel room reservations for its casino resorts in North America nearly two weeks after a cyber gang attacked its IT systems.

MGM Resorts online room reservations cyberattack
MGM Resorts is using a third-party site to temporarily provide online room reservations. MGM’s booking platform remains offline because of a cyberattack earlier this month. (Image: Casino.org)

MGM on Friday said new room reservations can again be made online. However, the online reservation system differs from the company’s previous booking platform.

MGM’s casino websites redirect to “vacationsbymgmresorts.poweredbygps.com” when a user attempts to book a hotel room. The room reservation platform isn’t property-specific but requires a customer to select a specific property from the MGM portfolio.

Casino.org did some digging and discovered that the “poweredbygps.com” domain is owned by Travelscape, LLC. Travelscape is owned by the parent company Expedia Group.

MGM is likely partnering with the third-party booking giant to free up its phone lines, which have been clogged up with guests seeking to book, amend, or cancel their reservations during the cyberattack that was initiated sometime on Sept. 10.

Temporary Solutions

MGM’s phone lines have been congested with frustrated customers waiting as long as an hour to reach a representative. Along with restoring online room reservations from its casinos’ homepages, MGM recently initiated an online “Guest Support” form where reservation holders can seek a refund for a canceled stay between Sept. 13-24.

We will process your request as soon as we are able,” the company tells patrons. MGM Rewards participants seeking to use their loyalty points and comps must continue to call the company at 877-535-1987.

Though phone wait times might be reduced, MGM overnight guests continue to face lengthy check-in times, as self-check-in via the MGM app and kiosks remain unavailable. Overnight visitors must obtain a physical room key since digital entries remain disabled.

MGM has expedited the checkout process. Guests are told to drop their room keys into an “Express Check-Out” box near the front desk. A digital copy of each guest’s folio will be sent to the person’s email on file once the MGM systems are back up and running.

Job Post a Spoof

An online job advertisement supposedly from MGM Resorts seeking a Red Hat Certified System Administrator caused quite a stir this week on the social media platform X. Such a job is for an IT professional who, according to Red Hat. This American software company specializes in enterprise operating systems “is able to perform the core system administration skills required in Red Hat Enterprise Linux environments.”

Among the skills possessed by such an IT professional is the ability to “create and configure file systems and file system attributes, such as permissions, encryption, access control lists, and network file systems.”

The alleged MGM job listing, which was found on ZipRecruiter, advertised that the person would “be helping the MGM Grand Casino build its net new IT environment after the recent ransomware attack.”

The position was advertised at an hourly rate of $100, with the contract gig running for about two weeks. The IT tech would be expected to work 10 hours a day, seven days a week, the posting listed.

An MGM spokesperson, however, denied the legitimacy of the job posting.

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MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle Traveling to Japan to Sign Final Development Docs

MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle says he’ll travel to Japan later this month to sign the final two remaining development agreements relating to the company’s $9.3 billion integrated casino resort project in Osaka.

MGM Resorts Bill Hornbuckle Japan casino
MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle will travel to Japan later this month to sign the final two development agreements relating to the company’s MGM Osaka project. The multibillion-dollar casino will be built on Osaka’s Yumeshima Island. (Image: Akihabara News)

MGM is part of a consortium with Japanese financial services conglomerate Orix Corporation to bring Japan its first casino. The company in April 2022 secured Japan’s first casino license after pitching the central government an integrated resort plan for Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay.

MGM and Orix will each control 42.5% of the destination, with the remaining 15% stake held by other financial backers, including Panasonic, Kansai Electric, and West Japan Railway.

Speaking last week at the 2023 Bank of America Gaming and Lodging Conference, Hornbuckle discussed the MGM Osaka project and its repeated delays and redesigns. Hornbuckle says MGM is finally readying to break ground on the IR that will take several years to construct.

“We have spent an extensive amount of time rescoping the project,” Hornbuckle said at the conference. “It’s been a journey.”

MGM has been fixated on Japan for nearly a decade. Former MGM CEO Jim Murren prophesied in 2014 that MGM would open Japan’s “first integrated resort” in Osaka.

Japan’s National Diet legalized up to three commercial casino resorts in 2018. Only MGM Osaka has been licensed to date.   

Final Contracts

Hornbuckle says he will soon travel to Japan where he’ll sign the project’s final two development agreements. One is for a lease of the property and the other is an implementation agreement that will allow work to begin on the resort.

I’m supposed to get on an airplane on September 29 and go to Japan to sign the final two agreements,” Hornbuckle said. “That means we can start in earnest, and to the extent we are able to do that, this will open in 2030.”

Global inflation has ballooned the MGM Osaka price tag by more than $1 billion. But Hornbuckle says the yen depreciating has played into the Las Vegas-based gaming operator’s hand.

The yen’s value against the US dollar has tumbled considerably since the COVID-19 pandemic. The yen’s purchasing power against the US dollar is down more than 25% since November 2020. As of this week, a US dollar is worth about 146 Japanese yen.

MGM officials have often referred to MGM Osaka as a $10 billion project, which could be a more appropriate budget should the yen recover.

The yen is trading at 145 or 147, some silly number right now,” Hornbuckle explained.

The MGM boss isn’t overly worried about the massive spending requirement to bring Japan’s first casino to reality. Hornbuckle cited Japan’s population numbering more than 100 million, including 19 million people in Osaka, as warranting the company’s ongoing financial commitment.

Engineering Marvel

Building a sprawling integrated resort and casino complex on an artificial island is no simple feat. Hornbuckle says the site, which spans more than 100 acres, will soon be ready for construction to break ground.

The MGM chief executive detailed that the casino resort’s frame will go down some 230 feet to reach bedrock. Hornbuckle says the drilling and cementing of the structure’s foundation will likely endure through 2024.

Come early 2025, Hornbuckle hopes, “you’ll begin to see hard construction going up.” MGM is targeting 2030 to welcome its first guests to MGM Osaka.

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MGM Resorts Osaka Bid Maintains Political Legs, Public Support

mgm_resorts_osaka_bid_maintains_political_legs_public_supportPublic opinion in Osaka, Japan is on the rise in support of an integrated casino resort in the prefecture according to an exit poll conducted over the weekend by the local news outlet, Mainichi Shimbun. The survey was taken by Japan’s oldest newspaper over the weekend as the Osaka Mayoral Election was held as part of the 20th Unified Local Elections in the country.

Plans call for Japan’s first casino to be built as part of a large integrated resort (IR) on Yumeshima island – a man-made land mass that is part of Konohana-ku, one of the 24 wards of Osaka, Japan.

According to the trusted outlet, the survey queried 6,190 voters as they left 145 polling places. A majority, 53% said they supported the IR development while 45% said they were opposed to it.

Osakans Want the Integrated Resort Casino

Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura was not shy about his support for the development and the issue was seen by many as a key element of his potential re-election which he handily won with more support for a second term than he garnered when he won the governorship the first time. He assumed office in April 2019.

According to a report on Inside Asia Gaming’s website, only a third of those who voted to re-elect the governor were opposed to the development.

Hirofumi Yoshimura was endorsed by Osaka Ishin no Kai (Japan Reformation Association). He is the Deputy Leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai. Osaka (city) is the capital and most populated city in the Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan with a population of 2.7 million.

Also endorsed by Osaka Ishin no Kai was political upstart Hideyuki Yosokawa who was elected mayor of the city. His victory was more robust than that of the governor however with a record 2.44 million votes – the most ever cast for a mayoral candidate in Osaka. His margin of victory was about two-million votes over his closest competitor.

The party also won 55 seats on the city council and retained its majority.

Governor Yoshimura was supported by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party as well. He had stated earlier that he may resign as a representative if a majority was not maintained.

Hard Work Ahead for Next Four Years

Speaking to constituents after the election Yoshimura said, “I believe that we have received a certain amount of public support to promote the IR attraction. I want to work hard for the next four years with the strong desire to make Osaka grow.”

The prefecture and city tendered an application to the central government in early 2022. Partnering in the endeavor are MGM Resorts and the Japanese multinational ORIX Corporation, a publicly owned Tokyo-based international financial services company established in 1964. ORIX is listed on the Tokyo and New York Stock Exchanges.

When Japanese lawmakers finally passed legislation that was signed by the late Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, it was hoped by many that at least one IR would be approved and operating before the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics opened. However, deep-seated religious and secular political opposition to gambling remained and the fight was taken to a local level where anti-casino voices, mixed with complicated cultural and political machinations won out and drove most casino operators away from the fight.

Current projections, reportedly affirmed by the Governor, project an IR opening in 2029. Investment costs have been estimated to be as high as $10 billion to complete the project.

Out of a large field of deep pockets and top-tier global casino operators that initially vied for approval, MGM’s Osaka bid is seen by many as the last hope to build not only a world-class casino resort in Japan but the country’s only casino.

Various numbers have been tossed about since long before the Diet and Cabinet codified gambling liberalization in Japan. The latest projections indicate that the MGM/Orix consortium’s development could attract as many as 20 million visits each year and generate revenue approaching US$4 billion (JPY 520 billion).

Source: Exit poll shows majority support for Osaka IR as governor wins re-election, Inside Asian Gaming, April 11

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Resorts Atlantic City Announces 45th Anniversary Plans with Kelsey Grammer

Resorts Atlantic City forever changed the New Jersey beachfront town when its casino floor opened in May 1978. This Memorial Day weekend, the Boardwalk resort will celebrate its 45th anniversary of continuous operation and its reign as the oldest casino resort in town.

Resorts Atlantic City anniversary New Jersey
Resorts Atlantic City hosts the “Annual Opening of the Sea Ceremony” on Memorial Day 2022. The yearly tradition includes dropping hundreds of beach balls on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. The event marks the unofficial start of the busy season for the nine casinos. (Image: Casino.org)

Owned by Morris Bailey and Dennis Gomes, Resorts World has been operated by Mohegan, a subsidiary of Connecticut’s Mohegan Tribe, since 2012.

Resorts traditionally hosts Atlantic City’s annual beach ball drop on the Boardwalk during the Memorial Day weekend. The event marks the unofficial start of summer for the resort town. This Memorial Day, festivities will be extra special, as Resorts looks back on 45 years.

Being the first Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, it’s a huge accomplishment to celebrate 45 years of operation,” said Mark Giannantonio, president and CEO at Resorts. “This wonderful milestone is a testament to the culture at our hotel, the hard work and dedication of our team members, and the loyalty of our guests.”

“We look forward to continued growth and success as Resorts Casino Hotel embarks on its next 45 years and beyond,” Giannantonio said.

A-List Host, New Cocktail Venue

Actor and New Jersey native Kelsey Grammer will cohost Resorts’ 45th-anniversary shindig with Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr.

Grammer and Small will be the emcees for the beach ball drop — officially the “Annual Opening of the Sea Ceremony” — at 1 p.m. EST on Friday, May 26.

That night, a Bee Gees tribute band will take the stage at Resorts’ Superstar Theater. A Resorts release said the band will feature “present and former members of world-renowned acts and offer all the classic 70s disco hits from ‘Stayin Alive’ to ‘Night Fever’, while embracing the early works such as ‘To Love Somebody.’”

To commemorate its opening in the late 1970s, Resorts renovated its Bar One cocktail spot just steps from the hotel lobby into Lounge78. The new watering hole is a retro-themed venue paying tribute to Resorts’ 1978 opening.

iGaming Lifeline

Resorts has benefited greatly from New Jersey legalizing iGaming in 2011. It took more than two years before online slots and table games went live in November 2013 because of legal concerns. Specifically, whether the federal Wire Act prevented a state from allowing intrastate internet casino gambling.

Resorts was an eager supporter of online poker and internet casino games, and that’s turned out to be a winning bet over the past decade. In fact, Resorts generates far more gross gaming revenue (GGR) online than it does on its brick-and-mortar casino floor.

In 2021 and 2022, Resorts’ land-based casino reported GGR of $168.6 million and $168.1 million. Meanwhile, Resorts Digital, Bailey and Gomes’ iGaming entity in New Jersey, reported GGR of $450.7 million and $546.5 million during those two years.

New Jersey’s licensing law requires that all iGaming platforms be tethered to one of the nine casinos in Atlantic City. PokerStars lends its casino license to five online casino and sports betting sites, including ResortsCasino, Barstool Sportsbook, DraftKings, Mohegan Sun Casino, and PokerStars NJ.

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