How Will You Enjoy Your Las Vegas Summer Deal?

^{A typical busy weekend in Las Vegas. (Photo: Peter Thoeny / Flickr)}

Casinos throughout Las Vegas are offering a variety of deals and discounts this summer. There’s something for everyone, whether you’re enjoying 40% off a hotel room, a show on the Strip for 40% off, or booking an all-inclusive package in downtown Las Vegas.

As of April, visitation to Las Vegas is down 6.5% compared with the first four months of 2024. And this downward trend has continued since then. 

Visitors may be staying away due to economic concerns, political reasons, or simply high prices. The tourism board has stepped in to help promote the discounts throughout Las Vegas, geared toward residents.

Who cares why there are so many deals? There are discounts abound for anyone who wants to visit Las Vegas this summer, so let’s enjoy the deals while they’re available.

Pro tip: Make sure you’re signed up for a casino rewards card to access the latest offers. There are multiple discount and complimentary room offers available daily. If you’re already a member of the rewards programs, check your app -- you might see better-than-usual promotions.

How are you going to use the deals and discounts? This was something I enjoyed during the last great recession from 2007 to 2009.

Level Up: Choosing How to Use Discounts

There are different ways to enjoy hotel discounts in Las Vegas. The simplest is to take the half-price room, save some money, and call it a win. That might be the most financially responsible option — but to me, it’s a little boring.

You could also stay longer than usual on the same budget, since rooms are cheaper. The savings can help offset the daily expenses that come with spending more time in Las Vegas.

When I had this opportunity, I went in a different direction. I used the same budget to level up my Vegas experience.

Instead of taking the discount just to save money, I used it to explore a version of Las Vegas I normally couldn’t afford.

A 50% discount on a mid-tier hotel didn’t move the needle for me. Saving enough on a room to cover one blackjack buy-in or a few rounds of video poker wasn’t all that compelling.

Since my dollar went a little further, I chose to explore the nicer hotels in Las Vegas for the price that I was previously paying for a mid-tier property. That changed how I viewed Las Vegas. 

Las Vegas can be great on any budget since the experience is often what you make of it. That’s part of what makes Las Vegas so appealing to so many people.

Enjoying the Best Las Vegas Has to Offer

There’s a big difference between a high-priced room and a stay at a true luxury resort. Just about every hotel, aside from maybe the Best Western at Casino Royale, offers some sort of expensive room.

Experiencing the luxurious side of Las Vegas, even for a brief period, changed me and shaped my future trips. 

There’s just a different level of hotel room and service at the most luxurious resorts in Las Vegas. As noted, not all expensive hotel rooms are in luxury resorts. 

Truthfully, there are fewer than 10 traditional luxury resorts in Las Vegas. In the early 2000s, I chose to stay at Wynn, Venetian, and Bellagio since prices were around the same as what I was paying for a standard room.

These hotels were all out of my budget before the recession. I decided to splurge and spend the same amount and see how the other half lived. 

Wowsers. It was a different world at two of the three hotels. Bellagio already felt somewhat corporate, but it was still better than most hotels I’d stayed at until that point.

At the time, each of the hotels had a level of service above what I was used to. The beds were all more comfortable, and the rooms were outfitted with technology I’d never experienced before. 

I’ll never forget the first time I used a remote control to open and close the window coverings at The Venetian. That was the height of luxury for me at that time.

Since all rooms at Encore are suites, I decided to stay there instead of the regular Wynn room. That very large room felt luxurious to a person who would stay anywhere from the Gold Coast to Planet Hollywood. Hopefully, the planned renovation isn’t delayed too long because the rooms could use a little TLC.

When room rates went back to normal, I mostly returned to the more budget-friendly properties – but not always. I monitored the luxury properties for deals and would return when I could, even if it meant staying fewer nights or visiting less often. 

I did the same thing during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cosmopolitan was sending out insane offers for complimentary terrace suites with weekly free play and dining credits. Even though I was living in Las Vegas, the offers were too good to pass up.

When the discounts went away, so did my luxury experiences. I’m glad I was able to have a different, more luxurious experience during both times of uncertainty.