Posted on 10/31/2025 7:40:54 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
The top boss of MGM resorts has admitted Las Vegas has become a rip-off and even declared 'shame on us' as he derided his own hotels' extortionate prices that have driven tourists way.
MGM President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle revealed during an earnings call Wednesday that his resorts have 'price-corrected' after being rocked by a summer of public scandal.
The company was met with heavy criticism after a guest at its four-star ARIA hotel revealed they were charged $26 for a single bottle of water.
A Daily Mail reporter also revealed the company's flagship Bellagio Hotel was charging guests an extra $25 just to eat room service off plates.
MGM's parking fees, restaurant and cafe menu prices, and the hefty resort fees guest are charged on top of their nightly room rate, have also come under fire.
'Shame on us,' Hornbuckle told the investor meeting, according to a transcript of the call reviewed by the Daily Mail.
Highlighting the 'infamous bottle of water' and how a Starbucks coffee at three-star Excalibur costs $12, the CEO admitted the firm had not been considerate to the needs of its clientele.
'We should have been more sensitive to the overall experience at a place like Excalibur to those customers,' he said.
'You can't have a $29 room and a $12 coffee.'
He added that MGM has made changes to its prices and believes the company has demonstrated that 'we understand value, we understand Las Vegas, and we'll always be that.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
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Bring back the mob.
Too late, none of my uber people want to go there anymore. Reno is what they want for now. Also, going to Branson, MO.
Vegas deserves its fate.
The only reason I ever even considered going to Vegas is because of the cheap, good buffets I heard about and the cheap hotel rooms. I am glad they priced themselves out of the market. Now I will never be tempted to go there again.
Reno is experiencing explosive growth.
Real estate there has passed the unreasonable threshold.
Usta be a quiet, mountain town with a few casinos.
Exactly. Vegas was cheap when it existed mainly to launder money for organized crime.
And they made sure there were an equal number of blueberries in each muffin.
Interestingly, Dollywood is becoming a big destination.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported that the city experienced an 11 percent drop in visitors year-on-year in June, followed by a 6.7 drop in August.
Hornbuckle attributed the tourism slump to several factors, including:
<><>400,000 fewer Las Vegas travelers on Spirit Airlines,
<><>a decline in Southern California drive-in visitors,
<><>and continued drops in international travel
<><>following comments and tariff policies from the Trump admin.
“July for everyone in the community was a rough month. The summer was rough,” Hornbuckle said. But things have turned since, he added, and the resort giant might even beat numbers from last year’s “all-time fourth quarter” based on bookings.
Jonathan Halkyard, MGM’s chief financial officer and treasurer, said Wednesday that the company reviewed what customers are actually willing to pay for certain goods and services, and have since implemented about 90 percent of those adjustments.
MGM’s net revenue dropped to $2 billion in the third quarter, down from 2024, mainly due to room renovations at MGM Grand Las Vegas, the company said. Earnings at MGM’s other Las Vegas properties also dropped from $731 million in September 2024 to $601 million this year.
I guess someone is losing $
Whatever... they sodomized the public and will barely back it down just a titch. But they are still a rip off run by private equity.
“He added that MGM has made changes to its prices”
Ok, details... in actual numbers. I wanna see how much he really learned.
“He added that MGM has made changes to its prices”
Ok, details... in actual numbers. I wanna see how much he really learned.
A lot due to the Smokey Mountains National Park is the most visited park.
Do they just bring up a couple handfuls of food if you don't want the plate fee?
The only reason we’ve gone to Vegas the last few yrs is because of the offers we get annually. For example, a 4 night stay in a Bellagio suite with no resort fees, free parking, $600 in free play & a $250 meal voucher. Of course, we gamble a couple thousand dollars whenever we go, so we’re basically paying in advance, but we still come out even thanks to these offers.
Amen that.
Organized crime had its priorities and Vegas knew how to made sure that those priorities were met...always.
No they serve your order on plates similar to Chinet, which is basically a higher quality paper plate. Eggs Benedict on those kinds of plates is a disaster.
Nobody needs to go to Vegas to gamble any more. There are plenty of casinos within a couple of hours drive from most big cities. The days of Vegas and Atlantic City being the only options for gaming are long gone.
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