I get it: You’re one of those people who really want to save the $5 in parking fees in order to spend five more minutes on the Sex in the City Slot Machine. The vibrations of that machine when Samantha wins just gets you going every time. When the MGM announced that they were going to institute parking fees, you felt cheated of the free services you’d had for so long, and more importantly, the ability to park in their parking structures and then go to another casino altogether.
However, let’s look at all that MGM has done to invest in Las Vegas, without taking hundreds of millions of government money that some people are proposing for their projects:
1) The Park
The Park shows MGM’s dedication to providing unique spaces for everyone including families. This three acre outdoor entertainment and food destination features plants from the native Mojave desert and unique architecture that exemplifies the beauty of our city and environment. “We’re not transplanting landscape that’s from North Carolina here. These are beautiful plants from the Mohave Desert,” said MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren.
2) T-Mobile Arena and NHL Hockey
T-Mobile Arena is the centerpiece of the new entertainment Capital of the World. As we change from focusing on just gambling, to non-gaming models, this arena is a MUST for our growth. The partnership between AEG and MGM allowed an amazing new entertainment and sports space to be made without any government funding, providing enormous revenue opportunities and jobs for locals. Built with bringing the NHL also in mind, this means that we will have our first major league sports team in 2017. They took the risk to build this amazing arena, and in return we are getting a new sports based economy that will continue to help produce jobs and income for Las Vegas for decades to come.
3) Top Golf at MGM
The Top Golf Partnership at MGM grand has already seen enormous success with hundreds of locals getting jobs here, and providing an experience outside of clubs and bars (although it sure feels like one.) With amazing food, amazing beer and all the golf fun and excitement that comes with attempting to whack a ball as hard as possible while drunk, this shows how MGM is expanding fast to help make Vegas bigger and better.
MGM has clearly shown dedication to keeping their locations up to date, redesigning and keeping the economy flowing by providing new experiences. All these projects have been a huge investment in the economy and has provided thousands of new jobs, both in construction and long term jobs working at these locations.
We have seen in the last few years tons of promised construction projects from new developers, who have in the long run left huge holes in the ground, making the strip look worse and hurting development in those areas. MGM has kept their promises to our community, and keeps on growing – and as part of that growth, we need to accept we may need to pay more for those services in order to continue to grow the strip and Las Vegas.
