Thursday, November 15, 2007

Wynn LV Halts Free Drinks...Sort of

There was a rumor going around that Wynn Las Vegas was planning to alter a sacred Vegas custom by halting the free cocktails for gamblers in the casino. Turns out, that's incorrect.

However, Wynn PR queen Jennifer Dunne says, there is a change afoot worth noting: Gamblers who play the video poker machines built into the bartops at the B Bar, the lounge just off the casino floor, are no longer given free drinks. Dunne says it's always been a bit of a problem, folks sitting at the bar, tossing a $20 in the machine and then loading up on free drinks while playing very slowly or barely at all. Apparently, this is something that Bellagio has tried, too, at the Fontana Lounge, although it's unclear whether they've stuck to it.

When I heard this rumor -- which I did after my chat with Steve Wynn last night -- I thought it might be true and that this was yet another way Wynn was trying to set apart his place from the riffraff. I could just hear him say, "If someone doesn't want to gamble in my casino because they don't get free drinks, we don't want 'em." But Dunne says she doubts it'll ever come to pass, given that it's a miniascule and important loss leader.

Above photo courtesy RateVegas.Com

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do any casinos have VP free bars? It seems like that would separate the riff raff from the paying drinkers. I don't like playing at the bar, it's usually only VP, the machines are tight and I can never tell how long I have to play to justify the free beer. If I'm just at the bar as a paying drinker, then I feel I have to play or I'm taking a machine away from someone who wants to play, kind of like those slot squatters.
JLOKC