Las Vegas may be the city of luck — but lately, visitors say the real gamble is ordering a cocktail.
Sin City tourists are sounding off about sky-high prices on everything from watered-down margaritas to bacon and eggs, with some claiming they lost more cash at brunch than at the blackjack table.
Vegas visitors aren’t just gambling at the slots — they’re rolling the dice every time they buy a drink, a meal, or even a cup of coffee, griping to Fox News Digital this week about the Nevada hotspot’s jaw-dropping costs.
Birthday trips come with surprises — but Katherine from College Station, Texas, didn’t expect it to be the coffee tab.
“Having a coffee that was $14 was crazy. I just wasn’t expecting that. It was just a latte with a few extra flavors,” she told the outlet.
Her daughter Cammie added that even basics are overpriced: “I got a drink this morning. It was, like, $12 for a lemonade or something like that. And water bottles are so expensive.”
Tourists from across the pond were floored, too.
Ben, wrapping up a U.S. road trip with a Vegas finale, griped: “We have found it a bit more expensive than other places we’ve been in the States.”
He nearly choked on his morning brew when the bill came: “We spent $20 for two coffees this morning. I thought that was quite a lot.”
And when it comes to cocktails, another traveler named Faith learned the hard way — spending $30 for a single cosmopolitan at Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen in the famed Caesar’s Palace.
It’s not just a few unlucky travelers either. Social media users have been blasting Sin City over soaring costs for dining, parking, and basic hotel amenities — all while the Strip feels emptier than usual.
TikTok user Christian recently returned from Vegas and couldn’t believe the sticker shock.
“The price gouging in Las Vegas is out of control,” he griped in a viral video, recalling an $11 latte at a casino Starbucks.
A trip to Caesar’s Palace food court left him equally flabbergasted: “Two slices of pizza and a beer … $34.”
He couldn’t wrap his head around it.
“These casinos are already making billions upon billions of dollars from people coming to gamble, and they’re still going to upcharge food and drinks by 200%?”
Longtime Vegas regular Wendi Lee said in another TikTok clip that the Strip has officially gone from jackpot to wallet drain.
“Vegas has gotten way too expensive. Comped rooms, but $62 a night for resort fees? One-hundred dollars for a family of five to eat lunch?? Seven dollars for a Sprite?? Slot machines that don’t pay out anything! Vegas used to be fun … ”
She added that after three decades of trips — including five years bringing her kids — the family won’t be coming back anytime soon.
“Vegas used to be so much fun and somewhat affordable. Sadly we won’t be going back for a while….”
Even free rooms can’t offset the rising costs of eating, drinking, and playing, leaving Sin City feeling more like a pricey gamble than a playground.
In June, only 3.1 million people visited Las Vegas, down 11.3% from last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg even warned on a recent earnings call that it would be a “soft summer” for the resort city.
Some of the blame, observers say, falls on younger travelers. Conservative commentator Robby Starbuck told Fox News Digital that “now nearly everyone under 40 who bets seems to do it online.”
He added, “I don’t know one person under 40 who goes to Vegas regularly to bet or play slots.”
With fewer people hitting the tables — and even fewer willing to pay inflated prices for drinks, breakfast or a simple cup of coffee — it seems the real house edge in Vegas isn’t at the blackjack table.
It’s the bill when you order.
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