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Comment by TonyTrapp | Hacker News Reader

How far away from civilization (or the next supermarket) do you need to be for these prices and fees to make any sort of sense, that anyone even remotely thinks about taking a single drink? I've never seen something like that in Europe.

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Being a casino, I assume that the targets are people who are either drunk or totally indifferent to prices while they're on vacation or, as is common in Vegas, on an employer-expensed conference junket.

My solution was to go to the convenience store (still located in the casino) which was expensive (a guy in front of me nearly had a meltdown at paying $15 for a can of lager) but at least had no "restocking fees." A Target with more sensible prices is about a 10 minute walk from MGM Grand, however, in case anyone here ever winds up there.

Hotel prices on even basic food/snacks are so high now it's often cheaper, even with a good tip, to just do like a grocery store/pharmacy door dash on your first day there.

One of my coworkers showed me a fun something that was so obvious that it's one of those "now why didn't I think of that" tips on one of our international trips. When arriving at the destination airport, buy a bottle of whatever at the duty free shop. Consume that instead of any minibar items. The cost of one full size bottle will be cheaper than a single minibar charge. I don't know why, but hitting duty free was just in my head as only something to do when returning home. I just chalk it up to OJT!

OJT? Orange juice time?

On the Job Training

Way more practical, but less delicious

Sounds like you're buying the wrong bottle at the duty free!

They're not mutually exclusive!

Not to mention that you might get scurvy during on the job training (especially if you're a pirate), whereas it would be nigh impossible to do the same during orange juice time.

In my experience, the minibar's level of use is proportional to the sobriety of the guests + their understanding of the prices.

So, basically, drunk people and children.

Yeah, the only times I've heard people talk about having to pay for using the minibar it one of two stories, either; 'I was drunk and just wanted something to snack on' or 'I left my kids unattended in the room for a half hour'.

Besides nickel and dimeing you, casinos raise prices in order to make their comps seem more generous. Basically, they want to target problem gamblers and encourage them to get addictions, so they give them gifts in order to keep them in the casino and create a sense of comradery. The most basic comp is alcohol, which is given for free on the floor in order to make gamblers drink. After that, you get free food, which seems more generous than it is because of how expensive Vegas food is. If you're really throwing down money, the casino will give you a free room so you never leave more than necessary. If you're a straight up whale, you'll get a VIP treatment with special rooms, butlers, and transportation. I don't know if comps are a thing in Europe, but the alcohol comps are restricted up here in Canada.

You don't need to be far from civilization. You just need to be drunk and exhausted, which describes a very large fraction of people in Las Vegas hotel rooms.

And the Vegas strip, when it's 110 degrees outside and a 20 minute walk between casinos, is often not the the most convenient place to pop into a convenience store.

I was at the Westin in Las Vegas recently and it just had an empty fridge that I stocked with beer from the nearby liquor store.

Makes me want to stay there

It’s more so “how drunk are your guests.”

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