How One Vegas Night Now Costs 150 Hours of Minimum Wage Work
It’s hard for any American not to feel the effects of inflation these days, with the price of consumer goods costing up to 3% more than they did just last year, which is double the average bump in salary.
But it’s perhaps the worst in Las Vegas, where a simple bet at the casino will cost an average of 8 times what it should if you adjusted for inflation since 1995. In a city where a ten-spot was once enough to get you a steak dinner and a cocktail in between hands, prices have increased 4.5 times faster than general inflation and have priced out much of America.
Key Findings:
- Classic table games now cost 4-14x more per hand than inflation-adjusted rates, with blackjack minimums up 468% and roulette up 355%
- Nightclub cocktails at $25 cost nearly 4x their inflation-adjusted price
- Hotels stayed (relatively) reasonable: Room rates at legacy properties like Caesars Palace and MGM Grand only outpaced inflation by 36-43%, while newer joints like Wynn command premium prices at 1.3x inflation
- Buffets went from bargain to bust: The Garden Court Buffet should cost about $17 today with inflation, instead it's $32.99, while Wynn's buffet hits $80 for what should be a $61 experience
- The median income in the U.S. increased 2.4x since 1995, but Vegas gaming minimums exploded by up to 30x
- While the median American's paycheck grew from $25K to $60K (2.4x) since 1995, craps minimums went up 30x, blackjack 12.5x, and even the "cheap" entertainment like shows doubled
- A minimum wage earner would need to work for 3.7 weeks (150 hours) to afford a single night of fun and lodging on the Strip
Longing for a Night Out on the Strip? Expect to Work Nearly a Month to Afford It
Imagine a classic night out in Vegas. You roll into town and head straight for the blackjack table. Eventually, the dealer gets the best of you, so you decide to get your next hit of dopamine at the buffet.
Once you've had your fill, you head to Mystère, the longest-running Cirque show in Vegas. But the night's still young, so you decide a few cocktails at the nightclub are in order. Finally, you crash into bed in your standard room at the legendary Caesars Palace. Sounds like the perfect Vegas escape, right?Â
Today's worker earning the $7.25 federal minimum wage has to clock 149.7 hours, meaning 3.7 forty-hour weeks of grinding, just to afford this relatively modest night on the Strip. Back in '95, the same Vegas escape only cost 47.4 hours of ticket-taking or shelf-stocking. And forget about flying there on that budget.
The culprit? A toxic cocktail of Vegas greed and income inequality. While craps tables went from 50 cents to $15 and cocktails from $3 to $25, the federal minimum wage has been frozen at $7.25 since 2009.
Even America's middle class is feeling the squeeze. The median earner now works 39 hours to fund a single night of Vegas action, more than double the 17 hours required in 1995. Sure, their paychecks beat inflation by 42%, but when blackjack minimums are up 1,150% and gaming alone eats 23 hours of work, that raise feels more like a participation trophy. The city that once welcomed everyone from factory workers to high rollers has become a velvet rope that most Americans can barely afford to peek over.
High Stakes for Low Rollers
Back in '95, you could roll the dice at a craps table for 50 cents, literal pocket change. Fast-forward to today, and inflation says that ought to be $1.10. Reality? Try $15 minimum, and that's if you're lucky. Even those rare $5 tables hiding in casino corners at breakfast time still represent a 900% increase, beating inflation by nearly 8x.
The rest of the casino floor isn't any friendlier to your wallet. Blackjack's jumped from a $2 minimum to a typical $25 per hand on the strip, while roulette's gone from a buck to $10 just to bet on red or black. Do the math, and you're paying 4 to 6 times what inflation suggests, making every table game feel like the house edge got a steroid injection. Whether you're splitting aces or betting on black, Vegas table games now cost 300-500% more than they should, turning what used to be everyman's entertainment into a CEO’s game.
In-Person Gambling Is Now a Luxury Good
We've all heard the stories (and myths) about the lengths casinos go to in order to keep gamblers awake, focused, and spending, no clocks, few windows, carefully curated lights and sounds, and even oxygenated air. But those morally gray strategies may not matter anymore, as many Americans have to work nearly 7 times as long today as they would have in 1995 to afford just two hands of blackjack. Is gambling now a luxury good? Uhh…yes. Yes, it is.
Three decades ago, a minimum wage worker could play at least 2 hands of blackjack with the money they'd earn working for an hour. With blackjack minimums soaring 1,150% since then, that same person would have to work for 6.8 hours to afford those same two hands. Even a person earning the median wage in the U.S. has to work almost a full hour (54 minutes) to afford a single hand of blackjack. That's 4.5 times what it should cost based on inflation since 1995.
That $3 Cocktail in 1995? It Now Costs $25
At least you can head to a nightclub or one of the famous Vegas buffets to recover from your losses in the casino, right? Not so fast. Gambling costs have shot up the most, but food and drinks are still outrageously expensive, compared to what inflation says they should cost.
In 1995, you could grab a cocktail for just $3, which was 42 minutes of work for a minimum-wage worker at the time. Today, you can expect to pay $25 for that same drink, which means 3.4 hours of work for that same worker. Adjusted for inflation, it should cost just $6.60, so it's nearly 4 times as expensive as it should be.
Buffet prices have outpaced inflation, too, although some surprises exist; the iconic Bellagio Buffet is actually 10% cheaper than what inflation would predict. Which leaves us wondering what they’ve removed from the buffet spread. But choose your buffet venue wisely; the Garden Court Buffet has doubled in price beyond inflation, costing 100% more than it should.
That Luxurious Room in Caesar’s Palace Is Actually the Most Affordable Part of Your Vegas Vacation
While you can pick and choose buffets to find a decent deal, you'll actually find that hotel prices have increased the least, relative to inflation. On average, they're "only" about 40% more expensive than inflation says they should be.
Staying at Caesars Palace or the MGM Grand will cost you $216 and $271 per night, respectively. Based on prices in 1995 and inflation since then, Caesars is 36% more expensive than it should be, while MGM is 43% more. That's not so bad when you consider that a game of craps costs 1,264% more than it should.
Looking for the best deal in Las Vegas? Book a night at the Bellagio. It'll cost you $320 a night, but it's actually 23% CHEAPER than it should be based on inflation since 2005. In fact, along with the Bellagio Buffet (10% below inflation), it's one of the only Vegas bargains we found.
And here's the real kicker: median earners only have to work 25-30% longer to afford a night in a hotel on the strip than they would have in 1995. Not bad, considering an all-in Vegas night will require 128% more working hours to afford (216% more for minimum wage workers).
Methodology
We collected data for minimum and median wages from Census.gov and inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to see how prices should have changed based on inflation alone. Current and historical pricing was gathered from online reviews, company websites, annual reports, and Las Vegas travel forums
Fair Use
Looking to share this data or use the assets? You’re welcome to use either for any non-commercial purposes. Please be sure to include a link citing this page.
