Las Vegas casinos bet on shopping malls

According to a report published by The Seattle Times, casinos operators in Las Vegas are putting more effort into attracting shoppers instead of players.

Signs inside the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace urge visitors to “Shop as the Romans Do” along a 675,000-square-foot path with a Roman streetscape and talking statues.

About 29 million people visited the Forum Shops, which marked its 25th anniversary in May, while 42.9 million visited Las Vegas last year. 

Retail and nongaming attractions — along with Vegas shows, 149,000 hotel rooms, and top restaurants and bars — brought in more than $11.2 billion in revenue last year, double the $5.2 billion that table games and slot machines generated.

MGM Resorts International executives have held discussions to replace the 22 million-gallon Bellagio Fountains with a boutique shopping and restaurant promenade, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported last month.

In 2014, Treasure Island Hotel & Casino drained a lagoon that was used to stage a pirate show in front of the property to convert it into retail, and, in 2015, Bally’s converted a garden into an outdoor mall, the Grand Bazaar Shops, a short walk from Caesars Palace.

The tables turned in 1999, when retail and other nongaming revenue collectively surpassed casino gambling for the first time. The gap has kept growing.

“Retail operations provide greater options for tourist spending and are a natural evolution for a destination like Las Vegas,” said Brent Pirosch, director of gaming consulting for commercial-real-estate firm CBRE Inc.