By John Jackson 
The Oyo knows your trick — parking in its free garage and then walking across Tropicana Boulevard to gamble at the MGM Grand – and it has finally put a stop to it.
Oyo now charges, via a parking app, $13 for up to three hours. After that, the charge is $18 for each 24-hour period. In seven days, a visitor would pay $126, not including service fees.
For the time being, however, the Oyo will still validate parking at its players club desk, according to Vital Vegas.
StylishFind news is here!
The Decline Of Free Parking
The Oyo, located a quarter mile east of the Strip, is only the latest free-parking domino to fall. Once an entitlement for Las Vegas tourists, the perk is quickly becoming another relic of Las Vegas’ past.
For tourists, Las Vegas Strip parking is still free only at the Sahara, Treasure Island, Circus Circus and Casino Royale. The Wynn offers free parking for up to three hours to its visitors, though there is no limit for its hotel guests.
Normally, parking is also free at the Fashion Show Mall. However, for special events, expect to pay an arm and a leg here. (For the F1 Grand Prix this weekend, the indoor shopping mall’s charge is $50-$80 per space.)
Parking Options For Locals
Free parking is still available at most Strip resorts to locals, but only for the first three hours and only if they show a valid Nevada driver’s license. Some hotels also offer it as a perk of their rewards programs — but only once you “earn” your way up to a certain status tier.
The End Of An Era
Unqualified, unlimited free parking was once a staple of the Strip from the day it began until 2016. That was the year MGM — which operates the Bellagio, Aria, Cosmopolitan, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Park MGM, New York-New York, Luxor and Excalibur — became the first casino company to charge for the time-honored Strip tradition.
Caesars followed MGM’s lead, charging all guests to park at Caesars Palace, The Cromwell, Harrah’s, Horseshoe, Paris, Flamingo, Planet Hollywood and Linq starting in 2021.
You can’t really blame the resorts that neighbor an MGM or Caesars property for eliminating their free parking, such as Oyo. They’re only trying to keep their free lots from filling up with guests of neighboring properties.
A Story For The Future
That you once parked for free at all Las Vegas Strip casinos will be a story you can tell your grandchildren one day, just like the stories you’ll tell them about drinking in them for free and getting your room comped because you gambled $100.