With Monday being Presidents Day, many Las Vegas visitors will get an extra day to gamble and shop this weekend. Photo by John Gurzinski . Hotel occupancy is higher, room rates are up and the casino floor is more crowded, with bigger action. Star entertainers draw packed houses.
Restaurants are busier.
Some weekends, however, are better than others. New Year's and Chinese New Year, when they fall on a weekend, and Super Bowl Sunday are acknowledged by casino industry experts as the top revenue-producing weekends of the year. But this weekend, Presidents Day weekend, is also one of the most important stretches on the casino calendar. The MGM Grand, the Strip's biggest hotel and casino, is sold out this weekend. Three-day weekends give gamblers an extra day to bet and spend, with a reason to celebrate a temporary escape from their Monday through Friday lives.