Let the casinos take over operation of the Las Vegas Monorail
I agree with much of Nicholas Gartner’s plan regarding the Las Vegas Monorail (Friday letter to the editor). Once again, the monorail is rearing its ugly head as a solution to lite rail in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. But it’s already gone belly up once, costing bondholders $635 million. Now the Clark County commissioners want taxpayers to give it an additional $4.5 million per year so they can play the same game of roulette.
As it stands now, the tram is similar to the Ferris wheel at The Linq … a tourist attraction. The difference between the two? The Linq has a viable customer base. The monorail’s only salvation is the possibility that it might someday connect to downtown and the airport.
The reality is, Las Vegas and its surrounding suburban area have morphed into a smaller version of Los Angeles, where autos are an absolute requirement to drive the large distances not serviced by bus routes.
Ultimately, the casinos, with their 6.75 percent gaming tax rate, are the ones best able to maintain the monorail. It’s called taking responsibility for a bad decision.