Las Vegas Boulevard

[Plutonic Panda]

Lots of projects going on. A really big one is happening between downtown and the strip which is a bitch to get through and avoid at all costs if possible. But it will be lovely once completed.

New pedestrian bridge at Sahara finally approved!

https://news3lv.com/news/local/new-pedestrian-bridge-on-las-vegas-boulevard-gets-green-light

[Max Rockatansky]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

[Plutonic Panda]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

I'm really surprised there aren't more direct entrances to the casinos from the upper levels of these street crossings. There a couple that I know of but then there are some that baffle my mind thinking there should be a pedestrian bridge going straight into the hotel.

[Max Rockatansky]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

I'm really surprised there aren't more direct entrances to the casinos from the upper levels of these street crossings. There a couple that I know of but then there are some that baffle my mind thinking there should be a pedestrian bridge going straight into the hotel.

What I don't really care for is that the overpasses tend to be spaced pretty far apart and might not have movements for all directions of travel.  If you want to get to a casino in the middle of a block it often requires a significant amount of backtracking.  The overpasses are also kind of pushed back from the intersections so turning lanes could be put in.  But yes, it feels kind of like a missed opportunity not to have more overpass casino entrances.

Interestingly I noticed the landscaping in the median and shoulders of Las Vegas Boulevard is designed to deter jaywalking.  I recall it being a big issue when people would run right out into the middle of Las Vegas Boulevard to cut across inconvenient pedestrian crossings.

[Plutonic Panda]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

I'm really surprised there aren't more direct entrances to the casinos from the upper levels of these street crossings. There a couple that I know of but then there are some that baffle my mind thinking there should be a pedestrian bridge going straight into the hotel.

What I don't really care for is that the overpasses tend to be spaced pretty far apart and might not have movements for all directions of travel.  If you want to get to a casino in the middle of a block it often requires a significant amount of backtracking.  The overpasses are also kind of pushed back from the intersections so turning lanes could be put in.  But yes, it feels kind of like a missed opportunity not to have more overpass casino entrances.

Interestingly I noticed the landscaping in the median and shoulders of Las Vegas Boulevard is designed to deter jaywalking.  I recall it being a big issue when people would run right out into the middle of Las Vegas Boulevard to cut across inconvenient pedestrian crossings.

I figured this was done due to ROW constraints. Seems like it could be solved, albeit more expensively, with using multiple elevators and no escalators. So build them each right up against the intersections. Or build tunnels with lots of security.

[DenverBrian]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

It's either this, or $50B to bury Las Vegas Boulevard underground. <shrugs>

[Max Rockatansky]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

It's either this, or $50B to bury Las Vegas Boulevard underground. <shrugs>

I know, it's just nice to reminisce when I was a lot more active around the area. 

[Plutonic Panda]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

It's either this, or $50B to bury Las Vegas Boulevard underground. <shrugs>

They need to get on the ball with building a subterranean heavy rail system under the boulevard from the airport to downtown with several stops in between.

[pderocco]

That's even cooler than Smith and Bell in Houston.

[roadfro]

Lots of projects going on. A really big one is happening between downtown and the strip which is a bitch to get through and avoid at all costs if possible. But it will be lovely once completed.

New pedestrian bridge at Sahara finally approved!

https://news3lv.com/news/local/new-pedestrian-bridge-on-las-vegas-boulevard-gets-green-light

Historically, there hasn't been nearly as much pedestrian traffic at this end of the Strip, as opposed to at the intersections of Tropicana (the first bridges constructed) or Flamingo (the second), since there's been a bit of gap in the newer and popular attractions at this end. I imagine the fairly recent establishment of the 'Las Vegas Festival Grounds' on the southwest corner and has generated much more foot traffic in the area–and Resorts World's opening just south of there might be adding to it. The bridge over the north leg of the intersection might also provide some photo opportunities with that new City of Las Vegas arch sign the city put in just north of the intersection.

This is a unique bridge design concept. I imagine this fully-connected circle design was imagined because the Sahara hotel is right on the corner, so there's little ROW for the more conventional bridge concepts used elsewhere.

[cahwyguy]

There was a good blog piece on this over at the Vital Vegas blog: New Pedestrian Bridge Will Finally Deliver Visitors to Bonanza Gift Shop's Doorstep. The point of the blog was that foot traffic at that end of the Strip doesn't really justify the ovecrossing: you have the Gift Shop, a pot dispensary, the Sahara, and the El Rancho Vegas Festival Grounds (sorry, I'm also a student of Vegas history). The supposition is that the bridge is there for when the Oakland As buy the land of the Festival Grounds and build a ballpark (as current rumors are pointing that direction) -- then it provides easy access for those parking at the Sahara and Westgate.

As for the other overpasses: They are there, not always well maintained. I recently did a timeshare exchange to the Jockey Club, and was using the overpass from the Cosmopolitan to the Aladdin Planet Hollywood all the time. They make it much safer to walk, but you have to walk a lot more. But they do save you from the demons of paid parking. The strip is not what it once was.

As I can't write anything without a "Ready, Set, Discuss", here's the blog I wrote about how the Vegas of old isn't there anymore: https://cahighways.org/wordpress/?p=16143 . It does talk a bit about trying to find Old 91 and Old 95.

[roadfro]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

I'm really surprised there aren't more direct entrances to the casinos from the upper levels of these street crossings. There a couple that I know of but then there are some that baffle my mind thinking there should be a pedestrian bridge going straight into the hotel.

What I don't really care for is that the overpasses tend to be spaced pretty far apart and might not have movements for all directions of travel.  If you want to get to a casino in the middle of a block it often requires a significant amount of backtracking.  The overpasses are also kind of pushed back from the intersections so turning lanes could be put in.  But yes, it feels kind of like a missed opportunity not to have more overpass casino entrances.

I think you can thank the casinos on some of these points. Note that in some cases, especially as you move north, the casino was well established before the bridges came along. You either had older properties like Caesar's Palace where they were originally established well back from the Strip (making a direct casino entrance connection to the ped bridge impractical) or right abutting the Strip (meaning the bridge had to be shoehorned into the right of way however it could fit).

For the first bridge set at Las Vegas Blvd & Tropicana Ave, I believe the casinos (particularly MGM and New York New York) wanted those bridges located further away from the intersection to not disrupt the views at the corners of their property (the MGM lion and Statue of Liberty, respectively). Also note, likely as a concession by NDOT to get these built, the bridges abutting the MGM and NYNY properties actually do lead to second floor entrances to each properties–the bridges were actually constructed about a year or two before NYNY, and their second-level access was likely designed with the existing bridges in mind. On the southwest corner, Excalibur was set too far back from the corner to connect directly, but they later ended up building out connections between each bridge and an existing pedestrian walkway that came up from the corner (which also connects to their tram station to the Luxor and now Mandalay Bay). On the southeast corner, while there is not a direct connection entrance to the Tropicana hotel, the stairs to the walkways are angled towards the main entrance of the resort instead of parallel to the road.

The second bridge set at Flamingo Road, the two bridges connecting the southeast corner were built simultaneously with the Bellagio (that might have been a condition of approval for the Bellagio), and as a result those two bridges lead directly to Bellagio's second floor shops with no direct stair/escalator access to the street. The other bridges at this intersection were built later by the county.

You can still cross LVB on foot at most (if not all) signalized intersections where a bridge does not exist, which *I think long term they do want to put in a few more bridges to help reduce these crossings.

Interestingly I noticed the landscaping in the median and shoulders of Las Vegas Boulevard is designed to deter jaywalking.  I recall it being a big issue when people would run right out into the middle of Las Vegas Boulevard to cut across inconvenient pedestrian crossings.

Yes, I think the county put in significant effort for median beautification in the early 1990s...that's when most of the Strip's palm trees were planted and the decorative median fencing went in along with it. Additionally, many of the sidewalks now feature barriers as well, with newer/redesigned properties now often having the sidewalks pushed back from the street when possible to increase the separation. Jaywalking is now pretty uncommon. So the biggest issues nowadays are pedestrians not obeying the pedestrian signals.


EDIT: Added the words after the asterisk, because I later realized I didn't complete that sentence in my initial post.

[roadfro]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

It's either this, or $50B to bury Las Vegas Boulevard underground. <shrugs>

They need to get on the ball with building a subterranean heavy rail system under the boulevard from the airport to downtown with several stops in between.

The soil in the Vegas area is incredibly hard (lots of caliche) and does not lend itself nicely to tunneling out to build something like a subway.

However, The Boring Company, coming off of the relative success of their Convention Center Loop, has grand plans to build a "Vegas Loop" project. This would basically be an underground network of tunnels dedicated to moving people around between various properties along the Strip corridor and Downtown, Allegiant Stadium, and the airport using Tesla vehicles.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/clark-county/ride-underneath-the-strip-borings-vegas-loop-ready-for-next-step-2459509/
https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/traffic/underground-travel-in-strip-stadium-areas-moves-closer-to-reality-2463119/

[cahwyguy]

I think you can thank the casinos on some of these points. Note that in some cases, especially as you move north, the casino was well established before the bridges came along. You either had older properties like Caesar's Palace where they were originally established well back from the Strip (making a direct casino entrance connection to the ped bridge impractical) or right abutting the Strip (meaning the bridge had to be shoehorned into the right of way however it could fit).

Well, that really depends on the "when". Most of the original casinos were originally well set back with parking in the front; the Sands was the rare exception as it built around a property near the front. But El Rancho Vegas, the Last Frontier, Desert Inn, Sahara, Thunderbird, Riviera and Royal Vegas were all back a bit, as was the Trop. But as things kept remodeling, most grew closer and closer to LV Blvd. Caesars was perhaps the notable exception from that era. Note that originally properties had a lot more empty space between them as well, so walking was a bit less practical.

You can still cross LVB on foot at most (if not all) signalized intersections where a bridge does not exist, which

There are just a few crosswalks left. I seem to recall one in front of Harrahs, and I think there's another over where the Riv. used to be. But there aren't many left.

[SeriesE]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

It's either this, or $50B to bury Las Vegas Boulevard underground. <shrugs>

They need to get on the ball with building a subterranean heavy rail system under the boulevard from the airport to downtown with several stops in between.

Las Vegas Boulevard is wide enough that underground rail is not necessary. Elevated trains can be built instead.

[Max Rockatansky]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

It's either this, or $50B to bury Las Vegas Boulevard underground. <shrugs>

They need to get on the ball with building a subterranean heavy rail system under the boulevard from the airport to downtown with several stops in between.

Las Vegas Boulevard is wide enough that underground rail is not necessary. Elevated trains can be built instead.

Not with those pedestrian overpasses.  Interestingly some of the casinos do have tram lines connecting them.

[Plutonic Panda]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

It's either this, or $50B to bury Las Vegas Boulevard underground. <shrugs>

They need to get on the ball with building a subterranean heavy rail system under the boulevard from the airport to downtown with several stops in between.

The soil in the Vegas area is incredibly hard (lots of caliche) and does not lend itself nicely to tunneling out to build something like a subway.

However, The Boring Company, coming off of the relative success of their Convention Center Loop, has grand plans to build a "Vegas Loop" project. This would basically be an underground network of tunnels dedicated to moving people around between various properties along the Strip corridor and Downtown, Allegiant Stadium, and the airport using Tesla vehicles.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/clark-county/ride-underneath-the-strip-borings-vegas-loop-ready-for-next-step-2459509/
https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/traffic/underground-travel-in-strip-stadium-areas-moves-closer-to-reality-2463119/

I'm just really skeptical about the whole boring tunnel plan. I guess the long-term goal is to create a network of tunnels see you like places in LA where you could drive your Tesla at a portal in Hollywood or downtown and then an elevator would lower your car to the tunnel which she would then put on auto pilot and it would take you to the airport or some other destination further away.

These proposals in Vegas just seems like gimmicks and carnival rides. I see the demand for actual real mass transit. I'm fairly certain it is possible for a twin bore tunnel underneath the boulevard. I bet you it would be one of the most successful lines in the country definitely hitting the pockets of the cab companies and rideshare.

[Rothman]

An elevator would be a heckuva choke point.

[jeffandnicole]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

It's either this, or $50B to bury Las Vegas Boulevard underground. <shrugs>

They need to get on the ball with building a subterranean heavy rail system under the boulevard from the airport to downtown with several stops in between.

Las Vegas Boulevard is wide enough that underground rail is not necessary. Elevated trains can be built instead.

Not with those pedestrian overpasses.  Interestingly some of the casinos do have tram lines connecting them.

On the west side of the Strip, there's a few monorails that connect 2 or 3 casinos each, but no connectivity.

On the east side is a monorail from MGM up to the convention center. That was supposed to be a monorail all the way to the airport, but the taxi union, which is very powerful in Vegas, fought hard against that. It's location in the rear of the casinos limits its overall usage as people enjoy seeing the sights from the Strip.

[roadfro]

They need to get on the ball with building a subterranean heavy rail system under the boulevard from the airport to downtown with several stops in between.

The soil in the Vegas area is incredibly hard (lots of caliche) and does not lend itself nicely to tunneling out to build something like a subway.

However, The Boring Company, coming off of the relative success of their Convention Center Loop, has grand plans to build a "Vegas Loop" project. This would basically be an underground network of tunnels dedicated to moving people around between various properties along the Strip corridor and Downtown, Allegiant Stadium, and the airport using Tesla vehicles.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/clark-county/ride-underneath-the-strip-borings-vegas-loop-ready-for-next-step-2459509/
https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/traffic/underground-travel-in-strip-stadium-areas-moves-closer-to-reality-2463119/

I'm just really skeptical about the whole boring tunnel plan. I guess the long-term goal is to create a network of tunnels see you like places in LA where you could drive your Tesla at a portal in Hollywood or downtown and then an elevator would lower your car to the tunnel which she would then put on auto pilot and it would take you to the airport or some other destination further away.

These proposals in Vegas just seems like gimmicks and carnival rides. I see the demand for actual real mass transit. I'm fairly certain it is possible for a twin bore tunnel underneath the boulevard. I bet you it would be one of the most successful lines in the country definitely hitting the pockets of the cab companies and rideshare.

The Convention Center Loop was borne out of necessity to move people around during conventions that use the entire Convention Center complex. With their new expansion, it's over a mile walk from the south hall to the new west hall. Yes, using this technology was a bit of a gimmick, but it was borne out of an actual need–and ultimately ended up being a proof of concept for The Boring Company.

The Vegas Loop would be similar in a larger, self-contained system as a new form of mass transit. There would be dedicated stations and dedicated tunnels for the system, and people would hail a vehicle to take them directly from one station to another within the tunnels and without the need for stops at other stations in between. People wouldn't drive their own vehicles in the tunnel network.

Las Vegas Boulevard is wide enough that underground rail is not necessary. Elevated trains can be built instead.

Not with those pedestrian overpasses.  Interestingly some of the casinos do have tram lines connecting them.

On the west side of the Strip, there's a few monorails that connect 2 or 3 casinos each, but no connectivity.

On the east side is a monorail from MGM up to the convention center. That was supposed to be a monorail all the way to the airport, but the taxi union, which is very powerful in Vegas, fought hard against that. It's location in the rear of the casinos limits its overall usage as people enjoy seeing the sights from the Strip.

The few trams on the west side of the strip exist to connect adjacent casino-resort properties that are (or were) owned by the same companies: TI—Mirage (now separate owners), Excalibur—Luxor—Mandalay Bay, and Bellagio—City Center (Aria & the Crystals mall)—Park MGM. As such, they were never really envisioned as a mass transit option for the Strip as a whole.

The Las Vegas Monorail actually goes further north than the Convention Center, making it all the way up to the Sahara hotel/casino. And actually, I believe an original concept for the monorail would have had it going right down Las Vegas Blvd. IIRC, it was actually the casinos that didn't want it in the middle of the Strip, concerned with elevated rail and stations detracting from the views of their properties.

Once there was finally a plan to run the monorail on the east side of the Strip, the system was built out according to plan, with provisions to accommodate both an extension to the airport and a northern extension towards Downtown. However, ridership has always been lower than projected and the Las Vegas Monorail Company (a private company that owned the monorail) has filed for bankruptcy at least twice, so the concept of such extensions has never really gotten off the ground due to lack of money to make it happen. Although it is safe to say the taxi lobby has always been vehemently opposed to a monorail extension to the airport whenever that particular concept was gaining traction.

More recently, the Las Vegas Monorail Company floated an idea to extend the monorail southwest towards Mandalay Bay and also add a station near the Sands Expo Center (which is also near where the MSG Sphere is being constructed). This would have had the effect of linking the three biggest convention centers in town, getting a monorail station constructed semi-close to Allegiant Stadium, and could have set the stage for extending the monorail along the west side of the Strip. However, since the LV Convention & Visitors Authority bought the monorail out of bankruptcy earlier this year, that idea has been a bit of a non-starter. The LVCVA purchasing the monorail also gains access to LVMC's mass transit non-complete clause, which has helped lay the foundation for The Boring Company to move forward with their plans for their Vegas Loop project.

[SeriesE]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

It's either this, or $50B to bury Las Vegas Boulevard underground. <shrugs>

They need to get on the ball with building a subterranean heavy rail system under the boulevard from the airport to downtown with several stops in between.

Las Vegas Boulevard is wide enough that underground rail is not necessary. Elevated trains can be built instead.

Not with those pedestrian overpasses.  Interestingly some of the casinos do have tram lines connecting them.

Those overpasses can be replaced by well designed station exits. Many stations offer a public (free) walkway that allows people to cross roads without paying.

[Max Rockatansky]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

It's either this, or $50B to bury Las Vegas Boulevard underground. <shrugs>

They need to get on the ball with building a subterranean heavy rail system under the boulevard from the airport to downtown with several stops in between.

Las Vegas Boulevard is wide enough that underground rail is not necessary. Elevated trains can be built instead.

Not with those pedestrian overpasses.  Interestingly some of the casinos do have tram lines connecting them.

Those overpasses can be replaced by well designed station exits. Many stations offer a public (free) walkway that allows people to cross roads without paying.

Considering how much money went into those overpasses they going anywhere any time soon.  If I recall correctly some of the overpasses are even maintained as part of the fragmented NV 604.

[DenverBrian]

I think you can thank the casinos on some of these points. Note that in some cases, especially as you move north, the casino was well established before the bridges came along. You either had older properties like Caesar's Palace where they were originally established well back from the Strip (making a direct casino entrance connection to the ped bridge impractical) or right abutting the Strip (meaning the bridge had to be shoehorned into the right of way however it could fit).

Well, that really depends on the "when". Most of the original casinos were originally well set back with parking in the front; the Sands was the rare exception as it built around a property near the front. But El Rancho Vegas, the Last Frontier, Desert Inn, Sahara, Thunderbird, Riviera and Royal Vegas were all back a bit, as was the Trop. But as things kept remodeling, most grew closer and closer to LV Blvd. Caesars was perhaps the notable exception from that era. Note that originally properties had a lot more empty space between them as well, so walking was a bit less practical.

You can still cross LVB on foot at most (if not all) signalized intersections where a bridge does not exist, which

There are just a few crosswalks left. I seem to recall one in front of Harrahs, and I think there's another over where the Riv. used to be. But there aren't many left.

There are several crosswalks in the Venetian and Mirage areas.

[roadfro]

Considering how much money went into those overpasses they going anywhere any time soon.  If I recall correctly some of the overpasses are even maintained as part of the fragmented NV 604.

The first overpasses at Tropicana were built by NDOT, back when that section of Tropicana was still SR 593 and much of Las Vegas Blvd was still SR 604. All other overpasses were built by Clark County or the individual resort properties.

The Tropicana overpasses being built and maintained by NDOT I believe is actually the reason why when much of the southern end of Las Vegas Blvd was turned over to Clark County in the late 1990s/early 2000s, NDOT kept a small section of SR 604 about 300 feet on either side of Tropicana Avenue on the books as SR 604 disjointed from rest of the route (which has since been truncated to north of downtown). NDOT recently wrapped up a roughly year-long project to refurbish the Tropicana overpasses, updating them to a more contemporary look (the originals were very utilitarian) and rehab the escalators. At the conclusion of this, they turned the overpasses over to the county, and the small portion of SR 604 near Tropicana no longer appears in the 2021 version of the NDOT State Maintained Highways book.

[mrsman]

It used to be fun to walk around Las Vegas Boulevard before all these pedestrian safety measures went in.  I understand why they are being built and they no doubt have improved the traffic flow of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Some of the overpasses aren't very convenient to use and making getting from one casino to the next take longer.

It's either this, or $50B to bury Las Vegas Boulevard underground. <shrugs>

They need to get on the ball with building a subterranean heavy rail system under the boulevard from the airport to downtown with several stops in between.

Las Vegas Boulevard is wide enough that underground rail is not necessary. Elevated trains can be built instead.

Not with those pedestrian overpasses.  Interestingly some of the casinos do have tram lines connecting them.

On the west side of the Strip, there's a few monorails that connect 2 or 3 casinos each, but no connectivity.

On the east side is a monorail from MGM up to the convention center. That was supposed to be a monorail all the way to the airport, but the taxi union, which is very powerful in Vegas, fought hard against that. It's location in the rear of the casinos limits its overall usage as people enjoy seeing the sights from the Strip.

Others on the thread have explained some of the history, but a monorail along LV Blvd would have been more successful than a monorail built on the backside of the casinos.  Obviouisly, good transit would extend to Downtown, the airport, service any future high speed train service and some suburban park and rides. 

An inital line would start at Blue Diamond / I-15 to be served by a big park and ride, then Warm Springs, Sunset, and then stops at all of the major resorts.  The line would then leave the strip on Sands to serve the Convention Center, but rejoin the strip north of Sahara to serve Downtown, with a last stop at Bonanza.  Future extensions could include a spur along Tropicana to serve the Airport and the line to the north of Bonanza could be split into two directions (northwest and northeast) to serve the suburbs in those direction.