Caesars, like other Vegas resort operators, begins saying goodbye to single-use plastic straws
Caesars Entertainment is the most recent Vegas resort operator to announce it will reduce plastic waste by weaning guests off plastic straws.
Caesars’ Vegas properties include Paris Las Vegas, Bally’s, Caesars Palace and Harrah’s.
Competitor MGM Resorts, whose properties include Bellagio, Excalibur, Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand, launched a similar program during the summer.
Between them, the two companies operate 22 hotel-casinos in Las Vegas.
Soft drinks and cocktails at Caesars properties have not been served with straws since July, when the company implemented an “upon-request-only” policy.
Employees are still supplying straws only when “it is necessary as a tool to consume” beverages such as frozen drinks and boba teas, Ryan Voss, the company’s president of corporate beverage, said in an email.
Caesars is still in the process of implementing sustainable alternatives such as paper straws, Voss said.
MGM Resorts began removing plastic straws and stirrers from its bars, casinos and restaurants in May. The company eventually hopes to reduce its use of plastic straws by 250,000 a day, which adds up to more than 90 million a year, a news release said.
As at Caesars, MGM will still provide straws when requested.
Both companies are experimenting with reusable straws. Caesars is trying metal ones in some drinks; MGM has introduced some made of glass, which are washed and then reused, just like beverage glasses.
“We’re also confident we will see edible straws in our sustainable option list in the near future,” Caesars’ Voss said.
The Venetian and Palazzo also have begun the transition away from plastic straws, as have Wynn and Encore.
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