In case you missed the announcement, ZorkFest 2025 is taking place December 5-7, 2025, at M Resort. This is TravelZork’s annual conference to discuss travel and casino loyalty. The event offers expert-led sessions focused on maximizing travel rewards (miles and points) and casino comps.
The dates are more important than usual this year, and reserving flights and rooms ASAP might be more financially prudent than waiting. Prices could change so much that it probably makes sense to book transportation and lodging before getting TravelZork tickets. (Don’t tell anyone I said that.
ZorkFest has a block of rooms available at a lower rate than the M Resort website if you want to hold a room.
In real time, May 8 ~ 9 am, the ZorkFest room rate is under $200 per night. The calendar on the M Resort website has rates for the weekend between $198 and $304 per night.
Here’s why room rates and flights will likely be more expensive than the average trip to Las Vegas.
For starters, the rodeo (NFR) is taking place Dec. 4-13. The annual event sells out almost every night and brings nearly 200,000 people to Las Vegas; as such, room rates and flights are already more than the average weekend.
Nearby South Point is the home base for many cowboys and cowgirls visiting for the NFR. M Resort is close enough to be an overflow property for those visiting to see the rodeo.
Second, the NFL will announce its schedule early next week on May 14. If the Raiders have a home game on Dec. 7, room and hotel prices might increase again.
M Resort is the official home hotel for the Las Vegas Raiders. If the Raiders play a home game on Dec. 7, the team will occupy three floors of the M Resort hotel on Dec. 6. NFL bylaws say home teams cannot sleep at home the night before a game.
Since so many visitors are in Las Vegas for the rodeo, there will be country music concerts in just about every venue. These shows won’t change room rates since the attendees are either locals or visitors in town for the rodeo, but they could impact restaurant availability.
There’s no fee to cancel M Resort rooms if done before 24 hours of a reservation. Otherwise, there’s a $10 fee.
Bottom line: Reserve hotel rooms ASAP to avoid even higher prices. Book through TravelZork’s room rate here.
Quick Earnings Roundup
Instead of a full Vegas News roundup, we’ll just look at casino corporation earnings. Most of the information was the same from the handful of public casino operators. Wynn Resorts’ earnings call was very different. You can see the earnings press release here.
It was so different that the Wynn Fanboy (™) and Movestro covered it on the podcast this week.
Every other Las Vegas casino operator seemed nonplussed about the economy and tariffs. They’re all taking a wait-and-see approach and will adjust as needed.
This is impacting Wynn’s plans, and the company is pausing all major capital spending, including the Encore tower renovations. It’s interesting to note that this was approximately ¾ of the overall budget for the year.
The pause is only on major projects. Pisces is opening this weekend, while Zero Bond and Golf Course Clubhouse & Grill will open later this year. There’s also a refresh coming for Wynn’s high-limit table games room. You can read more about the subject here.
Another thing that stood out from the group of publicly owned casino operators is how little Canadians matter to the bottom line. These visitors make up less than 5% of business, and none of the operators are concerned.
MGM Resorts: Read the press release here. I shared info about Aria and Cosmopolitan room renovations and a possible hotel rebrand earlier this week.
Caesars: Read the press release here. Much of this call talked about the economy and finances. Yawn.
Red Rock Resorts (Station Casinos): Read the press release here. The big takeaway here is that all systems are moving ahead. The Durango expansion should be done before the year is over, while Green Valley Ranch room renovations and Sunset Station’s casino floor upgrades are still moving forward.
Boyd Gaming: Read the press release here. The Suncoast casino floor renovations will hit high gear this summer. The Cadence Crossing neighborhood casino (no table games or hotel) is on target to open mid-2026. There are no plans to reopen or sell Eastside Cannery.
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Marc grew up on the mean streets of the South Bronx. He's the rare combination of Yankees and Jets fan which explains his often contrarian point of view. He learned about gambling at a young age working down the street from a bookie who took action on anything from the mainstream sports to the last three digits of the purse for certain horse races. Yeah, that's a thing. Today Marc is a freelance writer and social media consultant which allows him to work anywhere there's a wifi signal. This allows him to work from the sportsbook at Red Rock Resort or the food court at The Venetian where you’ll find fast and free wifi. Writing about steak, booze, gambling and Las Vegas is a tough job but somebody has to do it.
