The Cheeto Index is a Neon Gutter Public Service (NGPS) in response to the price gouging epidemic throughout the Vegas Valley. The purpose is to use hard science and Cheetos to inform you, the Las Vegas visitor, of which casinos are fair, and which are shameful, greedy pigs out to rip you off at every turn.
We used the price of Cheetos at each property to determine which hotel/casinos will happily rip you off, and which provide a square deal. After all, if they’ll screw you on snacks in the gift shop, what won’t they screw you on?
The Results
| SHAMELESS SCAMS – higher than airport pricing Based on the Cheeto Index, these properties have no interest in fairness. They want to suck you dry, to grind you down. They don’t care how pissed you are as you walk away from the cash register, or how much their employees get yelled at. Not as long as they squeezed a couple more bucks out of you. | – Rio – D Hotel – Circa – Sahara – Harrah’s – Paris – Caesars – Flamingo – Encore – Wynn |
| GOUGERS – near airport pricing These properties think they’re freakin’ airports and that you’re stuck there for three hours because of a storm on the east coast. They’re gonna overcharge you. | – Bellagio – Cosmopolitam – Aria – Golden Nugget – Park MGM |
| NOT UNREASONABLE, BUT NOT ON YOUR SIDE – more than a drugstore, less than an airport These properties are not quite gouging, but set their price higher than a reasonable profit. They’re just trying to make a buck off convenience, or because they charged just enough more that you won’t complain (we sure will). | – Resorts World – Fontainebleau – Venetian – MGM – Plaza – New York New York – Tuscany – Luxor – Downtown Grand – Palms – Circus Circus – Fremont – California / Main Street Station |
| DOWNRIGHT FAIR – cheaper than a drugstore These properties care about us, and their prices keep customers happy and their employees from being screamed at. Kudos to them! | – El Cortez – Binion’s – Four Queens |
The Data (abbreviated)
| Location | Cheetos Price / Size | Gouge Factor (How much more expensive than a drugstore is it) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rio | $6.99 / 2.75 oz. | 172% | Good lord |
| D Hotel | $6.50 / 2.75 oz. | 153% | |
| Circa | $6.49 / 2.75 oz | 152% | |
| Sahara | $6.49 / 2.75 oz. | 152% | |
| Harrah’s | $6.00 / 2.75 oz. | 133% | |
| Paris | $5.95 / 2.75 oz. | 131% | |
| Caesars | $5.95 / 2.75 oz. | 131% | |
| Flamingo | $5.95 / 2.75 oz. | 131% | |
| Encore / Wynn | $4.00 / 2.13 oz. | 101% | |
| Airport | $4.79 / 2.75 oz. | 86% | Gouge baseline |
| Bellagio | $4.49 / 2.75 oz. | 75% | |
| Cosmopolitan | $4.49 / 2.75 oz. | 75% | |
| Aria | $4.49 / 2.75 oz. | 75% | |
| Golden Nugget | $4.25 / 2.75 oz. | 65% | |
| Park MGM | $4.19 / 2.75 oz. | 63% | |
| Resorts World | $4.00 / 2.75 oz. | 55% | |
| Fontainebleau | $4.00 / 2.75 oz. | 55% | |
| Venetian | $4.00 / 2.75 oz. | 55% | |
| MGM | $4.00 / 2.75 oz. | 55% | |
| Plaza | $3.99 / 2.75 oz. | 55% | |
| New York New York | $3.99 / 2.75 oz. | 55% | |
| Tuscany | $3.99 / 2.75 oz. | 55% | |
| Luxor | $3.99 / 2.75 oz. | 55% | |
| Downtown Grand | $2.75 / 2.00 oz | 47% | Vending machine |
| Palms | $3.75 / 2.75 oz. | 46% | |
| Circus Circus | $3.59 / 2.75 oz. | 40% | |
| Fremont | $3.50 / 2.75 oz. | 36% | |
| California/Main Street | $3.50 / 2.75 oz. | 36% | |
| ABC Stores / CVS / Walgreens | $2.69 / 2.875 oz. | — | Fair price baseline |
| El Cortez | $2.49 / 2.75 oz. | -3% | |
| Binion’s | $2.49 / 2.75 oz. | -3% | |
| Four Queens | $2.25 / 2.75 oz. | -13% |
Assumptions:
1. A property’s overall greed can be extrapolated from its willingness to screw you on the price a bag of chips.
2. Drugstore pricing (Walgreens, CVS, ABC Stores) is reasonable for snacks, and yields a fair profit.
3. Airport pricing (Harry Reid International) is gouging. It is unreasonably expensive, and yields excessive profit by exploiting the fact that you’re trapped and have limited options.
4. In 80% of hotels we had to ask for prices because they do not display them. We assume the employees were correct in the prices given. This may account for minor discrepancies in prices across MGM and Caesars properties.
5. Cheetos are something people actually buy.
Takeaways:
1. Downtown is mostly less likely to treat you like an ATM than the Strip. Maybe because it is easier to walk next door and shop for a better price.
2. Caesars properties, such as Harrah’s, Caesars, Paris, and Flamingo can get bent. Their other resorts are likely similarly scammy. They’ve got pointy-headed accountants figuring out every angle to suck you dry at the tables, in surcharges, fees, and their gift shops. You are a profit center to them, not a human, and they need their quarterly earnings report to hit its numbers more than for you to have a fair deal.
3. Pricing is not directly correlated to hotel quality. Places like the D and Rio are far from luxurious, yet are more than willing to screw you. Meanwhile, Fontainebleau and Venetian are swank as hell, but aren’t quite a ripoff.
4. The Rio should be ashamed of itself. It’s been working hard to position itself as an affordable option, and then it goes and gouges people like this. Value is not what guests will remember about the Rio when they pull crap like this.
5. Likewise, the D, Circa, and Sahara can go pound sand when it comes to gouging.
Are You Outraged?
You should be. $6 or $7 for a freakin’ bag of chips? I can buy at least three hot dogs and a beer for that! Where else are these joints ripping you off? When does it stop?
What You Can Do:
Say no. Don’t pay stupid prices. It doesn’t matter that you’re on vacation. And the more tourists say no, the less likely Caesars, Rio, and Derek Stevens’ hotels (Circa, D) will think they can get away with this crap.
Methodology:
1. Data was collected during one week in March 2026. We physically visited each place. For hotel/casinos, we visited the gift shop. It should be noted that in over 80% of locations, the shops list no price, and we had to ask the cashier. This is in part because those shops figure you’re more likely to overpay if you already have the Cheetos in hand, are already thinking about sticking them in your mouth, and would be embarrassed to ask or decide not to buy them.
2. Drug store and convenience store (ABC, Walgreens, CVS) pricing ($2.69 for 2.875 oz.) is used as the fair price baseline.
3. Harry Reid International Airport pricing ($4.79 for 2.75 oz.) is used as the gouge baseline.
4. While 2.75 ounces was the most common Cheeto bag size available, this was not universal. Therefore, the per ounce price of each property’s individual-sized Cheeto bag was used.
F.A.Q.
What if a shop overcharges for Cheetos, but their other prices are reasonable?
Oh, come on. You think a place that screws you for a bag of chips is suddenly going to be your buddy when you need aspirin, want something from the minibar, only want two zeros at roulette, or request late checkout?
Why Cheetos?
1. Because they are funny. 2. Because they are a ubiquitous commodity that does not vary in quality or brand across all surveyed locations. For example, it is difficult to compare the price of a bottle of water because the brand and size vary from store to store. Is Evian worth a premium over Fiji? Cheetos are always Cheetos, for better or worse.
Will you update this?
Yes! We welcome additional. reliable information from you, (especially on places we haven’t priced yet) and will continue collecting data ourselves. Periodically, we will switch to other funny-named products (maybe Skittles? Funyuns?) so that hotels can’t game the system by lowering only the price of the study object.
Who is the most handsomest member of the Neon Gutter?
We are all well and truly handsome. It would be impossible to pick just one.
Why are you doing this?
Because we love you and want you to keep more money in your pocket to bet at the Sigma Derby or for cheap hot dogs and late night biscuits and gravy, or for Las Vegas’s Largest Martini at the Patty Powers Show.
Does Randy Shandis know you’re wasting his money on silly things like this?
Not unless you tell him.