Shadowing Practice: 15 Surprising Rules That Las Vegas Hotels Strictly Enforce - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Las Vegas has a reputation as Sin City, where anything goes. But did you know you can be asked to leave some areas of a Las Vegas hotel over an Advil? Or that taking a selfie can get you kicked out of a hotel casino?
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On today’s episode of The Infographics Show, we’re going to be counting down the most surprising rules Las Vegas hotels strictly enforce.
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Rule 15: You must be 21 years old to book a room on the Las Vegas Strip.
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Think you can soak in all of Vegas’ glitz and glamour, no matter your age?
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Not so fast. Most Las Vegas hotels enforce a strict policy: anyone under 21 is banned from bars and the casino floor. This is because 21 is the legal age to drink and gamble in the U.S. But here’s the kicker, most hotels won’t even let 20-year-olds book a room.
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And yet, these same hotels offer plenty of non-gambling entertainment options- world-class shows, fine dining, luxury shopping, and unforgettable concerts.
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Some hotels, like Circa and El Cortez, have gone further to declare themselves “adult-only” properties, meaning no one under 21 is even allowed to step foot on the premises.
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Maybe you took a trip with an older friend who booked a room… it doesn’t matter. You still won’t be allowed in a lot of the hotel’s spaces, like pool bars or clubs. And you certainly wouldn’t be allowed to hang around on the casino floor.
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If you’re under 18, things get even tougher. Most outsiders don’t realize this, but the entire Las Vegas metro area enforces a strict curfew for teenagers. In fact, even local teens with part-time jobs ending late need to carry special paperwork to avoid trouble on their way home. For all the glitz, glamour, and non-stop fun Vegas promises adults, it’s a different story for kids.
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If you’re an unaccompanied minor in Las Vegas, the rules are even stricter. On weekdays, you’re banned from being out between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. On Fridays and Saturdays, the curfew extends from midnight to 5 a.m. On the Las Vegas Strip itself, the restrictions are even tighter. Unaccompanied minors must be off the streets and out of public spaces by 9 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and public holidays.
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For those 21 and over who do book a room, be warned that… Rule 14: Las Vegas hotels check rooms at regular intervals.
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You might think putting up a “Do Not Disturb” sign during your Vegas stay will maintain your privacy… but that’s not the case. In fact, you probably won’t even find a “Do Not Disturb” sign at all, but we’ll get to that later.
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Most Vegas hotels state that employees must enter and check each guest’s room at standard intervals, ranging from 24 hours to three days, for safety and security reasons.
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Some journalists and other online sources believe this policy was tightened after the tragic events of 2017. A gunman stockpiled weapons and ammunition over three days in his Mandalay Bay hotel room before killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more at a music festival below.
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But the owner of Mandalay Bay told CBS that even before the tragedy, the hotel already made mandatory welfare checks on any room that had a “Do Not Disturb” sign for two days in a row.
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Hotels check guests’ rooms for both the hotel’s and visitors’ safety. Las Vegas didn’t earn the nickname Sin City for nothing. Many hotel guests stumble back to their rooms after a long night of drinking- or worse- impaired in ways that set the stage for bad, sometimes life-threatening, decisions.
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In 2022 alone, 344 visitors to the city died of accidents. Security has also found guests doing anything from overdosing to making meth.
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This has led to a small change in the signs guests can put on their doors. Instead of saying “do not disturb”, they now say “room occupied”. Caesars Entertainment explains they did it to “better communicate our company policy of accessing guest rooms for housekeeping, maintenance, room checks or any other appropriate purpose”. In other words, don’t expect any privacy.
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Speaking of reasons employees might check your hotel room… Rule 13: Las Vegas hotels ban in-room parties.
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No parties allowed? In Las Vegas?! Though people do get away with it sometimes, most Las Vegas hotels ban in-room parties. They claim it’s all about safety, minimizing property damage, and most importantly- keeping the peace for other guests. They also don’t want a bunch of non-paying strangers wandering around their hotel all night.
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But we suspect the rule also exists to keep you spending money in hotel bars and clubs.
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Guests have shared multiple stories of being kicked out of hotel room parties. One person on Reddit said the party doesn’t have to be especially rowdy or big for hotel security to break it up.
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“I have been escorted by security out of The Palms twice from parties. Neither of those are what I would call overly large or excessive, maybe 10 or 15 people tops.” According to one source who works at a Las Vegas hotel, if anyone with a local zip code books a hotel room, they will be extra alert to going-ons in their room. It seems some locals book suites for all-night ragers.
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If you really have to party, keep noise to a minimum and don’t invite a bunch of people - having your friends over that are also guests in the hotel is much less of an issue.
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But that’s not the only restriction for your Las Vegas hotel room… Rule 12: Hotels ban outside food and beverage, as well as coolers.
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If you’re planning to skip the pricey restaurants and eat in your room instead, think again. Security isn’t a fan of guests rolling in cartloads of supplies from Costco. Some hotels on the Strip don’t allow outside food and beverages. Las Vegas hotels are strict about banning any form of in-room cooking… and for good reason. Not only is it a serious fire hazard, but let’s face it, they’re not exactly confident their guests will be sober or sound of mind while attempting it.
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But like other rules, it keeps hotel guests spending all their money in the hotel’s bars and restaurants, or if you want an absolutely terrible deal for your money, the in-room mini bar! That way, you can get a can of Red Bull for only $12.
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In Las Vegas, the house always wins. So even if you do win in the casino, the hotel is set up to make you spend all your money in it anyway. But not for too long because… Rule 11: Hotel stays are limited to 7 or 14 nights.
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This has to do with the legal rights of the customer. As Nevada Legal Services puts it, “if you have resided in a motel for longer than 30 days OR you manifested an intent to remain for a longer continuous period, you are legally a tenant.” In this case, “manifesting” means booking for longer than 30 days, not visualizing your dream future in a double room at the Venetian.
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For that reason, most hotels in Nevada, and around the country, will make you check out after 28 or 29 days and stay off the property for at least 24 hours.
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But many Las Vegas hotels have ever shorter maximum lengths of stay. The Wynn and Bellagio, for example, don’t let you book a room for more than 14 nights in a row. At Caesars Palace, you have to call if you want to book a longer stay. The MGM Grand also limits stays to 14 days.
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Why? Well, part of the reason is so you don’t even get near the mark at which you turn into a resident. No one at Bellagio is in the mood to start eviction proceedings against a 22-year-old frat boy on a bender who won’t leave his bed.
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There’s another rumor floating around about why Las Vegas hotels encourage shorter stays. It’s not just about keeping rooms available for new guests- it’s about keeping you gambling. After a few days, guests are less likely to hit the casino floor, either because they’ve lost interest—or, more likely, they’ve run out of money.
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If you do want to stay long-term in or around the Las Vegas Strip - a life choice we urge you to strongly reconsider - find an extended stay property. After 30 days, they will have you sign a rental agreement.
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Rule 10: Hotels assume stained casino chairs have pee and must be cleaned with an extractor.
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To be fair, it could also be other types of human waste. Like feces. But according to several hotel employees on the Las Vegas Strip, the amount of human waste found on chairs in the casino is truly horrifying. When it comes to gambling in Vegas, time has no meaning. Gamblers locked in a hot streak will do anything to avoid leaving their seat, convinced their next spin or hand could be the big one. Some spend hours- sometimes entire nights- at the tables or slot machines, chasing dreams of a life-changing win. And for others? It’s not about winning it big anymore- it’s about clawing back enough to cover their mortgage All this is happening while they’re getting complimentary drinks, which results in… accidents.
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Sometimes they’re not even accidents. Yeah, you heard us. In any case, hotel employees may lie and tell you it’s just a spilled drink, but a cleaner will come in after with an extractor to remove the stain.
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When the jackpot calls louder than your bladder, it’s time to re-evaluate your life.
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Rule 9: Las Vegas hotels employ K-9 teams for security and…bedbugs.
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The next time you’re strolling through the lobby of the Wynn and spot a German shepherd sporting a stylish vest, think twice before reaching out for a pat. That pup isn’t your typical furry friend- it’s a highly trained member of the hotel’s elite K-9 security team, and the serious-looking handler beside it is all business.
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K-9 teams are trained to sniff out explosives and firearms. These dogs, usually German Shepherds, Belgian Malinoises, and Labradors, get extra training so they can work in the loud, crowded, and generally overstimulating environment of the casinos.
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In addition to Wynn, Caesars Palace, MGM, the Venetian, Resorts World, and a few other famous Strip hotels use canine detection teams. But in the last few years, they have also been trained to detect another serious threat to hotel guests… bedbugs.
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In addition to being unhealthy for guests, bedbugs result in both bad customer reviews and rooms having to be closed off for cleaning and pest control. Plus, a handful of bedbugs can quickly lead to the infestation of a whole hotel room floor. So dogs sniff them out and allow hotels to deal with the problem before it becomes a guest-annoying, money-losing nuisance.
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You can also come across casino security in other ways, most of which you don’t want, like… Rule 8: Don’t card count or try to game the system.
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Here’s a completely unsurprising fact- hotel casinos in Las Vegas like to make money. They make money because the house always has the advantage.
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Card counting and similar tricks give players the advantage instead.
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And the casinos aren’t really fans of that.
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If a dealer or nearby security guard thinks you’re counting cards, they’re going to keep a closer eye on you. If they become almost positive you’re card-counting, expect a very big, very stern gentleman to walk over to you and ask you to leave.
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Casino security staff is trained in card-counting techniques, and some casinos have software that detects if a player’s behavior indicates card-counting.
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You may think, “hey, I have my rights! Card counting isn’t illegal”! And you’d be right!
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But Las Vegas hotels don’t really care about your rights. They are a private property and business, and reserve the right to kick anyone off their premises at any time.
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There’s more bad news for you. High-end Las Vegas casinos use facial recognition software, and if you’ve been caught card-counting, your face is on there. And every hotel on the Strip has access to it.
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What if you were wrongly accused and not counting cards at all? Unfortunately, hotels file that under “your problem”, and never deal with it again.
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Rule 7: You must show ID to cash out large amounts.
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Guests who win over $10,000 and try to cash out will be asked for ID by the cashier. Some hotel casinos will ask for ID with even smaller amounts.
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While this might seem like an unfathomable fortune to most, for the filthy rich or the dangerously reckless, it’s pocket change. To them, it’s just a couple of roulette spins and a shrug when the wheel devours it all..
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Casinos, like all institutions that deal with money, are governed by the Bank Secrecy Act, or BSA. It’s a national law that makes every financial institution report cash transactions over the amount of $10,000.
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If you forgot your ID upstairs, you can always give a few chips to each of your friends and have each person cash out smaller amounts. It’s a good test for how much you trust your loved ones; but if they fail, you lose next month’s rent… and there is also the small matter of it being a structured transaction - which is a crime.
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Rule 6: Don’t use your cellphone at a casino table.
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Do you want to finally take a break from the endless notifications on your phone? Relax and disconnect without looking at your screen? Head to the nearest Las Vegas hotel poker table!
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Perhaps that’s not the meditative retreat you had in mind, but you probably won’t be able to use your phone at all as long as you’re sitting down and playing. Phones are banned to avoid cheating, as well as another surprising, common phone behavior you’ll find out about later.
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People use apps on their phones to card-count, and even text other players at a poker table to strategize. In Nevada, using an electronic device to help you play cards in a casino is a felony.
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Perhaps that’s why casinos have pretty thick walls and cell phones don’t get good reception on the casino floor anyway. If you have AT&T, you’ll barely notice a difference.
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So if you can’t use your smartphone as a phone, what else are you supposed to do with it anyway? Take pictures?
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If you want to be escorted out by the same angry, large security man from before, sure. Because..
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Rule 5: You can’t take photos or videos around the hotel casino floors.
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Some visitors think taking photos in casinos is illegal, but no- it’s just hotel policy. Most casinos ban photo and video-taking on and around the casino floor.
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First off, they want to protect their guests’ privacy. Even in the age of influencers, not everyone wants to appear in photos and videos without their consent. Some people don’t want others to know they are gambling, and don’t want to be shown on social media in a casino.
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And again…it all comes back to cheating. If you’re taking photos of gameplay around the casino, you could use that to figure out methods to beat the odds.
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The first major hotel brand to break with decades of casino tradition when it comes to photos and videos is MGM. Realizing that their younger customers want to take selfies and capture their Vegas memories for the world to see, MGM has made some allowances for that on its properties.
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Guests can take photos and short videos of only their own hands and gameplay at a table, but not of casino staff or other guests. But you can take a selfie within the hotel lobby itself, away from the casino floor.
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To stop guests from cheating, hotel casinos have one more weird rule you may never have thought of… Rule 4: Only English is allowed at table games at the casino.
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This mostly applies to poker tables, and isn’t as racist as it first sounds. If two players at the table know each other and start chatting in another language, they could be conspiring to manipulate the game- figuring out which hands to play to ensure one of them takes home the pot.
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For casinos, maintaining fairness is everything, and this rule helps keep the game above board.
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Usually, if you slip up and speak to your friend in another language once, the dealer will politely remind you of the rule. At Excalibur, one person said “a couple of non English speaking players were talking across the table and the dealer told them twice that it was English only. He told them that if it happened again they would have to leave.” So what happens if you’re visiting Las Vegas with your friends or family and no one speaks English? Then it’s a good idea to just not talk to each other during gameplay.
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If you wanna chat, sit one round out, or get up from the table for a bit.
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Away from the casino floor, Las Vegas hotels have plenty of surprising rules for other parts of their properties as well.
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Rule 3: No medication, eye drops, or other liquids at the pool.
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The pools at Las Vegas hotels should have a fun-loving, party-time, free-for-all kinda atmosphere. And they deliver! Unless you have eye drops in your purse. Or want to bring tanning spray with you. Or perfume. Then you can leave.
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Why so strict?! Vegas hotels don’t want liquids spilling in the pool and contaminating the water - more so than it already is from the 300 drunk guests that have waded in it. Though this mostly applies to alcohol, it applies to plenty of other liquids as well.
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Have a headache or hangover and want some Advil? Try again. Hotel pools have a zero tolerance policy against drugs, which includes most prescription and over-the-counter medications. These rules apply at Daylight, Marquee, Tao, Wet Republic, Elia, Liquid…basically most of the major Vegas party pools.
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But good news! Hotel pools usually will let you carry your EpiPen, inhaler, or diabetic kit, as long as you have a doctor’s note or prescription. So if you accidentally eat a nut and start reenacting a fight scene from an action movie with your own airways, you’re graciously permitted to save your life. How thoughtful of them.
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Rule 2: Do not open the windows.
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Many Las Vegas hotels ban guests from opening their room windows. Some even have signs in the room saying, “if you open the window, an alarm will sound”.
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Other hotels have gotten around this problem by building windows that can’t be opened in the first place. While still including smoking rooms and floors. Which we’re sure is great for ventilation.
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There was a longstanding rumor that might explain why Vegas hotels don’t have windows that could be opened. The story goes that for gamblers who’ve just blown their life savings at the craps table, an open window on the 30th floor might be too much of a temptation.
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While this may have some truth to it, there’s another, simpler reason… Vegas strip hotels are cheap.
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To be clear, we don’t mean on your wallet. That will suffer plenty during a Vegas stay.
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But at some point, hotels realized that having a bunch of open windows messed up the air-conditioning throughout the hotel, resulting in higher AC bills.
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While an inefficient AC may be annoying in your studio apartment, it’s extra annoying - and expensive - in a 30-story hotel with hundreds of rooms.
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Building windows that can open is also more expensive, as hinges and moving parts require more money and maintenance. Not to mention, when outside particles get in constantly, they wear out a room faster. This is especially true in the blazing desert environment of Las Vegas.
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The sad rumor about why open windows are banned leads us to the craziest, and perhaps most shocking, rule in Las Vegas hotels… Rule 1: They hide news about violent deaths.
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This is one of the saddest and most controversial unspoken rules of Las Vegas hotels. When people say “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”, we hoped it was referring to something more fun.
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Most of the city’s money comes from gambling and tourism, and hotels, as well as the city itself, want to keep their image fun and happy to keep the money coming.
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In 2022, about 1,900 visitors died in Las Vegas. While most of them died from natural causes, there were some unnatural deaths that happened on hotel property.
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Vegas locals have their own theories about how hotels handle certain...delicate situations.
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Some allege that when a guest passes away from natural causes, hotels quietly move the body to another location before calling it in. This is because, as the rumor goes, discovering a dead body triggers a mandatory two-week quarantine of the room- two weeks of lost revenue that no hotel is eager to endure. While these claims remain unverified, they add another layer to the mystique and secrets of Sin City’s bustling hotel industry.
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Either way, Las Vegas hotels try to make as little of a deal as possible about dead guests.
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Which Las Vegas hotel rule surprised you the most? Let us know in the comments below!
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Now go check out Crazy True Stories From Casino Security or click on this video.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “15 Surprising Rules That Las Vegas Hotels Strictly Enforce”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: hotel, Vegas, Las, casino, rule. This video has 100 sentences and 3570 words to shadow. The speech runs for 19:36. The speaker talks fast, about 182 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 78% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| casino noun | /kəˈsiːnəʊ/ | A public building or room for gambling. |
| gambling noun | /ˈɡæm.bl̩.ɪŋ/ | An activity characterized by a balance between winning and losing that is governed by skill and/or chance, usually with money wagered on the outcome. |
| bedbug noun | /ˈbɛdˌbʌɡ/ | A small nocturnal insect pest of humans, of species Cimex lectularius (common bedbug) and Cimex hemipterus (tropical bedbug) that feeds on the blood of humans… |
| disturb verb | /dɪˈstɜːb/ | to confuse a quiet, constant state or a calm, continuous flow, in particular: thoughts, actions or liquids. |
| rumor noun | /ˈɹumɚ/ | A statement or claim of questionable accuracy, from no known reliable source, usually spread by word of mouth. |
| visitor noun | /ˈvɪzɪtɚ/ | Someone who visits someone else; someone staying as a guest. |
| annoy verb | /əˈnoɪ̯/ | To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds. |
| poker noun | /ˈpoʊkɚ/ | A metal rod, generally of wrought iron, for adjusting the burning logs or coals in a fire; a firestick. |
| gameplay noun | /ˈɡeɪmˌpleɪ/ | The totality of player experiences during a game, such as the gaming environment and the competitive interaction with other players; often with reference to a… |
| cheat verb | /ˈt͡ʃiːt/ | To violate rules in order to gain, or attempt to gain, advantage from a situation. |
| dealer noun | /ˈdiːlə(ɹ)/ | One who deals in goods, especially automobiles; a middleman. |
| curfew noun | /ˈkɝ.fju/ | Any regulation requiring people to be off the streets and in their homes by a certain time. |
| extractor noun | /ɪkˈstɹæktɚ/ | A machine for clearing combs of honey. |
| gambler noun | One who plays at a game of chance, who gambles. | |
| glitz noun | /ɡlɪts/ | Garish, brilliant showiness. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| cash out verb | To reconcile at the end of a shift; to compare receipts of items sold to records of credit card, check and cash placed into the drawer, verifying that correct… |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. |
| come across verb | To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition. |
| count down verb | To announce the passage of time to a precisely timed expected event. |
| get around verb | To move to the other side of (something, such as an obstruction) by deviating from a direct course or following a curved path. |
| get away with verb | To get away, or escape, taking (something) with one. |
| mess up verb | To make a mess of; to untidy, disorder, soil, or muss. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- There’s more bad news for you.
- What if you were wrongly accused and not counting cards at all?
- Relax and disconnect without looking at your screen?
- Which we’re sure is great for ventilation.
- To be clear, we don’t mean on your wallet.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | If you have AT&T, you'll barely |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have gone · has also found · has led |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | can be asked · is banned · is even allowed |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 61 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, won't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: prescription /pɹəˈskɹɪp.ʃən/, restriction /ɹɪˈstɹɪkʃən/, shepherd /ˈʃɛpəɹd/, ammunition /ˌæmjuˈnɪʃən/, detection /dɪˈtɛk.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: mandatory /ˈmæn.dəˌtɔɹ.i/, ammunition /ˌæmjuˈnɪʃən/, importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/, medication /mɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like casino, gambling, bedbug.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.