Since 2004, the Las Vegas Monorail has provided transportation for visitors of Sin City, running from the MGM Grand to Sahara Avenue, a total of 3.9 miles. Since opening, the line has struggled and almost went under, but has been able to remain in operation over the years. Now, officials of Clark County would like to extend the nonprofit monorail to the Mandalay Bay Casino based on the record number of visitors to the city, coming in by plane and car.

The Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee is expected to recommend the light rail for state assistance after investigating the needs of tourism in Las Vegas. On the 3rd of May, the Clark County Commission gave their permission to the Las Vegas Monorail Company to take money from the rainy day fund and use it towards a proposed line extension. The rainy day fund consists of $6 million and could be applied towards extending the line to the Mandalay Bay Casino, which will cost around $100 million.

The Mandalay Bay Convention Center was recently expanded by MGM Resorts to have over 2 million square feet. The Las Vegas Monorail would like to increase their reach to this area as a major goal of the line is to be able to bring passengers to convention centers located on the Las Vegas Strip.

With the extension to the Mandalay Bay, the light rail would make the entire loop of the Strip. Several casinos are connected to the free tram including the Mandalay Bay, Excalibur and Luxor casinos. The Monte Carlo, Bellagio, Mirage and Treasure Island casinos are also connected. While not every casino is connected to the monorail service, such as Caesar’s Palace, the extension would generally complete the loop of the Strip, providing transportation to most venues.