LAS VEGAS - Guests lined up Friday afternoon to check into the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino for a busy summer weekend.
"It's always a great escape. You can't complain about Vegas ever," said tourist Rob McCarty.
The gridlock at check-in hardly compares with the anticipated traffic nightmare awaiting southern California drivers this weekend, when the notoriously-clogged 405 freeway comes to a grinding halt. Construction crews will close 10 miles of the freeway as part of a $1 billion widening project.
McCarty lives in southern California. He came to Las Vegas to avoid the mass hysteria known as "Carmageddon".
"It's just going to be insane," he said.
"Everybody's like freaking out, but it's just one freeway," added Las Vegas visitor and Huntington Beach, California resident Keetin Devine. "There are like ten other freeways around there."
Hard Rock Marketing Director Julie Cane says the casino devised a clever way to cash in on Carmageddon concerns.
"Our Carmageddon package is actually a savings of $405… The package is $525, and it includes a two-night stay at the Hard Rock (and) access to Vanity. You get a cabana at the pool over the weekend. We have a lot of things going on property this weekend," she said. "People are looking for just an excuse really to get out of LA, because what else are you going to do? You're pretty much stuck if you don't leave."
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority counts on California tourists, Carmageddon or not.
"Southern California accounts for more than a quarter of our visitors every year. It's a very important market for us. As far as the drive-in market, it's huge as well. Ninety percent of the folks who come from southern California drive," said LVCVA spokesman Jeremy Handel.
Guests relaxing at the Hard Rock Hotel pool are far away from the apocalyptic warnings about the 405 traffic trouble. Thanks to Carmageddon, they have an extra $405 to spend.
"You can spend the $405 savings any way you want, but I would suggest gambling and some cocktails," Cane said.
Hard Rock representatives say the response to the Carmageddon package has been overwhelming. The resort expects to be jam-packed this weekend.
