I was glad to see that they had sorted the teething problems on my recent visit. The monorail had just opened on my last visit to Vegas and one of the wheels on one of the trains had fallen off within few days!
I had chosen to base myself at the cheaper Stratosphere because the monorail was available to whisk me to more glamorous locations on the Strip! With the brutal Vegas traffic, I don't really trust travelling up and the Strip in cars/buses as I've almost been late for various shows/appointments before due to the traffic.
The monorail was running well and efficiently on my recent visit - 6 minutes between trains. The trains were nicely air conditioned though not the stations. The stations were clean and felt safe but could be quite deserted at night times. There were enough ticket machines and there were ticket booths which were manned during the day.
I was lucky to catch the current $9 for a day ticket ($5 single journey) promotion which made it excellent value. Not sure I would have considered $15 for a day ticket great value.
The main issue with the monorail is the distance of some of the stations from the casinos. Some of the them also emerge from quite obscure parts of the casino.
It proved a good way for me stay at the northern end of the Strip and still access orther locations on the Strip.