While people milled about the Strip, dancing and partying as they awaited the annual midnight fireworks show, more revelers gathered at the Fremont Street Experience, where they braved chilly temperatures and listened to bands under downtown's video canopy.
Road restrictions for the New Year’s Eve celebration started with Interstate 15 exit ramps closing at Tropicana Avenue and Flamingo and Spring Mountain roads in anticipation of tens of thousands of people making their way to the Strip to celebrate.
Officials estimated more than 300,000 people gathered for the celebration anchored by an 8-minute fireworks show, while thousands more convened in the downtown Las Vegas entertainment district to enjoy live music.
And for those who opted to head into 2019 indoors, Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Gwen Stefani and other stars helped them do so in proper form at different venues along the world-famous corridor.
New Year’s Eve was worth an estimated US$403.1 million to the city, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The agency responsible for promoting Las Vegas expected 318,000 people to travel to the city for the holiday and projected that 97 percent of the city’s more than 147,000 hotel rooms would be booked.
Source GMB / Las Vegas Sun / The Associated Press
