After 78 days out of business, Las Vegas’ casinos came back to life Thursday, welcoming back the gaming and tourism that serves as Nevada’s lifeblood. On March 18, the state’s 219 commercial casinos were ordered to shut their doors, bringing the gaming industry to a screeching halt. Since then, thousands of tourism industry jobs have been lost, leading Las Vegas to report the highest unemployment rate of any U.S. metropolitan area.
That all changed a minute after this midnight when the first casino doors reopened. Many more are opening during this Thursday, initiating Las Vegas’ hoped-for recovery. While experts predict the industry will take anywhere from 12 to 18 months to recover, the time could be shortened if the strong tourism demand seen so far continues.
Properties have been working hard to create as safe an environment as possible, leading Governor Steve Sisolak to proclaim, “I don’t think you’re going to find a safer place to visit than Las Vegas by June 4.”
Expect limits on the number of players at table games, thermal checks for patrons upon entering properties, plentiful sanitation stations and more. Some resorts are even offering touchless arrivals—curbside check-in for hotel guests, with doors that automatically open and lead to the rooms.
On May 29, Caesars Entertainment Corp. announced it would reopen Harrah’s Las Vegas on Friday, following Flamingo and Caesars Palace’s reopening today (Thursday). “Initial customer demand to visit the Las Vegas Strip has been much stronger than anticipated,” Caesars CEO Tony Rodio said in a statement.
MGM Resorts International — which is reopening Bellagio, MGM Grand and New York-New York today (Thursday) — already is planning a fourth reopening next week, with Excalibur set to welcome back guests on June 11.
Boyd Gaming Corp. spokesman David Strow commented that the 12 properties it has reopened in other states are doing “very well.”
A spokesperson for Station Casinos said the company, which is opening select properties this Thursday, said it has seen an “incredibly positive” response from both locals and California residents.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. spokesman Michael Weaver declined to comment on occupancy rates for Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, but said “demand is consistent with our current expectations.”
Nevada Resorts Association President Virginia Valentine said resort partners are optimistic about first-week bookings, and are relieved to see Las Vegas resorts coming back online after the monthslong stoppage.
“Some of the news indicates more rooms may be booked than originally thought,” Valentine said. “It is looking like we’ll have a very positive response to the reopening. Obviously, we want people to be safe when they come back, and we’ve been making preparations now for months to bring them back to a safe and exciting environment.”
Travel bookings to Las Vegas also have shown an increase since Governor Steve Sisolak last week gave the green light for resort properties to reopen today (Thursday). Flight and hotel searches for Las Vegas increased for the week of June 4-11 compared with the previous week, travel fare aggregator website Orbitz said.
Source: GMB / Las Vegas Weekly / Las Vegas Sun
