How the Pandemic is Affecting Vegas

2020 will go down in history as the year that the world changed. Cities from all over the globe had to shut down most, if not all, of their public functions in the hopes of containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of the World, has not been impervious to the dramatic circumstances brought upon the world by the novel coronavirus. Las Vegas is changing, and big players all over the city promise travelers that the fun and good times that we have all come to expect from Sin City will still be available, albeit under different circumstances. The Las Vegas reinvention promises travelers the same experiences as before the pandemic, but without jeopardizing their health in the process.

The Same Impact As Everywhere Else

In Vegas, like in most other big cities across the continental United States, restaurants, bars, hotels, casinos, and thousands of other small and large businesses have been closed or operating at reduced capacity for several months. According to most estimates, throughout the fiscal year 2018 the hotel industry accounted for 37% of all state tax revenue, and of that percentage nearly half came from gaming establishments. Moreover, tourism generates close to 300,000 thousand jobs in Vegas. Hence the urgency that the economy opens up as soon as it is safe to do so. And while the state of Nevada is far from being the epicenter of this insidious disease, achieving this economic revival will be a challenging endeavor. Recently, state Governor Steve Sisolak ratified his intent to keep businesses considered "non-essential" in the state of Nevada closed, as a preventive measure to alleviate the effects of the pandemic. On the other hand, Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman is confident that if each establishment manages its own safety protocols against the virus, Las Vegas can soon return to a state that somewhat resembles normalcy.

Dice Are Flying Once More

Generally speaking, Las Vegas is open for business. On June 4th, at one minute past midnight, the casinos and hotels of the city opened their doors to droves of tourists. As the Mayor suggested, each establishment is taking substantial hygiene, sanitation, and biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Among the hotels and casinos that are back and running are the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Wynn, New York- New York, Cosmopolitan, Flamingo, Caesars Palace, TI, the Venetian, the Strat, Circus Circus, and the Sahara.