Las Vegas has long been seen as the epicentre of the gambling world. Its bright lights and exciting shows make it a must see place to visit.
However, with the global pandemic causing varying levels of lockdown around the world, it has meant that Vegas has become almost a deadzone in recent times as people have been unable to enjoy as much as they are usually able to.
It’s not just Vegas being locked down that has caused these issues. It’s also due to travel restrictions. Flights into the USA have been cancelled which means that there are far fewer visitors to sin city this year. It has led to revenue being down and job security being at an all time low. So, what exactly has the pandemic and subsequent lockdown done to Las Vegas, and can it recover?
Travel Restrictions
There are actually no travel restrictions when it comes to Las Vegas at the moment. This means that domestic tourism doesn’t have any restrictions in place. It’s not quite as simple as no restrictions means that domestic tourism has remained untouched though. People don’t have as much disposable income due to job losses and on top of this they aren’t willing to take trips to other areas either. It has caused big issues in the region.
The travel restrictions from outside countries has meant that there has been another big fall in tourism. This means the overall revenue for the city is well below what it normally would be for this time of year. It could lead to big issues going forwards if there aren’t changes soon. It’s not all doom and gloom though. Las Vegas has still remained open to a degree and there are still options for travellers to have a great time when visiting.
What’s on?
One thing that travellers will be pleased to hear is that the casinos in Las Vegas are open and running. This means that anyone who wants to have a little flutter will have the opportunity to do so. It might seem like a slight issue that the casinos are operating at 50% capacity at the moment, but with the number of visitors down it means that you won’t have any issue when it comes to visiting the casino you want to play at. There will be plenty of space and a great choice of games still running for you to enjoy.
It’s important that the casinos have been able to reopen, even at a limited capacity. This is because Las Vegas actually saw a drop of 90% in terms of visitor numbers at the height of the lockdown. This obviously led to serious issues in regard to revenues and the safety of jobs within the casinos in the city. The reopening means that Vegas has been able to keep the lights on for a little longer and ensure that the jobs that keep the city’s economy running are safe.
Is it just Casinos or are Shows on too?
The shows in Vegas are still running to a degree. However, they’re not running to the same level as they were before the pandemic hit. There are far fewer shows with big name stars and they’re not quite as regular as they were before. This is due to two main reasons.
The first reason is because it’s just not as easy to get the people required to carry out the larger shows at the moment. With the bigger shows needed more people to run them as well as lots of different logistical problems arising, it means that unfortunately some shows just aren’t physically able to run at the moment.
The second reason is that the reduced number of people visiting Vegas has led to some of the bigger shows not being financially viable at the moment. With lots of costs associated with running the larger scale and bigger name shows, it means that some casinos have taken the decision not to offer them at the moment. Until the city is back up to 100% capacity, it’s unlikely that they will be run for a while yet.
This doesn’t mean that there are no shows on offer though, it just means that they are significantly reduced from the previous levels.
When will things be back to Normal?
It’s hard to say at the moment. The state of Nevada still has quite high levels of cases currently, so until it’s able to reduce the number of cases in the region, it’s not likely that Vegas will be able to fully open. It doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to enjoy a trip to Vegas currently, it just means that the full Vegas experience might not be back for a while yet. However, you may be able to get yourself a bargain due to the current situation which would mean you can visit Vegas when you might not have been able to previously.
