Las Vegas nearly ground to a halt during the pandemic. Casinos and restaurants are set to return to full capacity Tuesday, but many hospitality workers wonder whether they'll ever make up their losses.
He wore a silk shirt and kept a slight scent of cologne about him. He liked to talk. There was always someone to talk to, like the production assistant from Los Angeles who blew $1,200 on video poker. They all brought their stories to the 40-foot marble bar at the Rio hotel, and later to a less glamorous joint a few miles from the Strip.
But they’ll be coming soon — at least that’s what elected officials hope: the gamblers, suckers and all the rest, driving across the desert from California or landing at McCarran International Airport with connections from London and Beijing. The Las Vegas Strip’s allure is the promise of escape into a nonstop party, an all-hours pulse shaped by capitalistic excess and the vagaries of chance.
The city made headlines in April 2020 when Goodman’s wife, current Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, called for casinos and other nonessential businesses to reopen,Now, after a year of shutdowns and reopenings, the city is betting on revival. But not everywhere will reopen: Caesars Entertainment recently announced it was closing several smaller entertainment venues and shows.
Las Vegas has more than 50 standalone chapels, which in 2018 generated $2 billion for the local economy. Last year, most had to close in March and April when Clark County suspended issuing marriage licenses. After being laid off from her longtime casino job last year, Yaneth Chavez eventually found inconsistent on-call work at Allegiant Stadium, but it’s far from enough.