LAS VEGAS — Fifteen months after the pandemic transformed Las Vegas from flamboyant spectacle to ghost town, Sin City is back.
Tourists are streaming in again, gambling revenue has hit an all-time high, the Las Vegas Strip has its first new casino in a decade, and big concerts are starting at a gleaming new stadium. Plexiglass panels installed to separate gamblers at the poker and blackjack tables have largely been removed, the world-famous buffets are reopening, and nightclub dance floors are packed.
Vice President Kamala Harris was set to visit Saturday for what the White House is calling the “America’s Back Together” tour celebrating progress against the virus.
But that progress is threatened: Nevada last week saw the highest rate of new COVID-19 cases in the country, hospitalizations are on the rise again, and the highly contagious delta variant has become the most prevalent form of the virus in the state, adding urgency to the campaign to get more people vaccinated.
Still, in a place where the economy runs on crowds and uninhibited behavior, a return to pandemic-related restrictions and mask requirements seems to be off the table.
Inside the casinos, guests are not required to wear masks if they are fully vaccinated, but employees do not appear to be asking for proof.
“It seems like everything is opening back up, getting back to normal,” Teresa Lee, a 47-year-old tourist from Nashville, Tenn., said Thursday as she stood on the Strip, looking out over the fountains in front of the Bellagio casino.
Lee said she is vaccinated and felt safe in Las Vegas because she read about the casinos’ efforts to get their workers and families vaccinated.
Tyler Williams, a 22-year-old from Eugene, Ore., said it didn’t feel as if there was a pandemic anymore because “people are everywhere.” He said he had seen hardly anyone with a mask apart from a few foreign tourists and felt no need to wear one himself, because he is vaccinated.
Las Vegas fully reopened and lifted restrictions on most businesses June 1, though many casino-resorts had already returned to 100 percent capacity before that with approval from state regulators. Visitor numbers, while not at their pre-pandemic highs, have grown by double digits four months in a row.
Shows and fireworks are scheduled for the July 4 weekend, and the new 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium was set to host its first major concert Saturday, by electronic dance music star Illenium.
