Only a year after the Las Vegas Strip was closed by Covid-19, its world-famous casino is back in a record summer thanks to a spectacular streak.
Last month, Nevada pocketed a record $ 1.36 billion from gamblers. Gamblers are flooded into a city called Lost Wage after being trapped in their homes for months without spending money.
“I didn’t expect this kind of number,” said Michael Lawton, senior analyst at Nevada Gaming Control.
“In Nevada, a billion-dollar game win is somehow great, and we’ve recorded a billion-dollar game win for the fifth straight month.”
July was “perfect, thanks to the presence of major events such as the Battle of Conor McGregor, the Garth Brooks concert at the new glittering Allegiant stadium, and the resurrection of musical residences such as Asher and Bruno Mars at the fashionable casino theater. It was like a storm. ..
The month also included five weekends, including July 4th, Independence Day.
But Hot Streak (and the bustling crowd of strips) is a new addition to the safety of stacking on slot machines and roulette tables, even if the Delta variant spreads and Nevada has to impose an indoor mask obligation. Shows confidence.
“People who come to Las Vegas don’t seem to be too worried,” said Berman, who works for the Strip, who asked him not to name him.
“They don’t seem to worry too much about getting sick, etc. If you’re paranoid about getting sick, I don’t think those people will travel-they’ll probably go home is.”
Casino workers told AFP that many of their customers came from the Midwest, Texas, and Florida.
“It’s definitely back to pre-pandemic levels,” said Shawn Jones, a brand new Resorts World Casino promoter who said the pool party last weekend was completely sold out.
“Maybe it’s a sickening energy … if you can’t do anything for a while, then there’s a big rush when they can get out.”
-“Girl’s Journey”-
Las Vegas became a ghost town in early 2020, and the casino was ordered to close for 78 days, hitting the tourism-dependent economy with great unemployment.
According to Lawton, capacity limits were in effect until June of this year, but by May they broke the long-standing gambling revenue record set before the global financial crisis that began in October 2007. ..
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Americans’ reluctance to travel abroad has benefited Las Vegas, and it seems that the number of domestic tourists has skyrocketed.
Karen Ussey, 50, a defense industry contractor in Michigan, said, “We were planning a girl’s trip. We originally planned to go to Greece in 2020, but this was postponed. It’s like a renewal. “
“For now, I’m not sure if it’s comfortable to go abroad.”
The total number of visitors in July reached 3.3 million, just 10% below the same month in 2019 before the pandemic, despite relatively few international trips.
The number of car arrivals from California exceeded pre-pandemic levels throughout the summer.
Lawton expects gambling numbers in August to be slightly lower than in July, but the gradual return of trade conventions that make up a huge slice of business in the middle of the week hopes for further growth. Offers.
In June, the World of Concrete attracted attention as the first major industry convention to return to Las Vegas. Events such as the CinemaCon CinemaCon, JCK Jewelery Show, and Cannabis Conference 2021 were held this week.
Although attendance was expected to be lower than the previous year, both events were completely abolished in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. In short, the return to Las Vegas represents progress.
Dean and Amanda Moodie, 37 and 35, who just arrived from Minnesota for a jewelry event, said they took an outdoor vacation across the United States during a pandemic, but their trip to Las Vegas was probably predominant. This is the first attempt to reach out to something indoors. .. “
“I mean I have masks and things,” said Dean Moody.
“I’m not too worried personally anyway, and we are both vaccinated.”
amz / hg / jm