Vegas News April 11, 2021

I See The Light

I see the light! The end of the coronavirus may not be here yet, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel in Las Vegas. (Also, Vegas is busy!) My monthly visit to Cosmopolitan was fun as usual. Unfortunately, I’ll be surprised if the offers keep rolling in despite my gambling losses and spend on dining and booze. 

Every month the Cosmopolitan has been busier. This month was the first time it felt like a pre-2020 visit. Every day there were two lines of approximately 100 people at Eggslut. District Donuts had huge lines for the first time. There were even lines to get into the Block 16 Food Hall. 

Related: David Chang’s Bang Bar was everything I expected. Some friends and I tried almost everything on the menu. My only complaint was too many onions. I returned for an order without and it was fantastic!

Vegas is back! All the damn slow walkers are out clogging up these streets. ☠️ pic.twitter.com/NGPYoqMgtO

— Marc (@MeltzVegas) April 6, 2021

Busy – Vegas

The casino was busy and so was the Vegas Strip. There weren’t just a few people walking. This was the return of the slow-moving crowd that so many people like me who have visited Las Vegas (or live here) for years hate. 

The Government and Nevada gaming will make decisions on changing the capacity restrictions soon. I visited a few properties and spoke with a variety of people about this. Many seem to think the May 1 changes will be to increase capacity and include the removal of the mask mandate. 

At this point I don’t think keeping the mandate will hurt anyone. So many people visiting Las Vegas are drinking or smoking and seemingly don’t bother with a mask. Others seem fine wearing a mask. Those who don’t like wearing a mask just carry a water bottle with them to make it look as though they’re drinking.

Thoughts – Future of Las Vegas

Tom Reeg from Caesars and Bill Hornbuckle shared their thoughts on the future of Las Vegas with CNBC (Videos: Reeg and Hornbuckle) this week. Both companies are expecting larger crowds and conventions to return. Hornbuckle expects to see people in attendance at Allegiant Field by July for Garth Brooks.

The future looks bright but it’s not here just yet. The casino experience is still different with limited capacity, dividers at the tables and a mask mandate. While guests seem to be able to deal with the mandates the capacity limits have to change. There are lines everywhere for just about everything. The scene at the Mandalay Bay pool complex this week is only going to get worse as more people feel comfortable around others and visitation increases.

Thoughts – Future of Las Vegas via @VitalVegas

TravelZork (baccarat_guy) was in Vegas this week, and we decided to do things a bit differently. On this trip, we did a YouTube road trip series from Palm Springs to Las Vegas. In the four-part series, we had a daily update with commentary between Michael and Steve (@LasVegasUK) and many “Vegasy” video and pictorial updates.

In episode 2, April 5th “Bungalows + Vegas Predictions w/ Vital Vegas” Scott of Vital Vegas shares some insights on his thoughts about the future of Las Vegas. This includes post-rebound and then in the following years. You will want to catch this insightful dialogue, along with Meltz Vegas.

All signals point to a more traditional Las Vegas experience in the near future. Expect to hear more soon. Let’s get to the Vegas news of the week!

Las Vegas Quick Hits

Las Vegas Quick Hits

You’ll probably notice that a lot of the news can tie into the lead story for the week. Let’s kick it with some disco Tesla jams!

• The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority finally revealed its convention center expansion. Cool deal but an empty building is not exactly interesting. What was interesting was the preview of the new transportation system built by Elon Musk’s Boring Company. You can read about it here. Watch a video of the Tesla Loop ride below.

• The plan submitted by the Electic Daisy Carnival (EDC) to hold the music festival wasn’t approved. The event planner doesn’t care and the festival will take place in May anyway! Read more here.
• Let’s stick to EDM for a minute. Zedd was officially announced as the first resident DJ for the clubs at Resorts World Las Vegas. Read more here.  
• Rumors persist that Tiesto will be joining Zedd. Read more here. 
• The rumor that Zedd’s dead is not true.
• Karaoke is back baby! Read more here.
• Wynn has a golf promo that looks like a solid deal. Read more here.
• Bill Burr has two shows at the Cosmopolitan in July. Read more here.
• There was a rumor that the CONCACAF Gold Cup final would be played in Las Vegas. While this hasn’t been officially announced, it appears as though that might be the case.
• Speaking of soccer, Lights FC just announced their schedule for the new season. Games take place in downtown Las Vegas if you’d like to check it out. Read more here.
• There’s a Magic Mike reality show coming to HBO. The timing of the TV show will coincide with the Magic Mike Live returning to Las Vegas at SAHARA Las Vegas. Read more here.
• SAHARA Las Vegas also announced a new restaurant and pool. Read more here.
• It looks like the Psycho music festival will take place in August at Mandalay Bay. Read more here.
• Wynn Las Vegas is making employees get vaccinated or show proof they test negative for coronavirus. Read more here.
• Last week we mentioned that Station Casinos is vaccinating its staff. They’re also offering leftover doses to guests via social media. The company is going property to property and will share details if there are leftovers at specific locations. Here’s a pic of the opportunity at Red Rock Casino last week.
• Atomic Saloon returns to The Venetian in May. Read more here. 
• Golden Entertainment (PT’s and The Strat) offered vaccines to its employees this week. The company is also incentivizing employees to get vaccinated. Read more here. 
• Shows at the Comedy Cellar inside RIO All-Suite Las Vegas Hotel and Casino return next week. Read more here.
• MGM Resorts has a plan for meetings and conferences to return. Read more here.

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