The marquee sign at the Bellagio displays a message prior to the temporary closing Tuesday, March 17, 2020. MGM Resorts properties temporarily closed at midnight in an effort to stem the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19).
Sunday, May 3, 2020 | 2 a.m.
Angiest Granheim, a Los Angeles screenwriter, loves visiting Las Vegas, usually staying at the Bellagio and sometimes spending thousands of dollars over a weekend.
Since the coronavirus outbreak, however, Granheim and scores of other Southern Californians have been shut out of one of their favorite let-loose getaways.
To curb the spread of the virus, Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered casinos statewide closed starting March 17. While some other restrictions are being lifted, resorts will remain closed for at least two more weeks.
A worker sanitizes an escalator hand rail in the atrium area between the Palazzo and Venetian in Las Vegas,Tuesday, March 17, 2020.
When the casinos do reopen, how quickly Granheim and other tourists return figures to be key to the economic recovery in Southern Nevada.
“I go to Vegas all the time,” Granheim said. “My best friend lives there, and I love Las Vegas. But I think I’ll definitely wait until a few months after the reopen to visit.”
From Steve Hill, CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, to gaming executives like MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle, it seems to be understood that the regional drive-in crowd will be immensely important to Las Vegas’ recovery once properties open.
Just over half of visitors to Las Vegas in 2018 arrived by car from places like Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Denver, according to tourism officials. But Los Angeles, San Diego and their surrounding communities clearly represent the golden goose of the regional market.
About 19% of visitors to Las Vegas in 2018 — about 8 million of 42 million — came from Southern California, according to the most recent figures from the LVCVA.
“The locals market and the drive markets will be the first to come back,” Hill said during an April 14 board meeting. “From a marketing standpoint, we’ll focus on the areas that offer the most potential early on.”
A sign displayed table closed on the gambling floor at Treasure Island during the COVID-19 government mandated shutdown, Thursday, April 9, 2020.
Don Voss, vice president of hotel sales and marketing for Treasure Island, said it’s probably going to be “the bold and the brave and the younger and healthier that will be willing to initially make that trip.”
During an earnings call on Thursday, Hornbuckle said he also expected “a substantial amount of drive-in traffic, which typically spikes during the summer.”
“There’s obviously pent-up demand,” he said.
Los Angeles resident and part-time musician Wayne Moore, 54, said he was excited to get back to Las Vegas and wasn’t too concerned about the virus.
“If you’re going to get it, you’ll get it,” said Moore, who with his wife, Cindie, normally visits Las Vegas every couple months.
“You can’t let fear dictate your life,” said Moore, who usually stays downtown. “We’re looking forward to this thing being lifted so we can go back.”
Other Californians are taking a more conservative tack.
“My priority is my health,” said Lorenzo Maldonado, a 47-year-old Los Angeles resident and visitor to Las Vegas. “The entertainment can wait until we get absolute control about anybody getting contagious. I’d rather wait as long as necessary than go have fun and close a coffin forever.”
Kevin Robbins of Playa del Rey, Calif., said he’s not afraid to visit Las Vegas, but he’s worried the experience will be dramatically changed.
Some casinos have already announced reopening plans that include efforts such as limiting the number of players on slot machine banks and at table games, temperature checks for guests, and dealers wearing face masks and gloves.
MGM Resorts, which has 10 Strip properties, has canceled all live entertainment through June. And Hornbuckle said only a couple resorts, likely the Bellagio and New York-New York, would probably reopen initially.
Robbins, who visits Las Vegas once or twice a month and calls it his “home away from home,” said he wouldn’t be deterred by such measures.
“But I know a lot of other people who won’t be excited to go to Vegas and not have a bar or a club to go to,” he said.
“There will be so many restrictions, and people aren’t going to want to take a risk on getting quarantined for two weeks if, say, somebody at a hotel has the virus,” Robbins said.
Indeed, Granheim said that “Vegas with rules … it doesn’t seem like as much fun to me.”
“I know this is hurting the Las Vegas economy something terrible,” Granheim said. “Trust that we miss Las Vegas. I hope it gets back up and running where we can come back and feel safe and spend money.”
