The election has understandably been the center of all attention in Las Vegas, especially with Nevada playing a crucial role as a battleground state. While we all became obsessed with tracking vote totals from different counties in different states, however, we missed a less complicated equation transpiring on the Strip.

The number of reopened Vegas shows doubled on November 6. MGM Grand, Luxor and Excalibur brought back seven different productions that haven’t been staged for in-person audiences since mid-March. David Copperfield returned to his eponymous theater, as did the cast of Thunder From Down Under to theirs, but most of the other shows moved to different venues in order to meet state safety protocols. The dancers of Jabbawockeez relocated from their intimate showroom to the cavernous MGM Grand Garden Arena to accommodate socially distanced audiences of 250.

Shows like these, plus earlier reopenings like Absinthe at Caesars Palace, Piff the Magic Dragon at Flamingo and a few Strip comedy clubs, have been able to return to business due to a loosening of certain restrictions announced by Gov. Steve Sisolak on September 29. But the celebrated comeback of this brand of Vegas entertainment also seems to be a necessity in this increasingly uncertain period of the pandemic.

Las Vegas visitation rose to more than 1.7 million in September, up 10.9 percent from an approximate 1.5 million visitors in August. That number is expected to hold steady or possibly inch upward for October into early November before a deeper-than-usual dip for the holidays. Casino resorts needed to expand current amenities and offerings during the transition from summer pool season into fall and winter.

“Entertainment has always been that amenity that gets people to come to Las Vegas, and I think that still holds true,” says Chris Baldizan, senior vice president of entertainment at MGM Resorts. “For our company, putting up seven shows at [limited] capacity is about 5 percent of what our normal available ticket count would be pre-pandemic. So … it’s minute, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

Live entertainment is a visible, vital part of Southern Nevada’s tourism-based economic engine. Without large-scale conventions and business meetings or entertainment events at bigger venues on the docket until late spring 2021—at the earliest—it’s likely monthly visitation will stay below 2 million. The Strip might be in a holding pattern until the summer arrives, and that means these smaller shows and other current entertainment offerings will be tasked with keeping the Vegas spirit alive until the city can fully reemerge from COVID-19 conditions—as long as they can remain open. Sisolak’s November 10 press-conference plea for Nevadans to stay home as much as possible and avoid gatherings for two weeks, in order to combat spiking infection rates, is a strong indicator that tighter restrictions and closures could return at any time.

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At this point, many of you already know the new rules for going to a Vegas show: socially distanced seating plans, audience members and most performers wearing masks, an extra 25-foot separation between the stage and the audience and a maximum capacity of 250 people or 50% of the venue’s normal allotment, whichever is less.

When Absinthe reopened on October 28, there was one mild surprise during its first performance. While most of the action took place on a newly expanded stage 25 feet away from the closest cabaret table, a couple of acts performed on the Spiegeltent’s small central stage. A show spokesperson said Clark County officials gave Absinthe the approval for that, confirming what we’ve learned about the reopening process: It’s an ongoing dialogue between safety officials, casino venue managers and show producers, with everyone working together to find the best ways to provide a fun and safe experience.

“I’m really proud of our team’s efforts and the collaboration with governing authorities and show partners that really made it work,” says Jason Gastwirth, president of entertainment at Caesars Entertainment, which reopened the first handful of casino shows on the Strip. “Las Vegas is going to be a leader in bringing these things back, and we’re excited about further developments to come … because it’s an important milestone for our recovery.”

For more than seven months, entertainment execs like Gastwirth and Baldizan spent their days rescheduling, postponing and renegotiating canceled shows while planning and replanning around various scenarios that might allow entertainment events to return to their venues. Maintaining flexibility is a must, including the use of larger venues for smaller shows.

“It really comes down to our close relationships with our show partners. We’re constantly trying to think through [possibilities] like, if this were to happen, here’s how we might move forward,” Gastwirth says. “We’re hoping there will continue to be a natural progression and we’ll get back to full capacity and migrate back to our regular programming formats. … But it really is about planning around whatever we are allowed to do and doing it the best way possible, and there are a lot of hypotheticals there.”

Burlesque-style revue X Country became the first Strip casino show to return, October 22 at Harrah’s, with its cast of dancers wearing clear masks and keeping their distance onstage during a show that usually features closer interaction with audiences. Producer Angela Stabile says she’s hoping more restrictions will be relaxed soon, so she can reopen sister shows X Burlesque at the Flamingo and X Rocks at Bally’s, all under the Caesars banner.

“Someone had to do it, so we took the first steps, and now everything is going in the right direction. And I do feel that eventually everything will be back better than ever, there’s no question about that. It may [just] take some time,” she says. “Hopefully we can help show our governor it can be done safely, or as safely as any other thing out there.”

X Country was able to remain in its 340-seat Harrah’s Cabaret venue, while another long-running female revue, Fantasy at Luxor, reopened last week after relocating from the 350-seat Atrium Showroom to the 1,500-plus capacity Luxor Theater. Carrot Top made the same move with his comedy show at Luxor, and said before last week’s reopening that while he was comfortable with the established safety protocols for artists and audience members, he was anxious and uncertain about how his performance would carry in a much larger theater space.

“It’s a different beast altogether—a big room with people spread out throughout the thing—and that’s something I’ve never had to experience,” he said. “Comedy is so intimate. That’s the reason we have comedy clubs and rooms like mine. So this is going to be one of those things where I’ll get onstage that first night and experience what I’m going to experience and try to grow from it and each night, make it better.”

Tropicana has reopened perennial stand-up spot the Laugh Factory, and MGM Grand brought back Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club at a ballroom space near the arena. The Strat’s L.A. Comedy Club was one of the first casino entertainment rooms in general to reopen, on October 9, emblematic of the northern Strip resort’s philosophy to get back to normal Vegas fun as quickly as possible.

“The word is experience. That’s what we’ve been focused on since reopening,” Strat General Manager Stephen Thayer says. “There are so many things we have to do to make sure our employees and guests are safe, and anything we can do to bring that experience back is critical to the idea of people wanting to get back to Las Vegas. They want to experience what they remember.”

The Strat also reopened Michael Jackson tribute show MJ Live and recently added an extra Saturday-night show to its schedule, noteworthy since the other resorts on that end of the Strip—Sahara, Westgate, Circus Circus, Wynn, Treasure Island and Venetian—have reactivated minimal entertainment offerings thus far.

Back on the southern Strip, the Jabbawockeez show is one of the best examples of what’s happening in Vegas entertainment today, a truly unique production fighting through stress and anxiety and seizing an unexpected opportunity.

Phi Nguyen, one of the dance troupe’s original members dating back to before the show’s debut on the Strip 10 years ago, says his initial reaction to the move to MGM Grand Garden Arena was utter disbelief.

“It was like, what? The MGM what?” he says. “But we’re so thankful to be working with MGM for the last decade, and every opportunity they’ve presented to us has always just worked out. Ultimately, it’s humbling. …

“It’s been a rough year for the whole world,” Nguyen continues, “and now entertainment is slowly coming back and people are using it to escape their everyday trials and tribulations. If we can be one of the few [reopening shows] to set a new precedent during a time like this, we have to take the opportunity and run with it.”

The Jabbas are performing a modified version of their new Timeless show, using big-screen projection and the arena’s vast sound and technical capabilities to amp up their celebration of music and b-boy and hip-hop cultures. Their stage stands on the floor of the sectioned-off arena, with seating available in the stands.

“It gives us the space to have everybody socially distanced properly, and the stage is raised up. We decided to break it up into different pieces, so as the show goes on, you have different focal points,” says Kevin Brewer, another founding Jabbawockeez member. “We just have to finesse how we do crowd participation and create a new way to engage them. We’re used to breaking that fourth wall and bringing them into our world, and now we have to open it all up a little more and find a way to maintain that feeling.”

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If these mostly traditional Vegas production shows can maintain their quality of presentation and continue to keep cast, crew and audience members safe and comfortable, their efforts could serve as a bridge to the other side of the pandemic. But they’re not the only kind of entertainment finding ways forward during these uncertain times and under the pressure of restrictive circumstances.

Vegas nightlife is back. The venues have shifted operational methods (and in many cases, changed their names) to portray a lounge, rather than a club, experience. But at popular spots like Marquee at the Cosmopolitan, Tao at Venetian, Drai’s at the Cromwell and XS and Encore Beach Club at Wynn, DJs are spinning records, and guests are buying bottles and celebrating the night. They might not be dancing or mingling with strangers—essential club activities not permitted under the new rules—but this more relaxed experience has been consistently popular since some club venues began reopening over the summer.

“We’ve all realized that you can hang out with your six best friends in your living room and have a great time, so it’s not a stretch to get to the concept of sitting on a different couch or going to a great venue where you can drink and hear good music with that same group,” says Dustin Drai, vice president of entertainment at Drai’s Beachclub, Nightclub and After Hours.

He points out that without superstar headlining DJs and artists in the clubs, guests are more focused on enjoying the company of their own small groups and the brilliance of the venues themselves. “Vegas nightlife has come to be mostly about who’s playing and not where they are playing,” Drai says. “I hope when things go back to normal, it will be a combination of both.”

Some club venues, including Tao and the resurrected Intrigue at Wynn, have shifted weekend daytime programming to become a sort of fabulously upscale sports bar, offering big-screen watch parties with refined food and drink options. That’s another aspect of Vegas entertainment that continues to thrive despite the pandemic: sports.

The newly opened Circa casino resort in Downtown Las Vegas might just be the first Vegas resort built around watching and betting on sports contests. Its oversized sportsbook, rooftop Stadium Swim facility and 165-foot casino Mega Bar have been packed with masked attendees during football days, and so have most of the sports bars and screen-laden casual restaurants along the Strip. And it’s understandable: The majority of Vegas visitors are from drive-in markets, and they’re not looking to spend a lot on luxury experiences like fine dining restaurants or shopping at upscale stores.

Even if you can’t yet attend a boxing or UFC event, a Raiders game at Allegiant Stadium or a Golden Knights game at T-Mobile Arena, Vegas remains a sports-oriented destination.

“We continue to work with different partners to constantly create those types of experiences and that atmosphere,” Baldizan says. “You can’t replicate being at a game, but you also can’t replicate watching a game in an atmosphere that can only be created in Las Vegas. We have really big plans to program Mandalay Bay and Luxor around the Raiders, since they’re playing right across the way, and we do have more time to get that right. But every weekend in Vegas is a good sports weekend.”

Add all of these offerings to a broad assortment of live music taking place in natural lounge venues, bars and restaurants—including innovative hybrid venues like the Cosmopolitan’s Rose.Rabbit.Lie. and Bellagio’s Mayfair Supper Club—and the Strip right now is unquestionably vibrant. It’s not what it was or what it wants to be again, but it should get there provided hospitality industry leaders stay locked on their thoughtful and strategic path, and that staff and guests continue to embrace a safety-first mentality.

“That’s the mindset we all have to have right now,” Baldizan says. “All we can do is put our best foot forward, follow all the protocols and do the best we can to make sure our venues are safety first, which they always were, even pre-pandemic. We keep saying this is the new normal, and it is, but the biggest part of that is having the ability to be flexible.”

Unfortunately, complete flexibility also means planning for another entertainment shutdown. It’s not expected, but with infection rates spiking in Las Vegas and so many other cities across the country, it’s a possibility that can’t be ignored. And it isn’t.

“It is tough. Every day is such an ebb and flow, a piece of good news or a step forward and then maybe three steps back,” Baldizan says. “That can be demoralizing, but we just try to focus on being positive and looking for bright spots [while] keeping our eye on the ball and communicating about all those things, so we can be ready to face those circumstances.”

Prior to Sisolak’s November 10 press conference, during which the governor illustrated that Nevada is at a “very crucial point right now” in its fight against the virus, he had said the state was aiming to increase capacities for conventions in January, shooting for a 50% occupancy in the many event spaces in Las Vegas. If the community can get the virus in line and accomplish that goal, it stands to reason that entertainment events can continue to grow, too. That 2,000 fans were able to attend UNLV’s first football game at Allegiant Stadium on Nevada Day was another key step in that direction.

“We remain very bullish on how successful entertainment will continue to be in Las Vegas, because people have expressed to us from all over the world how much they’ve missed it,” Gastwirth says. “We’ve seen that in how we’ve relaunched shows and in putting tickets for the new Usher residency [next year at the Colosseum] on sale, and those things give us confidence.

“Entertainment is still the No. 1 reason people visit Las Vegas,” Gastwirth continues, “and as we’ve been able to reintroduce these shows, that should spearhead more visitation. Meetings and conventions are an important part of that, and the real hope is that larger gatherings overall will continue to grow the economy and put more people back to work. It’s all of these different things that worked together when times were easier, and these elements are crucial to getting things accelerated now.”