Is Vegas open for business by choice? Visitors welcome?

There's been a lot of weird vibes going on in the past week, and especially the past few days, and as a tourist-oriented town, Vegas sometimes has what I'd refer to as an "adversarial" relationship with visitors.  And certainly some visitors go out of their way to behave as .. entitled pricks.

I planned a road trip that has me in Vegas next week.  For the most part, I wont be around humans, and I'll be packing provisions in advance of departure.  But over the past few days, I've been getting mixed signals on whether I should stop in Vegas, whether for a hotel room for the night, restocking, entertainment, coffee, or just drive on.

People in my area working retail, in office environments, etc., would really prefer to have paid sick leave for the next 2-4 weeks, and wait for the storm to pass.  And for many businesses, where "work from home"/telecommute is an option, that's being exercised.

Vegas doesn't strike me as having a lot of "work from home" options.  I'm hearing reports that major hotels/casinos are paring back on staff, that part time workers are being told to stay home, etc.

I'm hopeful that there will be a certain amount of financial/economic relief from State and Federal funds.  But I'm sure it will be unevenly distributed, and coming later than is helpful, as always seems to be the case after any major disaster - Katrina and the long-term impact to New Orleans comes to mind.

So, my question to the forum, particularly to locals or to people with recent stories from locals, is .. are visitors welcome?  Is it going to be a resentful and begruding "I'm here because I have no choice, but I'd really rather you not be here", or "Thanks for using the hand sanitizer, and understanding this is a difficult time, we appreciate your business"?

From what you say, if you find "resentful and begruding" attitudes toward you, you could simply pack up and "just drive on", to the next planned stop. 

But I predict employees you encounter will be so glad to be working and happy to see customers keeping them working in any department. 

The other side is whether you might encounter staff (dealers, servers) who are really afraid and would rather not be working-- maybe have small children at home due to school closures, day-care closures, husbands laid off, bills due, and possibly being exposed themselves.  Give them a smile and appreciation anyway for being there.  They are as worried about these things as much as you are worried about somebody pissing you off on your trip.

There's a lot of sensibility and ration in what you say, Candy, and it aligns with my own optimistic hopes.

Social media tends to amplify the loudest - and most panicky - voices.  I'm hoping for the best, will update the thread with a trip report.  Welcoming of any comments or suggestions in the meantime.

I would go to Vegas and have a good time.  There may be some employees that don't want someone to be there, but you're providing them with income, either directly or indirectly.  Enjoy!

They will be VERY happy to see you! All you can do to try to protect your self from an infection.

You will see that squirt stuff all over the place. IF you ...TOUCH something,anything. Go wash. 

Get a squirt. Doors,chips,cards,luggage.          Visitation is way down,for good reasons. People are NUTZ!

We all die,sometime.

Yes,there some people wearing masks for YOUR safety.

I just got back and they are aware of the situation.

Be safe and have fun.   

I'll be in Vegas on Monday and plan to enjoy my trip.  It will be different this time due to all of the issues but I'll make the best of it along with all of the people working.

I will add.

Who knew when watching MIB that this quote would be everlasting and contribute to the toilet paper shortage.

“- Jay: Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.
- Kay: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it.”

Because Vegas has abused its casino workers for decades, many live from paycheck to paycheck, with no such thing as paid sick leave. Also, since so many make (a criminally) subminimum wage and depend on tips to survive, a slowdown mildly inconveniences the billion-dollar casino companies but absolutely crushes the people who work for them.

They also don't know if things will get far worse and have almost no social safety net (thanks to you-know-who). So bottom line, they'll be really glad to see you.

Hopefully things will get back towards normal in a few months. Ideally they will be happy to see the visitors that come, but it is understandable if some of the casino staff might be sour. Maybe there could be a way to get the employees in there that make the customers feel welcome and bring the others back when business warrants their return.

I think everything in Vegas will be closed soon restaurants, bars, shows, casino floors and at some point domestic flights will be grounded. 

Well, as things continue to evolve - eg MGM announcing closures - I'll continue to watch for messaging from the 'leadership' at the State, County and City levels, and the individual property consortiums.

For now, my trip is in place, and I'm booked at a CET property - assuming that remains.  From the Wynn's announcement and related news, I did see an estimate of occupancy rates being "in the teens", so I could imagine that changing, but that any property remaining open being happy to take me in.

There's definitely two prominent sides to this coin; one is the megacorp businesses that are evaluating low occupancy rates, potential top line revenue, gross margins, and risk / public image to being "proactive."  There's deinitely a move there to constricting; for the properties that do stay open, trying to drive occupancy (and employees) to those locations.

But as the vast majority of people working in Vegas casinos, be it on-strip or off-strip, are not Full Time Employees (FTE), they wont get the benefits of "continuing to be paid", sick leave, etc.  And from what I hear, even the part-time folks are not being clearly informed about their rights to unemployement income (EI).

All in all, I would expect next week is going to be the turning point in understanding where things are at.  I'm optimistic about my trip for now, but there's definitely a lot at play, just from the economic impact tied to the reactions.

Mostly, I'm concerned for and sympathetic to the folks on the ground, trying to support themselves and their families.  It's definitely going to be a mixed set of feelings, for me, and I'd imagine for them as well.