Is Vegas open for business by choice? Visitors welcome?

Robert, Ceaser's is closing their live entertainment shows. I also think you are going to have a difficult time finding someplace to eat. 

Link

We will be anxious to hear from you, Robert, how it goes, the Vegas landscape in this scary time, etc.  Stay safe.   

I checked into Harrahs's last night about 8:45pm Diamond registration already closed.  Only one registration desk open. One of the clerks would show you how to check in using the kiosk and would then go to the desk to fix any issues.  My Southwest flight from Houston had 100 empty seats. You had a row to yourself. Did not look for dining options since it was so late caught the Duece and went straight downtown. Sparse crowd on Fremont St. with no entertainment. Not many dining options open that late. 

thebeachbum good info, take care of yourself, your neighboor in Smithville, Tx.

Trip Report, March 16-18

"Vegas is closed for business"

The morning after of St Pats revelry is still weighing on me, but wanted to share this while the memories are fresh.

Arriving on March 16 at LAS, I was struck by just how empty the airport was.  Not deserted, but definitely low volume.  There was ~40-50 taxis in the arrivals line, and while I waited for the rental car shuttle, seemed like about 1 passenger per 5 minutes.

Arriving on the strip, as others and the news has noted, it was "lighter" than usual, but far from empty.

The Strip casinos were uniform in having shut down every other gaming machine, and removed chairs for them, to increase distance between people.  Most tables were closed; some were open with no players, others had one or two players.

Casino employees were keeping a smile, and seemed genuinely happy to be working, but there was definitely some concern in the air, and the awareness that more and more things were shutting down.  When I asked for a suggestion of where to eat, the response was, in effect, "find somewhere that's open."  Employees were on par with guests for knowing which restaurants were open.

Off strip, Ellis Island felt about right for a slow Monday night, e.g. around Thanksgiving/Christmas.. For their banks of machines, all were operational - no "spacing" was applied.

Tuesday (St Pats) was busier on-strip, but very low attendance compared to years past.  Sat down at an empty "Bubble Craps" machine, and was quickly joined by a family that was visiting from Ireland, and shortly thereafter their friends - who had lost luggage on the flight.  They were in great spirits, and it was one of the first moments of that Vegas enthusiasm that really makes it a fun place.

Heading over to Fremont Street around 5pm, it was significantly busier, and the casinos felt "alive", though at least half the seats were empty.  At Four Queens, the machines were "spaced" but all seats were on the floor.  Guests were gemerally respectful of not rubbing shoulders.  (Side note, scored a "red capsule" St Pats special on a Silver Strike machine!)

On the evening news (~6:40pm), the bar turned on the volume on the TV airing Gov. Sisolak's address.  When he reached the point in his speech of stating NV casinos would be closing, there was a feeling of the air being let out of the room, particularly amongst the bartenders.  They tried to take it in stride, chatting with each other about making non-work plans for the next few days, and resumed pouring drinks, but it was definitely a punch to the gut.

Had dinner at the restaurant and most staff was upbeat and still smiling.  There were exceptions; a couple of people who simply weren't up to hiding their anxiety or fear about the coming weeks, particularly for their extenuating circumstances.

As news rolled thru, the casinos started making their decisions, and preparations, and by 9pm, were starting to circulate announcements on the floor that they would be closing at 11pm.  At El Cortez, they started shutting down the bar-top machines at the main bar at or before 8pm, as patrons left, to actively reduce the number of available "gaming seats."

At the 11pm call, they started shutting down games and informing guests they needed to stop playing, redeem their tickets at the machine or the cashier's cage, and leave.  It was relatively low attendance by then, and people moved to redeem and leave in an orderly fashion.

Back on-strip, the machines were all shutdown by midnight, and there was only a few people in the bars, where they were finishing their night.

All told, I'm very happy I did make the trip, and enjoyed my time.  Definitely a mixed emotion visit, but I did not encounter a single person who seemed unhappy that there were still visitors, and the reaction to the shutdown was consistent; people had no choice, but if they had, they wouldn't have seen it happen.

As the media has noted, this is the first time that Vegas has shut down for more than a day, and that's only happened twice before in recent history.  For the benefits and costs, or whether it was necessary, is not my place to judge.  But I will say that Vegas seemed to be responding well for the circumstances, and took the shutdown on the chin with more poise and pride than I'd have expected anyone to.

I wish the best to those impacted, and hope to see them recover in the months following our nationwide recovery from this crisis.

Enjoyed the report and the step by step of the closing. Interesting of the responses of everyone and how differently it effected everyone.

So very glad that your experience was positive, Robert.  Really appreciate the details of the closure.  I'm sure everyone of us at home was trying to 'imagine' how things would go, operation-wise.  Be proud that indeed you brightened some days for employees and fellow gamblers.  

I saved your report to my clippings folder of newspaper and magazine articles, emails, columns etc. worth preserving for future reference. This first person eyewitness account of the Day Vegas Shut-Down was well-observed and very well-written.

Years from now, when the subject of "Vegas and the Great Pandemic of 2020"  comes up you will be one of the very few who will be able to say, "I was there," and be able to talk about what it was really like.

Yes, indeed Las Vegas is a very great city for starting a new business, and this is very great because it allows small and medium-sized businesses to develop in this city. This year I am planning to open my own bakery in this city. To do this, I meticulously created a business plan for my future business, and also very carefully approached the choice of the name for my bakery. I got very cool bakery names ideas using the bakery name generator, which allowed me to choose the most relevant and optimal option.