What are the mechanics of darkening the Strip? Do the casinos get in contact with each other (conference call?) and coordinate turning off the lights? And what about actually turning them off? Do they pull one big handle a bunch of little ones? Exactly how does the Strip go dark?
For the most recent light-dimming tribute, on October 1, no switches were pulled, although some rheostats were dialed down. It appears that the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Bureau acted as the middleman, getting everyone on the same somber page, since getting a dozen or more casino executives on one conference call is a tough gig.
The tribute began at 11:59 p.m. on September 30 and ran for 24 hours. The marquees displayed a message reading, in full, “One Year Braver; One Year Closer; One Year Kinder; One Year Prouder; One Year Stronger. #VegasStronger.” The actual dimming of the lights (including the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign) took place at 10:01 p.m. and ran for three minutes.
Amanda Peters of the LVCVA says, “For the October 1 tribute, we coordinated with our resort partners to conduct a remembrance and tribute on their marquees. There was no plan to dim the lights, just the marquees – as we did one week after the incident last year. The resorts did dim their marquees and then returned with the #VegasStronger message.
“The LVCVA regularly coordinates with our resort partners on tributes to recognize key Las Vegas figures and/or events,” says Peters. “Sometimes they are suggested by our resorts and sometimes by us, but it is a consensus partnership to conduct these tributes.”
As for the actual mechanics, we couldn't get that question answered, but we presume maintenance workers stand by at the circuit-breaker box and throw some switches at the proper time.
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O2bnVegas
Nov-15-2018
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Kevin Lewis
Nov-15-2018
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