{"id":29515,"date":"2021-04-15T10:12:27","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T18:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=29515"},"modified":"2021-04-15T10:12:27","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T18:12:27","slug":"vegas-green-shoots-galore-seminoles-saluted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/blog\/vegas-green-shoots-galore-seminoles-saluted\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegas: green shoots galore; Seminoles saluted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Against all odds, it appears that Las Vegas<\/strong>‘ recovery is taking place faster than anticipated (save by a very few). A CNN<\/strong> feature is vaguely euphoric<\/a> but it does cite several new must-see attractions. For the all-important convention business, which sustains the town Monday-Thursday, there is the lure of the West Hall<\/strong> of the Las Vegas Convention Center<\/strong>, which may banish memories of the Riviera<\/strong>, whose site it occupies. Then there’s a triple-whammy of new casinos: Circa<\/strong>, Virgin Las Vegas<\/strong> (or Mohegan Sun Las Vegas<\/strong>, according to the TITO vouchers) and the July-debuting Resorts World Las Vegas<\/strong>, the most expensive megaresort yet built in Sin City. And, for a wholesome change of pace, the Pinball Hall of Fame<\/strong> reopens at a new location at the southern terminus of the Las Vegas Strip<\/strong>, complete with a park for food trucks. We sense a smash hit in the making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More quantifiably, Plaza Hotel<\/strong> CEO Jonathan Jossel<\/strong> reports that business was “hopping” during March Madness<\/strong> and that casino play has regained pre-pandemic levels<\/a>, which would be no small achievement. Gov. Steve Sisolak<\/strong> (D) is so optimistic that he’s planning a return to full capacity in public spaces as of June 1 (Nye County<\/strong>, for one, is jumping the gun, going 100% on May 1). Self-service buffets\u2014if they return\u2014can come back at 50%<\/a> on May Day, as can nightclubs and strip joints. (No word yet on brothels.) As for casinos going back to 100%, that’s the Nevada Gaming Control Board<\/strong>‘s call to make, although we imagine the pressure will be overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The condo industry certainly has to like what it’s seeing right now: A surge in ‘vaxications’ that is spurring destination travel. In Las Vegas this has meant a 36% increase in short-term rentals from 2019, an amazing number. The only other casino destination\u2014one which could use some good intelligence on this front\u2014is New Orleans<\/strong>, where short-term rentals have leapt 22%. Maybe all those Vegas travelers are reacting to the news that, according to LawnStarter<\/strong>, Sin City is the 10th-best place to get stoned. LawnStarter crunched 12 indicators, including Google<\/strong> searches for “weed” and “head shop.” Las Vegas may rank only 50th in number of dispensaries per capita but it is fifth in the number of cannabis-friendly lodging establishments<\/a> and fourth in “number of marijuana events” and social-consumption lounges. What’s the most pot-besotted city in America? Denver<\/strong>. The Mile-High City is really living up to its name. (If you wish to celebrate Las Vegas’ newest claim to fame, be advised that International Peter Tosh Day<\/strong> is next Tuesday.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations are in order to Seminole Hard Rock<\/strong>. It has been named a best-managed company by the eponymous organization, which lauded Hard Rock for “excellence in strategic planning and execution, a commitment to their people and fostering a dynamic, resilient culture, as well as strong financials, all while facing the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Best Managed Companies<\/strong> has never singled out a casino firm previously. Hard Rock International<\/strong> CEO Jim Allen<\/strong> deflected credit onto his employees, saying, \u201cOur team members all contribute to the success of our organization and I want to thank them for their dedication and commitment to service excellence and financial results, which make this recognition possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Against all odds, it appears that Las Vegas‘ recovery is taking place faster than anticipated (save by a very few). A CNN feature is vaguely euphoric but it does cite several new must-see attractions. For the all-important convention business, which sustains the town Monday-Thursday, there is the lure of the West Hall of the Las […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83928,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1447],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29515"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83928"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29515\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}