From March 17 to June 4, 2020, casinos in Nevada were mandated by the former governor to shut down operations to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. When they reopened they made many changes, including plexiglass barriers, hand sinks in casinos, required face masks, and more.
It has been over four years and not all of the below changes happened because of the shutdown, but many did. These are general observations that vary greatly between properties.
On the casino floor, many have reduced the number of table games and reduced the size of slot machine banks. Instead of having six or eight machines close together, they reduced it to three or four with more space between machines. A casino with 1,000 slot machines may now have 600.
In the past, cocktail servers delivered drinks in a glass. Even dive casinos served drinks in a glass. Now plastic cups are very common.
When you go to a casino ATM to cash-in your TITO voucher it does not dispense coins. If you want your coins, you need to wait in line at the cashiers cage or donate them to charity.
24/7 keno lounges are gone, except at The Orleans and the only live keno left on the Strip is at Horseshoe. Many casino club booths have been reduced in size with fewer staff.
When casino hotel front desks reopened they required social distancing and wanted people to use a kiosk or their phone to check-in. This is becoming the norm, unless you have status with the property.
Daily housekeeping was always provided, but the hotels reduced that for the guest’s protection. That seems to have stuck, unless you request it. This varies greatly between a 2-3* hotel and a 4-5* resort.
Prior to Covid, many “off Strip” casinos had free shuttles to/from the Strip and downtown. They have almost all been eliminated, with the exception of some time-share properties.
Many restaurants removed outside menus and you had to scan a QR code to see what they offered. This remains at many dining spots. The same at many hotel pools and room service. You order with a QR code, not a person, and the food is delivered in a to-go box with plastic utensils. The price remains the same, but the food presentation is better when eating on a plate with silverware delivered on a cart or tray.
Many casino hotels had a 24/7 coffee shop. Those hours were reduced and most never returned. Prior to Covid, there were over 50 casino buffets and now there are 13, and most have greatly reduced hours and higher prices.
Due to social distancing, many casinos reduced the amount of free live entertainment and this is still the case with hours shortened. Some Day/Nightclubs are open fewer days.
The RTC Bus got rid of the SDX (Strip Downtown Express) and WAX (Westcliff Airport Express) routes (both were great). They need to bring them back.
Many shopping malls reduced hours and those shortened hours remain. Several “locals” casinos had 24/7 bowling. That is gone, so no more getting a cold beer and a strike at 3am.
Again, many of these changes may not have been because of Covid, but many were and stuck, like that jab in your arm.
In 2023, 40.8 million people visited Las Vegas, marking a 5.2% increase from 2022. This was the highest number of visitors since 2019 when the city saw 42.5 million visitors.
What Las Vegas Looked Like During the COVID-19 Shutdown – PHOTOS