Gaming and tourism industry insiders expected hundreds of thousands of visitors to Las Vegas to make it the busiest holiday weekend since the pandemic.
Judging by the early afternoon crowds gathered at the busy baggage claim area at McCarran International Airport on Friday, it seems they will not be disappointed. There were lines of people outside waiting for an Uber or Lyft, but the lines didn’t look overly long.
Incoming passengers seemed ready to enjoy themselves, some stopped to take selfies at an Instagram ad that said “What happens in Las Vegas only happens in Las Vegas,” and others while waiting for luggage on an overhead LED screen displaying an advertisement for the newly opened Resorts World Las Vegas, followed by an advertisement for the return of Cirque du Soleil’s “O.”
And why shouldn’t they be? It’s the first major holiday weekend since COVID-19 capacity, gathering, and crowd restrictions were lifted across the state in June, and July 4th falls on a Sunday, making for an optimal three-day weekend.
“In a way, it’s really New Year’s Eve as it’s the beginning of the world after COVID-19,” said Amanda Belarmino, professor of hospitality at UNLV.
She expects the vacation weekend to be important for all US travel destinations, but Las Vegas in particular. She said this weekend could attract the largest crowd in the city since 2019.
“US consumers are engaged in spikes in travel and spending, and I would expect this weekend to be incredibly busy,” she said.
It’s also a weekend of premieres in Las Vegas. In addition to being the first major holiday in the state since the pandemic without COVID-19 restrictions, it’s also the first concert at Allegiant Stadium with electronic dance music performer Illenium and the first July 4th weekend for the three new resorts of the Las Vegas Valley.
Vegas is calling
The weekend also marks the return of entertainers like Dave Chappelle and Bruno Mars. It was the chance to see the Mars gig that got Rockville, Maryland residents Rick and Jenny Levine to fly to Las Vegas for the weekend. They raved about Las Vegas as they waited for their luggage to arrive at a baggage claim carousel around the corner from Terminal 1 of the airport.
The couple are staying at Park MGM this weekend, where they will attend the Mars concert on Saturday night. Jenny Levine, 60, can remove this item from her “bucket list”.
She and Rick Levine, 61, have been visiting Las Vegas every few months since 2017 when they came to a family wedding. Before that, she was skeptical of Las Vegas. This impression changed on this first trip. “Well, I came to their wedding and thought, ‘I’m an addict,'” she said.
Now, she said, she and her husband love the restaurants, hotels, activities and energy.
Tourist Kris Mummel will not soon forget her visit here. It was the first time she flew, the first time in Las Vegas, and soon the first time zip lining.
“Oh, I have to touch a palm,” she added. “I’ve never seen a palm tree before. Didn’t know they had her out here. I thought, ‘Oh look at the trees!’ ”
Mummel, a 58-year-old Mattoon, Illinois resident, and her partner Vince Trimble stood in the middle of the Linq boardwalk Friday night, pointing their phones on the zip liners above them. That was her next stop.
The two who live in Sahara Las Vegas said they decided to come to Las Vegas because it was time for a vacation. They said they needed a break from work to remodel their pond and build a beach in their country house.
Big numbers expected
The couple are among the 300,000 who will visit Las Vegas over the long weekend.
Neither the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority nor the airport provided any visitor forecasts, although a McCarran airport spokesman said the number of airplane seats coming to Las Vegas was within 5 percent of the total around July 4, 2019.
In 2018 and 2019, around 330,000 people visited Las Vegas on the weekend of July 4th and spent more than $ 235 million, according to the Congressional Bureau.
“We have long viewed the weekend of July 4th as an important weekend for the destination as we are fully reopened for our visitors with the return of beloved live shows, concerts and a range of ‘Only Vegas’ experiences,” said spokeswoman Lori told Nelson-Kraft on Friday. “To top it off, we are very excited to host a spectacular firework display that will light up the sky from one end of the famous Las Vegas Strip to the other on Sunday night.”
Several hotel-casinos on the Strip will start from their rooftops on Sunday nights, with the Plaza lighting up the skies downtown on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. The Station Casinos will host their own fireworks shows at the Red Rock and Green Valley Ranch resorts on Sundays at 9 p.m.
“Vegas is back”
If tourists hadn’t heard the “Vegas is back” message, they would literally see it on the Strip. A political advertisement on a digital billboard on the corner of Harmon Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard read, “Vegas is back. America is back. Thanks Biden / Harris. Thank you Democrats. ”It was shown while Vice President Kamala Harris was visiting union workers several kilometers away on Saturday afternoon.
Some visitors to the strip on Saturday sensed the mood. Shekeya McCallister was out with five friends on her fourth visit to town over the weekend.
“I know a lot of stores have closed and some have stayed closed, so it’s good to see the lines,” said McCallister, a native of Texas. “I saw the new hotel that opened; it’s very nice. Hopefully it stays strong. “
The group arrived Thursday and is staying at an Airbnb while they explore the Strip, ride quads, and attend the Megan Thee Stallion concert at the Omnia Nightclub at Caesars Palace.
The group said it was special to meet up for a girls day out as they come from all over the country.
“So far, despite the weather, it’s been very adventurous,” said McCallister. “I’ve never been to a concert here, and it’s also fun to go with a group of girls.”
Around the Strip on Saturday afternoon, tourists wandered to air-conditioned casino floors with dozens of full tables and pounding slot machines. Groups cheered as they crossed pedestrian bridges, took photos with showgirls, and waited for fountain shows. Wedding parties posed in front of the crystal chandeliers at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Dozens of guests were waiting to get into the flamingo pool when the temperature rose three digits. Caesars Palace slowly worked its way through to enter the bacchanal buffet.
However, some tourists said they didn’t feel like it was overcrowded. Chris and Kay Spence, from Arkansas, arrived Saturday morning with their two teenage sons to spend the week in southern Nevada. The couple said they had no problems at the airport or any other point during the trip.
Kay Spence, who has visited Vegas three times, said it wasn’t the only vacation she and her family have been on in the past year and a half – but it was her first return to Vegas. It was less noisy compared to previous visits, she said.
“It’s a little less busy, but that’s nice,” she said.
“Extra, extra busy”
Josh Swissman, founding partner of consulting firm The Strategy Organization, said earlier this week that he believes the confluence of vaccinations, restrictions lifted, backlog, the vacation itself and the three-day weekend are the recipe for “extra, extra” Weekend.
Then factor in the return of nightlife, entertainment, and day clubs and the debut of the $ 4.3 billion mega-resort Resorts World Las Vegas on June 24, not to mention the openings in recent months of Circa and Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and their pool complexes.
It’s an invigorating mix. Rick Levine said he and his wife are considering retiring to Las Vegas. In the meantime, they will enjoy their stay and find a place to see fireworks on Sunday. Maybe they just watch from their hotel room, he said.
“In how many cities (are there) people come into town on July 4th because they know it will be 105, 110 degrees? Not a lot of places, ”he said.
Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter. The review journalist McKenna Ross contributed to this report.
