Crowds Flood Las Vegas Strip Casinos Ahead of Loosened Restrictions

By Jane Shaw Senior Editor Updated: 03/29/2021

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Crowds Flood Las Vegas

After what has undoubtedly been one of its worst years ever, Las Vegas is looking forward to taking a step closer to recovery. This will be aided by the decision to increase maximum capacity from 35 percent to 50 percent, a move which kicked in this week.

Locals and visitors have also been eager to see the loosened restrictions come in, with reports that the Las Vegas Strip and its casinos were flooded at the weekend ahead of the increased capacity rules. Crowds were pictured on the famous strip and in the downtown Fremont Street area as casinos prepared to increase capacity to 50 percent from Monday.

Thousands of People Standing Shoulder to Shoulder

According to some reports, thousands of people were spotted in the area, with many standing shoulder-to-shoulder inside casinos and other hospitality venues. Although the new rules were not due to come into force until Monday, many said that the crowds made it look as though the new measures had already come in at the weekend.

One local resident said:

I took a few pictures to send to my son in Chicago, and I said, ‘I can’t believe there are this many people out.’ I couldn’t even get into the Bellagio parking lot to see the botanical garden. It was filled to capacity.

Some did express concerns that many people were not wearing masks or adhering to social distancing. While casino employees appeared to be doing what they could to enforce the rules, the large numbers of people flooding the Strip and casinos made this difficult.

Many of the photos uploaded to social media showed revelers and gamblers without masks and standing in close proximity to others.

This has naturally led to worries about the impact that loosening restrictions might have on infection rates across the state. While infection rates have fallen, lack of adherence to COVID-19 rules means that they could quickly rise again. This could then result in restrictions being tightened back up at very short notice.

Capacity Levels Gradually Increasing

The reduction in COVID-19 cases in the state prompted the state governor, Steve Sisolak, to increase the capacity to 50 percent as of this week. Previously, the maximum capacity allowed was 25 percent, which increased to 35 percent recently.

This latest move to increase capacity to 50 percent has come as very good news for casinos and other hospitality businesses across the state. Whether or not the maximum capacity level continues to be increased will depend on infection rates in the state over the coming weeks and months.

Casinos and other businesses in Las Vegas are hoping to get back on the road to recovery this year after a devastating 2020. In addition to businesses being closed for months and operating on a restricted basis for the rest of the year, the area has been affected in other ways too.

These include a lack of visitors due to travel restrictions and lack of confidence. In addition, there has been none of the conventions and trade shows that Las Vegas has become so famous for.