As May turned to June at midnight, Clark County officially removed all capacity restrictions from businesses, setting off a celebration on Fremont Street dubbed Downtown Rocks Again!
The Fremont Street experience in Downtown Las Vegas brought back its long-shuttered music stages on 1st Street and 3rd Street. Directly after midnight on June 1, two of the area’s most popular house bands, Zowie Bowie and Spandex Nation, were able to play for the first time in nearly 15 months.
The free concerts continued from just after midnight until 4 a.m.
Leading up to the big moment, the screens of the Viva Vision Canopy that runs nearly the length of Fremont Street’s gaming district featured a countdown clock ticking off the seconds until midnight.
Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman recorded a message welcoming back revelers.
The end of restrictions has been in the works for about two weeks, starting with Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signing a directive allowing all businesses to reopen at full capacity on June 1. Last week, the Nevada Gaming Control Board told gaming licensees it will rescind all Covid-19 restrictions effective 12:00 a.m. June 1.
The Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace reopened its doors for the first time in more than a year on May 20, and Circus Circus Las Vegas brought back its Circus Buffet on May 29.
The next step will be the return of conventions and entertainment. The first major conference of 2021 will be the World of Concrete show, coming to the Las Vegas Convention Center June 7-10.
Resorts World Las Vegas is scheduled to open on June 24. The $4.3-billion project has been in development for six years and is the first ground-up resort built on the Las Vegas Strip in more than a decade. Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan are booked to appear over the next several months.
Tuesday also brought word from The American Gaming Association (AGA) and Reed Exhibitions that the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) 2021 will return as an in-person event combined with virtual elements from October 4–7 at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas.
