Las Vegas casinos had been closed for the prior 78 days, after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the region in mid-March.
In downtown Las Vegas, casinos were packed after being permitted to open at 12:01am on Thursday, with ABC News reporting that “hundreds” were queuing to enter The D Las Vegas.
According to USA Today, foot traffic was light in casinos and on the Strip by midday on the day of opening but has since picked up as gamblers flock to place their bets.
Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment are all among the operators to have opened casinos on the Strip, but many are implementing a phased opening of properties.
MGM Resorts has only opened Bellagio, MGM Grand, New York-New York and Signature this week, with Excalibur following later in June.
Caesars Entertainment has opened Caesars Palace, Flamingo and Harrah’s.
All casinos have implemented additional safety measures to ensure the safety of players amid the pandemic, which had to be approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
These measures include hand sanitizer stations for customers and employees, compulsory social distancing measures in casinos and queues, and limits to the number of players at table games.
Casinos have also capped floor occupancy at 50% as part of new social distancing orders.
