Las Vegas is a Shadow of Its Former Self

Las Vegas was once the beating heart of the casino world, second only to Macau.

But in March, Sin City was forced to close its doors because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Since then, a lot has changed. Regulations are in place to protect players and capacity numbers have been slashed.

While a handful of players are still turning up, Las Vegas is still a shadow of its former self, with casinos remaining largely empty.

Las Vegas is a shadow of its former self, with a 70% decline in visitors YOY

No Trouble Abiding by the Laws

When Las Vegas casinos were allowed to throw open their doors, they had to abide by a strict set of regulations.

One of which was to cap capacity at 50%. From the latest numbers to come out of various casinos, it appears as if they had no problem with following this directive.

In June, visitor numbers to the city stood at 1,065,100, a number that’s down a huge 70.05% when compared to the numbers for June 2019.

June is typically a very busy month in Vegas, with summer parties in full swing, schools are out for summer and everyone is making the most of the gorgeous weather

However, it appears as if COVID is still terrorizing the city, keeping players away from their favorite games.

A Few Players Having a LOT of Fun

It’s not all doom and gloom in Vegas, however. A couple of players are kicking back, relaxing and enjoying how quiet Vegas is this time of year.

Instead of fighting through the crowds at the bars and tables, players are having the times of their lives.

In fact, a few are winning an absolute fortune too. With less players around, there’s less competition for jackpots, meaning dedicated players can scoop up jackpots relatively unchallenged.

Less than 24 hours after Caesar’s opened, on played hit a mega jackpot on Let it Ride poker, winning $670k.

Then, just two weeks ago another player struck it rich on a slot, winning just shy of $4 million from the jackpot feature in the game.

These two players alone are proof that Vegas is still capable of making dreams come true, even if it’s a little less busy than usual.

In fact, it’s still busy enough for the El Cortez to fear over a coin shortage on its classic coin slots.

El Cortez has requested more coins from local banks, but the banks haven’t been able to fill its orders.

Thanks to lower player numbers, the recent coin shortage in the US shouldn’t cause the El Cortez too much trouble.

There were fears that it might have to ditch its famous coin slots in favor of digital machines, but lackluster player numbers have actually played into the hands of the coin shortage.

It Will All Be Ok in the End

Most Las Vegas casinos have plans in place for numbers to remain in their current state for many months to come.

Most have opened up online operations too, allowing them to cash in on players that don’t want to leave their homes for the casino floor.

Once the world has COVID under control, we’re pretty sure that Las Vegas will rebound and will be busier than ever before.

Until then, stay safe and keep practicing your poker face – you need to work on it!