Las Vegas, the hub for several industry conventions as well as one of the most sought-after gambling destinations in the world, could be impacted heavily because of Coronavirus.

Cancellations on board

The White House and technology giant Google recently canceled some of their conference dates for Las Vegas scheduled for March. Last Friday, the White House officials said that they are canceling the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit. It was scheduled for March 14, but the administration believes it is best scrapped due to the Coronavirus outbreak and its related travel restrictions.

Note that ASEAN nations- Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Brunei have documented cases of the COVID-19 virus. It is unclear if President Trump was scheduled to visit the Summit. He had avoided the event for the past two years when they were held abroad. The President noted that the US has 15 cases of the virus. He said that the number of cases is small because the US took early action and closed its borders to certain parts of the world.

Is Las Vegas prepared for the challenge?

Gov. Steve Sisolak convened a group of tribal, federal, state, and local officials in Vegas last week to prepare for a possible outbreak of the virus in the state. However, he noted that the state had not reported a single case of the virus yet.

Note that the gaming hub gets big business from conferences, conventions, and meetings. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) said that last year, these events brought in 6.64 million visitors to the city. March is one of their busiest months of the year.

Several operators like Caesars Entertainment are boosting their conferencing space to cash in on the growing convention trend. However, the recent cancellations could dent their plans. The company is expected to open the 550,000 square foot Caesars Forum conference center this month. It has already booked 240,000 guest nights and attracted about $100 million of business.

There are some concerns that threats related to Coronavirus could impact on the 2020 NFL Draft as well. The draft is scheduled for next month. Big event cancellations have become common in the US now. The Game Developers Conference (GDC) has already been postponed. It was scheduled in mid-March in San Francisco. The conference has been moved to late summer while the Geneva Motor Show has also been canceled.