Casinos in Las Vegas reopened after two months of shutdown in early June. However, even as the properties keep all social distancing norms and health protocols in check, visitors are maintaining a distance.

Gaming floors are empty

According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), the visitor volume in June was only a little higher than 1 million in the first month of reopening. This marks a 70.5% decrease on a year-on-year basis.

A total of 1,065,100 people came to Las Vegas but none of them did so for convention or business purposes. This happened as the daily cases for coronavirus continued increasing throughout June and July. Governor Steve Sisolak also continued to limit indoor gatherings and kept both exhibitions and conventions stopped in order to protect against the impact of the virus.

June is usually a busy month for Vegas because both families and leisure travelers start flocking into the city during their summer vacations. The casinos in the city remained closed for 78 days and reopened at 50% capacity. However, they continued to struggle to bring visitors to their premises.

First half volumes decline

The visitor volume for the first half of 2020 was 9.7 million which marked a 54% decline on a yearly basis. At least 11.4 million visitors kept off the city compared with the first half of 2019. The second half of the year isn’t expected to be any better because every large convention planned for this time has been canceled. The Las Vegas Raiders also announced this past week that they will be playing the inaugural season this year at the Allegiant Stadium without fans.

June’s visitor volume was relatively better than May where the number was just 151,300- marking a 96% decrease on a year-on-year basis. Casino properties across the city are offering various incentives to lure visitors. M Resort and Sahara have temporarily released resort fees and several other properties are providing rooms at huge discounts.