These Las Vegas Casinos and Resorts Are Back Open for 24-hour Operations
After offering limited opening hours due to COVID-19, some Las Vegas resorts will soon return to 24/-hour operations while increasing capacity limits.
Beginning March 3, MGM Resorts in Las Vegas — including the Mandalay Bay, Park MGM and The Mirage resorts — will resume 24/7 hotel operations. Initially, each property closed for a few days in the middle of the week, due to decreased business. Park MGM, for example, closed every week from noon on Monday until noon on Thursday.
Casinos have been operating at a limited capacity of 25% since November. On Feb. 15, they were allowed to begin accepting up to 35% capacity on the gaming floor. By March 15, gaming floor capacity will be allowed up to 50%, according to a state health directive.
"As we begin to see positive signs around the public's sentiment about traveling, coupled with important progress on the vaccination front and decreasing COVID-19 case numbers, bringing Mandalay Bay, Park MGM and The Mirage back to full-week operations is an important step for us," Bill Hornbuckle, MGM Resorts' CEO & President, said in a statement Wednesday. "We remain optimistic about Las Vegas' recovery and our ability to bring employees back to work as business volumes allow us to do so."
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The resorts will also bring back live entertainment (with COVID precautions) in February and early March.
Other major resorts around Las Vegas will also reopen attractions over the coming weeks.
OMNIA outdoor nightclub at Caesars Palace and the Wet Republic pool at MGM Grand will reopened to the public on March 5, with socially distanced seating and other COVID-19 safety precautions, according to a press release. The Liquid Pool Lounge at ARIA reopened with similar rules on March 12.
Planet Hollywood opened on March 15 while LINQ hotel, both of Caesars Entertainment, will reopen 24/7 operations on March 22. Gambling and dining will be open to visitors.
Nevada casinos originally closed in March to stop the spread of the virus and reopened in June. As COVID-19 cases began to once again rise in Nevada, many businesses partially shuttered in November.
"March may hopefully begin to feel like October if we're lucky," MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle said last week, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported. "I'm hoping by end of spring, as we go into June, we'll see yet another significant rollback as we get ready for events."
Las Vegas restaurants have been allowed to expand indoor dining capacity from 35% to 50%, with no limit on outdoor dining. The amount of people allowed per table has increased from four to six.
Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel Leisure, currently based in Brooklyn. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or at caileyrizzo.com.
