Could the ‘City of Lost Wages’ persevere with half-full casinos? Las Vegas ponders its coronavirus future Melissa Etehad, Los Angeles Times · May 13, 2020 at 7:12 am Security guards pace aimlessly and cyclists pedal silently along thoroughfares once teeming with tourists and showgirls. Janitors — wearing face masks and gloves — spray disinfectant on infrequently touched handrails, door knobs and staircases along the eerily silent Strip. In the desert heat, neon lights outside empty casinos display messages urging people to stay away. More than seven weeks after Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s stay-at-home orders were put in place to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus, the bustling heart of Las Vegas remains one of the bleakest faces of the nation’s pandemic-driven crisis. About 1.5 million people visited Las Vegas in March 2020 — the month the crisis began — compared with the more than 3.6 million tourists who visited the same time last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
