What is the atmosphere currently like?

Last time I was in Vegas was for 4th of July. Back then we could sit at the bars, but had to wear masks everywhere we went. They also limited the pools to basically a handful of people. It was pretty slow for the time period. Really wanted to go to a buffet but they were all closed.

I'll be going back next week and was wondering what to expect? Obviously I imagine masks will be required but are there any improvements in hospitality? Are table games any fun? Is it busy or slow?

 

I just came back. I went to the following casinos on Mon (1/4)-Thursday (1/8):

Circa
QQQQ
Golden Gate
Mandalay Bay
Bellagio
Harrahs
Venetian
Palazzo
Silverton
Sahara
the D

They were all DEAD. By dead, I consider <1% of the normal population for the time of day/day of the week, and week of the year. Venetian Palazzo had the highest number of people, and it was pretty much a ghost town.

 

@DaiLun would you say less busy than your late Nov trip?
I was there in early November and found it not very busy Wed/Thurs, but a lot busier Frid/Sat., though definitely below normal. Flamingo/Linq area had the most bodies /activity then.

I guess we'll find out, will be there next week also.
I know currently you are required to have restaurant reservations unless ordering carry out.

 

1)Both trips were SO dead that I couldn't really compare
2)I generally avoid the weekends (because I can), so I couldn't really advise on the weekends
3)It's just how I like it. No fighting for slot machines
4)Making reservations for meals is right in my wheelhouse since I am a) a notorious over planner, and b)set things up with my "dates" way in advance

 

I was there over NYE and there was a pretty good sized crowd. That was NYE though....

I've been several times through the pandemic. I think you can expect it to be pretty dead, even with the holiday weekend coming for MLK.
Yep, mask are still required everywhere.
Yep, you can sit at a bar and play VP. I noticed the MGM properties have gone with plexiglass between the machines instead of distancing, so it's easier to be able to get a seat because there are more available. Table games are still fun, but I've actually noticed it's almost harder to get a seat than before the pandemic. 3 seats instead of 6, so you may have to wait for a spot and jump on it when it becomes available. I had a hard time over NYE getting on a table.

Any improvement in hospitality? Yeah, they are more strict with making people wear a mask which is a plus in my book. Everyone I spoke to was happy to have my business while I was out there.

Having to have restaurant reservations is a pain in the ass. Like I'm supposed to know drunk Bull wants and plan for it while I'm sober... Sheesh. I kind of got frustrated by that, canceled my reservations, and ate at Public House 3 days in a row lol. Not a bad thing, but it really hurts not being able to decide on the fly. I eat when I'm hungry, not when I think I will be hungry lol.

Edited to say: Bottom line, there is still a whole lot of fun to be had out there.

 

This past thursday 1/7 was pretty empty in the bellagio/aria area.

Friday and saturday bellagio and aria picked up pretty good. NYNY/park/paris/ballys were all pretty slow.

 

It's quiet, but not quite dead, especially on the weekends.

On the machine thing, I'm not sure where you saw them putting every machine on with plexi in between, but Aria still has half the machines turned off, both at bars and on the floor.

On the reservation thing, bear in mind that they don't necessarily mean "weeks in advance". I've gone online ten minutes before I wanted to eat, and if there was availability, I could make one and be fine (and if there wasn't, I would have been able to eat there anyway). Overall, the casino floors have been about as active as usual on a random weekday with nothing going on. It's the bars and restaurants that are the bigger hassle, not because of reservations, but because things keep opening and closing without warning.

 

Able I still able to get CDs on the Strip for a "donation"?

 

I should have been more clear with my post. I noticed this at the VP bars at Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, and (maybe?) NYNY. Also, on the floor it was still every other machine.

 

Cosmo overpass is business-as-usual on that front...

 

I haven't been to Vegas since the last superbowl. At blackjack tables, will they allow 'watchers' to stand behind the players? I have a friend who doesn't like to play at my limits, but likes to watch my action. I imagine this is a no-no now?

 

No watchers.

 

They've let my girlfriend watch, but you have to stand back a bit. Can't be at someone's shoulder, though.

 

If you thought July 4 was slow well its a lot and i mean a lot more quiet now

 

i was also there at the end of May before some resorts opened up. Some bars around the area were open though. I’ll take it that it’s somewhere between those two experiences

 

When I was there in June they had this rule in place. To get around it I would just buy in or my fiancé would buy in if I was sitting down. If we were just watching we wouldn’t play but as long as you have chips in front of you you can watch.

 

Any info on flights? How full were they?

Particularly interested in Bay Area folk, like @DaiLun

I am supposed to go next week. I can deal with dead. Won't be happy if much deader than my Oct and Nov 2020 trips resulting in many more places (casinos, restaurants, etc) closed

But at the other extreme, have no desire to be packed in a plane at present.

 

My sister and I were at Paris the second weekend of December, my previous trip was with my hubby mid August. I did NOT enjoy then crowd in August, in December the capacity had been reduced to 25% and although it wasn’t as busy as August, I preferred it. We play mainly at CET hotels and they don’t turn every other machine off, the have stickers on the machines asking you to keep a machine between you and anyone not in your party, so sister and I could sit next to each other. I wasn’t happy with table game minimums being $10. If you’re playing 3 card poker and you play blind like I do a lot of the time, your $ can go fast if you’re betting all the options and there are only 3 people at the table.

We didn’t have much of an issue with meal reservations. I had made 3 dinner and 2 breakfast reservations prior to the trip. There were some inconsistencies at the restaurants. Friday we got in early and our room wasn’t ready so we played at Paris to wait, we got hungry so we walked up the the coffee shop and made a “reservation for now “ so we were seated immediately and told we couldn’t take our masks off until we had water in front of us. We had a reservation at StripHouse for dinner and they told us the same thing. After Friday we were never told not to take our masks off until we had a drink in front of us....we ate at CET restaurants, one Cosmo and one Wynn.

 

SWA flights to/from San Jose were light. <60 people per flight.

 

Quick update -- Aria is running below capacity, of course, but was still pretty busy, with a lot of open, "full" tables and slots players.I was there today and was pretty surprised, given that it was a Monday afternoon without any events in town. The energy was really good. I'm told Venetian was the same the other day. But I was up at Mandalay Bay tonight and the place was an absolute ghost town. Part of it was probably due to CES being cancelled and the main tower being closed (it's only the Delano tower), but it was still pretty shocking.

Separately, the Delano tower was pretty gross. There were bags of garbage in the hallway, random detritus on the floor (a cigarette, a mask, a couple paperclips, etc.), and overall it just didn't seem like it'd been cleaned lately. I did find a dollar bill on the floor, though, which was a nice treat. However, while the taxi stand was technically open, there was no dispatcher around like usual, and the taxi lane was being blocked by an empty taxi, so the one taxi staged there had to back up and go around. And just as a related data point, getting a taxi was significantly more convenient than Uber, given that I could just jump in a cab out front instead of having to hike over to the Uber area and then wait. It was also almost exactly the same price; the taxi back was $0.40 more expensive than Uber with tip. I only used Uber because Delano is one of those places that taxi drivers have a lot of trouble finding.