EMPTY AMERICA: Las Vegas

Seeing Los Angeles’ busiest areas emptying out (not fully deserted yet as the state had just come under a “shelter in place” mandate and there were still a number of people that hadn’t been online-shamed into staying home yet) I thought I’d check out an area in the States that surely wasn’t anywhere near apocalyptic. Even though there had been a few hotels and casinos voluntarily shutting down and the “close your restaurants and bars” edict had been announced, certainly Las Vegas wouldn’t be....closed. Right?


The drive up I-15 to Las Vegas on a Friday afternoon can be a nightmare. Those Angelenos that don’t opt for a cheap Southwest flight usually crowd that thoroughfare from 2pm to midnight and, since there’s really only one way to get from LA to LV, it’s generously packed from Friday to Sunday.


My first taste of Las Vegas suffering as great a fate as LA, maybe even greater considering the economics, was that, after getting on the 15N around 3pm, it was absolutely smooth sailing all the way into the city. Barely a slow-down. One theme that continued on my trip was that I was always only one of a handful of passenger vehicles I would see on the interstate. Any traffic, when you saw it, was interstate truckers delivering their “essential” goods.


I stopped into Henderson to say “hi” to Mom. I would say Henderson looked deserted but...it always looks deserted. It’s a slow suburb on the outskirts of Las Vegas that caters to a local and older crowd. I did think I would grab a cup of coffee and some wifi at Starbucks before seeing her then realized “Oh yeah. That’s not an option for a rubber tramp anymore.” So I sat in the parking lot outside of a drive-thru only Starbucks and syphoned off their wifi from the comfort of my tiny car.


When the sun finally went down I decided it was time to see if Las Vegas had truly done the unthinkable and shut down. A day-time drive probably would’ve answered that, but if this was as serious as it seemed, a lights-less Vegas Strip would be the tell-tale sign.


I started on the southern end of the Strip and was immediately answered that yes, this is serious. And unimaginable. And eerie.


The Mandalay Bay had it’s sign lights on but, as was the case with all of the enormous hotels that line the strip, the building itself was dark because there were no residents, no indoor lights, no one to click them on.


Luxor, Excalibur, MGM Grand...all dark buildings.


There were a few consistencies from hotel to hotel that led me to believe this was a joint hotel-owner decision:


If you had an outdoor neon sign on, the message didn’t advertise any upcoming shows or buffet specials but rather had a variation on the message: “Stay Safe. Stay Healthy. We’ll See You Soon.”


Every casino/hotel had metal gates in front with at least 2 cop cars if not more preventing entrance even into the driveways or parking structures.


Then there were the hotels that had completely shut everything off: Mirage. Caesar’s Palace. Tropicana. Those images were absolutely shocking to see a behemoth of a building on the flashiest most happening strip of road in the world to be absolutely dark. Someone just flicked a switch and indicated: “We’re closed.”


The Strip on a Friday at 9pm can be an absolute parking lot of taxis, Ubers and misguided tourist drivers. Tonight, unimpeded from stoplight to stoplight.


The streets that are usually packed with revelers, frat boys, bachelorette parties, Midwesterns, street performers and vendors were 100% cleared. I didn’t see a soul walking around. And why would you? Where are you going?


I never thought I’d see Las Vegas shut down.


I made my way to Fremont Street. It’s my preferred hangout in Las Vegas. It’s cheaper, packed closer together and a great walking area to bounce from casino to casino, hear mediocre cover bands and DJ’s, watch a mind-numbing ceiling light show and people watch all of the cheesier tourists, local homeless, hipsters, punks, train wrecks and ne’er-do-wells. To me, it’s always been more “Vegas.” It’s always hopping.


Now, it’s essentially been turned into one mass outdoor extinct mall lit up by floodlights and the occasional restaurant that’s trying to stay open (White Castle) but cater to who? The security?


The streets that run through and perpendicular to Fremont are still open to drive through, but there are crowd-control gates sectioning off the Street itself so you may not walk down it. Most of the grander lights are shut off. There were a few neon lights and casino billboards that were still on, obviously on some kind of timer.


However, it wasn’t the lack of lights on Fremont that unnerved me. It was the lack of sound. From noon until 2am it’s usually a cacophony of bass and rock covers and cheering and bucket banging and general casino sounds bouncing off it’s half-dome cover.


Tonight, I heard a security guy yell to another one from a block away, and the other answered.


I saw 2 other people taking pictures. How could you not? Las Vegas is shut down. 60% of the city is unemployed. It’s reason for being isn’t anymore. It truly felt like a shell of it’s former self, literally and figuratively.


Certainly the city’s properties have enough in their coffers to sweat out a shut-down, but these places employ thousands. The trickle down will be real in that city and you have to believe it won’t be able to manage a long shut-down. When it finally re-opens: Who’s going to have the funds to revitalize it? Is there anybody who is going to feel like gambling again? How long until we can let loose and have fun?