As of noon today, Las Vegas will go under a 30-day shutdown at the order of Governor Steve Sisolak. The order calls for casinos, resorts, and non-essential businesses to shut down to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Restaurants have been ordered to close all dining rooms and move to takeout or delivery only. Yes, this means no Vegas buffets right now.
“This is affecting the lives of our citizens. People are dying. Every day that is delayed here, I’m losing a dozen people on the back end that are going to die as a result of this,” Sisolak said at a news conference Tuesday night.
Casinos began closing down earlier this week on their own and as of Tuesday night, the normally packed Las Vegas strip was empty.
MGM closed its 13 properties which also included the popular Bellagio water fountain that draws crowds daily.
The last time that Las Vegas casinos shutdown was in 1963 for President Kennedy’s funeral. Wow!