Nevada Casinos Shed COVID-19 Restrictions on June 1

Posted on: May 27, 2021, 03:31h. 

Last updated on: July 7, 2021, 02:23h.

Larry Henry Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Gaming Business, Legislation, Politics, Regulation.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board is lifting all coronavirus restrictions on casino gambling at the end of Monday at midnight. Also, at one minute past midnight on Tuesday, live free music resumes at the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas.

Casino restrictions lifted
People gather outside Circa Resort on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. Free live music returns to the street on June 1. (Image: Arizona Foothills Magazine)

In a notice to casino licensees this week, board Chairman J. Brin Gibson said casinos are to comply with the capacity and social distance requirements in their county. He added that none of Nevada’s counties are retaining “social distancing or occupancy limitations” that would apply to hotel-casinos.

In Clark County, vaccinated people will no longer be required to wear masks or maintain physical distancing beginning on June 1, according to a recent tweet from County Commissioner Ross Miller. Restrictions also are being lifted on events such as large gatherings and dancing. The Las Vegas Valley is in Clark County. This includes downtown Las Vegas and major resorts on the Strip, which is outside city limits.

Gibson said if counties change their local coronavirus plans because of COVID-19 spread, the board “expects each licensee to fully comply with such changes.”

Memorial Day Crowds

Since the beginning of May, the board has granted permission to casinos to operate at 100 percent capacity if 80 percent or more of the workforce has been vaccinated.

After verifying that their workforce vaccinations met this guideline, many casinos in Las Vegas have been operating at full gaming floor capacity since then. These include the MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment properties on the Strip.

Until Tuesday, the board will continue to monitor casinos to ensure they are complying with current restrictions.

This comes as an increase is tourists is expected over the three-day Memorial Day weekend. Las Vegas is projected to be the top road trip destination over the holiday weekend, according to the American Automobile Association, known as AAA. 

After Las Vegas, the other popular road trip destinations this weekend are expected to be Orlando, Fla., Myrtle Beach, S.C., Denver, Colo., and Nashville, Tenn.

Live Music Downtown

At 12:01 on Tuesday, the Fremont Street Experience will feature free live music on three stages. The stages were shut down on May 15, 2020, as COVID-19 cases spiked in the area.

“We have missed you! And we hope you’ve missed us,” the Fremont Street Experience posted on its website. The performers set to appear after midnight on Tuesday are Spandex Nation, Alter Ego, and Zowie Bowie.

The Fremont Street Experience is a pedestrian-only entertainment zone across five blocks in the downtown Las Vegas casino district. This portion of Fremont Street has been covered since late 1995 by a lighted canopy that brightens the area with colorful visual displays. 

Because of the casino lights on both sides of the street, historic Fremont Street has been known for decades as Glitter Gulch. 

The newest addition to the street is Circa Resort, a 777-room property that opened last year. It is the first hotel-casino built from the ground up in downtown Las Vegas in 40 years.