Here comes Las Vegas!
America's Playground has been devastated in the last year by the coronavirus pandemic, particularly after Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak shut down the city for three full months in the spring of 2020.
But Las Vegas is getting close to its normal numbers again.
Real close.
New economic reports show increases in airport passengers and tourism in the last month and, more importantly, a shocking jump by the state's casinos in winnings for the month of April.
Gaming winnings were on the plus side to the tune of $1 billion, the biggest amount of winnings since February 2020, according to the Associated Press.
"I don't believe anyone imagined this level of gaming win," Michael Lawton, senior Nevada Gaming Control Board analyst, said of a Tuesday report showing 452 full-scale casinos in the state reported house winnings at the highest total since February 2013.
The $1.07 billion reported last month topped even the $1.02 billion the board charted in March 2019.
The reasons were varied, including pent-up demand for travel capacity at hotel-casinos being restored to 50 percent on March 15, and the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament being played in full for three weeks when the entire tournament was canceled last year. The annual college basketball tourney is a huge revenue driver for Las Vegas sportsbooks.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which launched a new advertising campaign on Monday, reported Tuesday that it tallied more than 2.2 million visitors in March - still down 40 percent compared to March of 2019 but up 25 percent from March of 2002.
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