In response to the pandemic, as state and county-wide shutdowns went into effect, businesses small and large shuttered. In 2019, on average Las Vegas saw over 3.5 million visitors a month, in April 2020 there were just over 100,000. Chains were wrapped around casino doors and shops were boarded up. Restaurants, malls, clubs and casino floors were left empty, no patrons nor workers. Hundreds of thousands of Las Vegans were left unemployed. While there were no lines for bathrooms on convention floors nor traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard, residents queued at food pantries and protested for a reopening. Months into the shutdown, properties along the Strip began to open to masked patrons at record-low occupancies, and some workers began to come back to work. More than to years later, Las Vegas workers and the economy still fight to find a solid footing.
Bartenders Carol Vigliaroll and boyfriend Mike Thompson pictured outside their apartment in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mr. Thompson, who has been in the industry for 27 years, is now unemployed. Ms. Vigliaroll was also laid off from her two bartending jobs. The couple had hopes of buying a house soon, but now rely on that savings, supplemented by their unemployment benefits.
Food donations to be distributed are seen at First African Methodist Episcopal Church on August 11, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Fountains outside Caesars Palace hotel and casino are drained a month into the shutdown on April 15, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Caesars Palace hotel and casino reflects in the windows of the vacant Flamingo hotel and casino on May 7, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jennifer Rooney and husband Robert Rooney pictured in their neighborhood on September 9, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mr. Rooney was furloughed then laid off as an engineer at the Bellagio hotel and casino and now receives $423 a week in Nevada unemployment benefits after taxes. They don’t think they will continue to make the $1,200 rent for their two-bedroom house, where Mr. Rooney’s mother also lives, by the end of the year. He points out the Bellagio on the skyline, visible from his neighborhood. “Looming in the distance is my old job… I can’t stay here, this city is falling apart.”
A worker cleans at the entrance of the Bellagio hotel and casino days before the Strip shutdown on March 13, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Streets and sidewalks are quiet in front of Tropicana hotel and casino along The Strip during the closures of non-essential business on April 17, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
An entryway at Aria hotel and casino is empty as a worker cleans on March 14, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Single mother Maria Guerrero is pictured in the doorway of what she refers to as her dream home in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ms. Guerrero lost her job at an airline caterer and her unemployment benefits were delayed for two months. She and her teenage daughter moved to Las Vegas after being priced out of California's housing market, and her work offered to relocate her. She still worries about losing her home. “You get anxiety, you get depression, you don’t sleep at night, thinking what if they kick me out?” Ms. Guerrero said.
Ingredients, condiments and dining utensils are wrapped to be stored at Lucky’s a 24/7 gaming restaurant and bar on April 1, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Women dressed as show girls, who usually pose with tourists for tips, roam the nearly empty Strip on March 17, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
An "open" sign is still illuminated at a boarded up adult store along Las Vegas Boulevard on March 20, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Hundreds of people in cars wait for a drive-thru food pantry in the parking lot of Central Church on Nov. 25, 2020 in Henderson, Nevada.
Valicia and Jovaun Anderson pictured with their daughter Nylah at their home in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mr. Anderson was laid off from his job at a restaurant inside the Rio hotel and casino, he had worked there since 2016. When Nylah was 6 she was diagnosed with digestive issues and Ms. Anderson left her job to care for her full-time. A delay in Mr. Anderson’s unemployment benefits left the family without income, falling behind on rent, unable to afford the copay for Nylah's medicine that keeps her from vomiting. “I feel like I can live anywhere,” Ms. Anderson said. “I’m sure my husband feels the same way. Like we can go sleep in a car, in a parking lot. But I can’t have that for my daughter. She has to have food, medicine and a roof over her head at all times. So my fight, my battle is for her.”
Fremont Street experience downtown Las Vegas, Nevada is vacant during the shutdown on May 7, 2020.
Greg Pike, a single father who has been unemployed for months, sits at his kitchen table and makes calls looking for work on Thursday, October 1, 2020 in Henderson, Nevada.
Audio technician Jared K. is pictured outside his home on August 12, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jared uprooted to Las Vegas from Kentucky three years ago to pursue his dream career in audio with aspirations to be touring. He weighed his options of Las Vegas and other cities, maybe Los Angeles or Nashville. Las Vegas, he felt at the time, provided greater career opportunities and lower cost of living. He saw his career progressing, working his way up from stagehand to audio technician for casino bands until he lost all his work. He questions when work comes back, "am I even going to be able to find a job within my industry? Because it's going to be even more competitive than it was before."
Masked visitor Allison Giannini plays a slot machine on the first day of reopening at Bellagio hotel and casino on Thursday, June 4, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Due to restrictions in response to the pandemic, June 4th was the first day many Las Vegas hotel and casino properties could reopen to the public after more than a two and a half month shutdown.
A worker cleans along the Strip as pedestrians pass on August 27, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Workers are masked as visitors gather at a craps table at Bellagio hotel and casino on June 4, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Edison Perez, a laid off cleaner who worked at Planet Hollywood hotel and casino fro 10 years, holds up a sign as members and supporters march along the Strip during a Culinary Union 'We Will Come Back Stronger!' rally on September 24, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nevada’s unemployment rate in August 2021 remained the highest in the nation, reported U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Pedestrians masked and unmasked pass an Elvis fortune teller along the Strip on March 7, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jevon Johnson puts the last of his belongings in his car before shipping them to a family member's home on the east coast, seen outside his apartment. Mr. Johnson, like many Las Vegas transplants, moved to the city for an opportunity; a job as a flight attendant with Allegiant. It was his first job making more than $10 an hour. Prior to the pandemic he was terminated from the position, he started a new job with Alaska Airlines days before the city shut down. He was never called back to work. After months without income, still waiting on unemployment benefits, he now finds himself in debt, behind on rent and bills. Mr. Johnson now says goodbye to the life built in Las Vegas, moving to the east coast to live with his mother. He sold a large portion of his belongings in an attempt to cover moving expenses and some of the back rent he owed on his apartment, hoping to avoid an eviction on his record. He sold the car to a junkyard the next day.
Streets and sidewalks along Las Vegas Boulevard are quiet during the shutdown on May 7, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.