The statues of the Caesars Palace are protected by barriers, the roller coaster of the New York-New York casino at a standstill and the gondolas of the Venetian hotel get dusty: Las Vegas has been a stop since the beginning of the epidemic in the United States. Even the famous Bellagio water jets are " completely closed " due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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In 2019, May had attracted nearly 3.7 million visitors to Las Vegas. BRIDGET BENNETT / AFP
In 2019, May attracted nearly 3.7 million visitors to Las Vegas, the second best month of the year. With containment, crowds of drunk revelers, crowded poker tables and touts of all kinds seem to be distant memories.
The wide sidewalks of the Strip, the main artery of the city where the biggest casinos are concentrated, are deserted, except for a few idle security guards, a handful of homeless people and a few tourists looking dazed.
There are still inhabitants still in the city, employees of casinos, hotels, restaurants or security guards. BRIDGET BENNETT / AFP
A boon for some residents of Vegas, who took the opportunity to cycle or skateboard there.
“Even though I live in Las Vegas, I never come to the Strip. Never. I don't need it, ”a city dweller told AFP. BRIDGET BENNETT / AFP
Behind this peaceful facade points to the economic desolation of a city that lives on gambling and tourism, activities stopped dead by the pandemic.
Posters advertise nightclub inaugurations that never took place. One inexpensive hotel, one of the few remaining open on the Strip, has seen a few tourists landed mad by confinement. However, most clients took rooms weekly after losing their homes due to the economic crisis.
"We look forward to seeing you again," reads the screen of the Caesars Palace. BRIDGET BENNETT / AFP
However, Las Vegas is about to wake up. From Saturday, restaurants will be allowed to reopen, provided they reduce their capacity by half. But the casinos and nightclubs that draw crowds, not to mention strip clubs and brothels, legal in certain areas of Nevada, remain inaccessible.
" Given that money is the source of all ills and that Vegas is considered the capital of money and greed, this is the last place I would have thought was closed, " said one resident. . " And yet it happened ".