Go-Go’s Cancel Las Vegas New Years Eve Shows – Reschedule for Valentine’s Day

The Go-Go’s, the 80’s hot group that recently reunited and scheduled new years Eve shows at the Venetian Theater in Las Vegas has cancelled. The band cited a positive CoVid test to one of their band members as the reason for the cancellation.

The sold out shows were scheduled, one on New Years Eve and a second on New Years Day. The band has rescheduled their dates to the 11th and 12th of February 2022, the Friday and Saturday before Valentine’s Day.

Ticket holders of the cancelled shows should immediately contact their booking agency to reschedule or get credit or refunds. Ticketmaster has sent an email to these ticket buyers: “We have worked with the event organizer to rearrange your event and make sure you still have the chance to attend. Your tickets are still valid until the new date.” Live Nation is the presenter for The Go-Go’s performances at the resort.

On their twitter account the band announced:

“A member of our team was recently tested positive for COVID. WHILE OF COURSE WE ARE VERY DISAPPOINTED, we will follow proper protocols and postpone our upcoming west coast dates. pic.twitter.com/hwwknXN1Di

The Go-Goers (@officialgogos) December 26, 2021“

Las Vegas New Years Eve Celebrations Full Speed Ahead

With just a few days away reports are confirming that, in Las Vegas at least, New Years Eve celebrations are going full speed ahead despite concerns of rising pandemic numbers.

Places like Times Square in New York City are drastically cutting back crowd sizes. However it seems Las Vegas officials are comfortable with current plans. This is in part because of the vast area of Las Vegas New Years Eve celebrations. Although 300,000 visitors are expected New Years Eve, most will be on The Strip tourist corridor, a 4-mile long stretch. Another large gathering is expected downtown at the Fremont Street Experience, but even here crowds are not expected to be critical.

On The Strip, the following eight casino resorts will all shoot fireworks off of the top of their hotels right at midnight:

  • The Strat
  • Resorts World
  • Treasure Island
  • The Venetian
  • Caesars Palace
  • Aria
  • Planet Hollywood
  • MGM Grand

The one thing that could derail the fireworks is the weather but even that looks okay. Temperatures are forecast to be frigid by Las Vegas standards, with a fireworks temp measurement in the high 30’s, partly cloudy with winds expected to be 10-15 mph coming from the Northwest. The sole concern is the wind, if conditions get too windy then fireworks could be cancelled.

All celebrators are encouraged to wear masks when in the outdoor crowds for safety, although to this point such mask wearing is not mandatory. Current health requirements do require all people, vaccinated or no, to wear a mask covering mouth and nose whenever in a public indoor situation.

So while many celebrations around the world are being scaled back, the Las Vegas new Yeats celebration is running full scale ahead. I will be cheering in the New Year on the Strip. Where will you be?

Las Vegas Travel Deals in January 2022?

The huge Consumer Electronics Show scheduled for the first week in January makes Las Vegas a travel nightmare. But 2022 may make Las Vegas a destination of rare travel deals for travelers ready to take advantage of last second deals. Let me explain:

CES

CES is the most massive individual convention in Las Vegas. Hundreds of thousands of conventioneers descend on Las Vegas the first week in January, locking up hotel rooms, crowding restaurants and sending prices through the roof. Just think of a room that typically runs for $100, suddenly going for $250 a night plus resort fees. Ugh, no deals here!

In fact the CES is so big, steadily outgrowing the convention space in Las Vegas, that it prompted a $1 billion expansion of the main Las Vegas Convention Center. The complex now boasts over 14 million square feet of exhibitor space and is the second largest convention venue in North America.

By the way, the first is in Chicago, but who wants to convention in Chicago in January?

In fact the event is so big that even with the massive space of the Las Vegas Convention Center filled to the brim with meeting rooms and massive product show floors that other convention and event venues are called in to provide space for secondary events. Even airlines scheduled extra flights to handle the expected rush into Las Vegas.

The bottom line is that in the typical year you do not want to visit Las Vegas during CES week. Rooms are hard to get and expensive, and traffic hits Los Angeles rush hour bad. In fact, after New Years Eve, bargain hunters stay away until around the 15th of January, because of the massive disruptions caused by armies of advance teams installing and tearing down the event and the massive product displays of 2,100 businesses big and small.

Then Came the Pandemic

In 2021, the pandemic canceled the physical CES and the massive event became an abridged Internet affair. Excitement in all corners rose with the thought of CES returning in 2022. Yet with mere days away before the event begins the Omicron variant is sweeping the country. Cases are rising all about North America but especially in Las Vegas and Nevada.

Tech companies are last minute canceling their physical attendance in Las Vegas. As of 22 January some of the big names already canceled include Amazon, Twitter, Pinterest, and Meta (the new name of Facebook). With pandemic worries more cancellations are expected, although the actual event itself is expected to come off. Each cancellation equates to hundreds, if not thousands of fewer people actually filling the rooms. Hotels are likely to find themselves with empty rooms last minute.

The Opportunity May Came

And that is the potential opportunity. Empty rooms mean cheaper prices and for people willing to travel in today’s world with a quick lead time then the 4th-10th of January may offer some last minute deals. How good the deals will be will depend on how more cancellations there will be and how fast deal hunters swoop up on the last minute rooms.

Monitor Vegas visitor websites like vegas.com or travel sites like Kayak or Hotels.com and if on New Years Day prices swoon, then be prepared to pounce.

Las Vegas New Years Eve: The Best Transportation Options

New Years Eve is just a few days away. We expect around 300,000 people to be in town to celebrate the ringing in of the New Year, most of those on the Las Vegas Strip. Be ready, because New Years Eve on the Las Vegas Strip has only three transportation options:

  • Be Early
  • The Monorail
  • RTC Bus Service

Be Early:

The entire 4 mile length of the Las Vegas Strip will begin closing to vehicle traffic at 4pm New Years Eve and is scheduled to be fully closed by 6pm but pretty much all parking is expected to be completely full before 5pm. It will remain closed until approximately 3am. So if you are driving you need to arrive to the tourist corridor iseally well before 4pm, and expect to stay until 4am or later (because of the massive traffic jam of 300,000 people leaving the Strip.

The Nevada Department of Transportation will close the following freeway ramps and streets beginning 5:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 31, until the Strip reopens to vehicular traffic:

· I-15 north ramp to Tropicana Ave., south of Russell Road
· I-15 north collector-distributor road to Tropicana Ave. and Frank Sinatra Drive
· I-15 south ramp to westbound and eastbound Tropicana Ave.
· I-15 north ramp to eastbound and westbound Flamingo Road
· I-15 south ramp to eastbound and westbound Flamingo Road
· Tropicana Ave. east at Dean Martin Drive
· Flamingo Road east at Valley View Blvd.
· Hotel Rio Drive west at Dean Martin Drive.

Also, expect the I-15 to be mostly a massive parking lot during the following time as something like 150,000 visitors drive in from Southern California:

· 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 26
· 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Dec. 27
· 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 2
· 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Jan. 3.

The Monorail:

Probably your best transportation option on the Las Vegas Strip on New Years Eve will be the Las Vegas Monorail. It will remain in operation for 44 straight hours over the New Year’s holiday weekend, from 7 a.m. on Friday Dec. 31 through 3 a.m. on Sunday Jan. 2. Single rides will cost $5. One huge benefit for locals are tickets go for only $1 if you have an ID with a Nevada address.

Monorail tickets can be bought at station kiosks, or by going to https://www.lvmonhttps://www.lvmonorail.com/ticket-information/

Wearing masks are required while in the Monorail Stations and while on the Monorails themselves. No backpacks or containers are allowed.

RTC Bus Service

The RTC again will offer free rides on all transit routes from 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve until 9 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Transit riders can board any vehicle on the RTC’s 39 bus routes without purchasing a pass or presenting fare.

Be forewarned though, the Las Vegas Strip is still going to be closed to all traffic, and bus routes will be rerouted around 4-mile long stretch. Drop off points will be quite aways from the Strip.

You can get more details at the RTC website at https://www.rtcsnv.com/

Other Notes:

Note that no backpacks or containers will be allowed. This includes larger purses, baby strollers or anything of the kind. Go light or don’t come.

Mask Mandates to Continue in Las Vegas into 2022

For a little while improving pandemic numbers were giving Las Vegas hope that we could do away with mask mandates soon.

Hopes are dashed. The last few weeks the pandemic numbers in Nevada have been creeping the wrong way. Also because of fears of a potential winter spike, the new Omicron varient and upcoming massive crowds for New Years Eve, mask mandates are now confirmed to continue until sometime after the holiday celebrations, and potentially quote a bit longer.

So… who is going to have the coolest mask on New Years’ Eve?

Dance Party Rings in 2022 New Year at Fremont Street Experience

The year 2021 is winding down, dragged down by all the horrors and angst, but the ticket to renewal just may be a New Years Eve for the Fremont Street Experience coming out as an 80’s and 90’s dance party. The downtown Las Vegas pedestrian area will be closed off with four stages of live music played by numerous “The Dancing Era” iconic performers.

In an informational release on their website, the Fremont Street Experience said that it ,”is proud to be Las Vegas’ ultimate party destination this New year’s Eve as it invites partygoers to ring in the new year with an 80’s and 90’s themed dance party. This can’t-miss event will feature live performances from some of the biggest names of the era including Bobby Brown, Vanilla Ice, Village People, Tone Loc and more.”

Live shows will perform on all three permanent stages of the Fremont Street Experience area, plus an additional temporary stage which will feature EDM music. The exact opening times and performance schedules are still to be decided.

Early bird tickets are now being offered for $35 each only at VegasExperience.com until December 25. From December 26 through 30 tickets will still be oferred at the website but can also be bought at Fremont Street Experience casinos. On December 31st tickets can be purchased at the area casinos and at the entry gates to the new year’s eve event. No word on what full price or last minute tickets might run.

The New Year’s Dance Party at the Fremont Street Experience will also have some very tight restrictions. Again according to the information release only people 21 and older will be allowed. Only a small purse/bag is okay, but no more than 6″x12″. No strollers, no packaged beverages, no coolers, no chairs, no back packs/luggage/bags, no costume masks, no weapons- real or fake, no glass/aluminum. Also, no amplified sound or signs of any kind will be permitted.

If the past is any indicator, what you will get is a pulsatiing celebration, jeering out the old 2021 and cheering in the new 2022. After the last two years we have had, a thumping dance party sounds right on the agenda.

Wait! The Las Vegas Mask Mandate Could Go Away Soon?

No sooner did I release last week’s post about the Las Vegas Mask Mandate likely staying around well into 2022, news hits that gives hope that mask mandates could go away much sooner. The Southern Nevada Health Department’s latest pandemic data release suddenly gives hope that we may be reaching the start of the ending of our CoVid nightmare.

One key CDC guideline for ending mask requirements is a CoVid test positivity rate of less than 8% for at least two continuous weeks. The latest health update shows that Clark County (which includes Las Vegas) has been below the 8% threshold since October 5th. So long as that number stays below that line, consider Las Vegas has one big green check mark for one of the two primary goals for removing mask mandates.

The second CDC goal is for actual new CoVid cases to be under 50 per week for at least two successive weeks. Vegas is still a ways from reaching that number with current rates still well above 100/week.

More work left to do. Yet the new numbers open up new short term scenarios where the Las Vegas mask mandates could be eased or completely rescinded in as little as two weeks!

Of course, attaining those goals and getting rid of the mask mandates in only two weeks is incredibly unlikely. First Las Vegas has to slash weekly new cases by well over half and keep them at that level. And then I expect health officials will be careful to pull the trigger on rescinding mask requirements too soon even if the numbers look good.

As I have said before, it is the nature of the Sin City economy that makes health officials so careful. Las Vegas is a tourist town. Hundreds of thousands of people every week travel from all over to mix together, have fun, then go back to their home towns. It is the perfect scenario for super spreader events to bubble out. Health officials and local government recognize that the absolutely worst thing long term that can happen to Las Vegas is a huge infection spread occur through tourist contact at our city. The thought of thousands of cases and hundreds of dead because of a visit here must give our business leaders hives.

So not in two weeks, but maybe end of November or sometime in December of 2021 the mask mandate has the potential of being eased or rescinded in Las Vegas. What do you think of that?

Mask and Vaccination Mandates in Las Vegas (October 2021 Edition)

Since August 2021 Las Vegas has operated under mask and vaccine mandates and as of October they still are active. This is high on a lot of visitor’s concerns, at least as far as I can judge from the constant questioning on social media of: “Will the mask mandate be over when I visit?” and “Should I cancel my trip? Two months into the second round of mandates it seems to be a smart time to see where we are, and what we can expect into the future. Here we go…

Quick, as an aside I am taking no side on whether mandates or vaccines are good or bad. In Nevada in general and Las Vegas in particular mask mandates are here. If you are like me and live in Las Vegas it is part of your life. If you visit here you will have to deal with it, or not come. Simple as that.

What are the Mandates

There are several parts to the current mandates. Here are the most important parts:

  1. All persons in indoor public areas must wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth. Exceptions for small children. No mask mandates for private areas or outdoor public areas (not including such venues as stadiums).
  2. Events with 250 or more people must submit and have approved by the local health district a mitigation plan for CoVid protection.
  3. Stadiums and other large venues have the option of requiring all attendees of their event to be for only vaccinated individuals. If they do so the attendees do not have to wear masks.

The most prominent example of a venue requiring vaccination is Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, UNLV football and other large events. If you are fully vaccinated masks are not required. Partially vaccinated you can enter but must wear mask. Failure to provide proof of vaccination results in refusal of entry.

When Will the Mandates Go Away

These mandates for Nevada and Las Vegas are being reviewed monthly, but don’t expect them to go away until sometime in 2022. Let me explain:

Both the State of Nevada and the Southern Nevada Health District (which covers the Las Vegas area) have tied the requirements for having an open economy to the Center for Disease Control’s guidance. Las Vegas is considered to be a high contagious location for two general reasons: medical statistics and the general nature of the Las Vegas economy.

In Las Vegas the CoVid numbers are above the CDC red lines. The CDC wants to see a positive infection rate below 6% for at least three consecutive weeks. Since August 2021 the infection rate has ranged from just below 10% to a bit above 6%. The other side are statistics are the rates for hospitalization of CoVid cases, which are generally running about 700% higher than CDC guidelines.

The second general side is the fact that so many visitors come to visit Las Vegas. Normal non-pandemic years Las Vegas was used to seeing 42,000,000 visitors a year. While current visitations are running around 80% of a normal year, that is a lot of people coming from all over the United States, mixing with many others and then going home. This makes Vegas the ideal super spreader spot. With vaccine rates still seriously lagging far below where health experts want them to be, infection numbers do not look to improve anywhere near enough in the short term to make the Governor, the Southern Nevada health officers or the Nevada Gaming Commission to ease off.

Expect Masks to be the Las Vegas Normal into Summer 2022.

So that’s it. Las Vegas’ unique situation of mixing people from all over the country tied to disappointing vaccination rates and high infection numbers look to keep Las Vegas under mask and vaccination mandates for the near future.

I personally expect these number to remain disappointing through the Fall and Winter flu season. I expect (hope, pray) that late Spring the numbers will fall so we can get to something approaching a new normal.

What do you think? I’d love to read your comments!

Caesars Palace Bacchanal Buffet Now Open Every Day

The Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace has gone from part time to full time. Demand has been so strong mid-week that the buffet is now open seven nights a week.

While visitor rates have been strong, visitors have been met by a Sin City not yet at the full “Adult Disneyland Experience” we had pre-pandemic. Las Vegas Businesses have been handicapped by worker shortages, as well as a strategically careful approach to avoid expanding services too fast before the tourist visitation rates prove to be sustainable. Demand is definitely outreaching supply, with still just five buffets currently open.

The Caesars Palace Bacchanal Buffet keeps the same hours, 4-10 p.m., and same price, $64.99 per person.

Robuchon Restaurants to Reopen at MGM

Two of the top pre-pandemic restaurants, both at MGM Grand, have announced they will reopen next month. Joël Robuchon, Las Vegas’ only three-Michelin-starred restaurant, returns on July 1; the less-formal L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon opens July 15.

While visitation to Vegas is way up, the ability of the city to handle the burgeouning crowds has lagged. Partly it is simply the growth of the numbers of visitors is outstripping the ability for larger shows, restaurants and activities to get reassembled and operational. Part of it also is the continued lack of workers.