(Full disclosure: I am not, nor have I been, associated with any aspect of the Nevada gaming industry. I came to Las Vegas decades ago to help clean up industrial contamination of soil and groundwater from industries which grew out of World War II, and leaking gas station tanks. Oh, wait, I used to donate a very small percentage of my salary to the gaming industry in return for entertainment value. To those not familiar with Nevada terminology: Gaming = Gambling)
I was quite surprised, at first, when major Nevada gaming corporations shut down a month ago due to the Corona Virus. They were first up to the plate with the wish to stop the spread of the virus despite the huge immediate losses to their income and also the income and cash flow of so many Las Vegans. Huge conventions were canceled, massive concerts and shows canceled. The Strip became a ghost town almost overnight. You have to understand, this was not driven by the Nevada government, Clark County government, or the Las Vegas government. it was driven by the huge gaming corporations which control much of what this state has to offer in terms of revenue and employment.
Now, weeks later, with fairly decent hindsight, it seems obvious these guys played their cards right. Honestly, every successful gaming corporation in the State of Nevada knows when to hold em and when to fold em. (RIP Kenny Rogers) Their brilliant statistical analysts, most assuredly, looked at a huge number of scenarios regarding whether to stay open through the massive Spring convention schedule, and Spring Break, versus the horrendous outcome of becoming an international hot-spot for the Corona Virus, with decades of negative press related to that issue.
Regardless of anything you may believe about Las Vegas, Sin City, anything goes, and it stays here, et cetera, the gaming corporations are incredibly cautious and conservative. They study situations so far beyond blackjack odds that it would blow the minds of folks not familiar with how it all works. Want a counter-example? Nobody anticipated the Mandalay Massacre two years ago. Las Vegas (Strong!) is still recovering from that incident. The gaming industry wasn't about to allow a pandemic, easily foreseeable, to create an additional issue they would have to deal with. Besides, they had already taken it in the shorts in their Chinese operations a month previous.
Almost overnight, the City of Las Vegas became an average southwestern city fighting the pandemic like Phoenix or Albuquerque, as did adjacent Henderson and North Las Vegas, and our northern cousin Reno. The difference is that a huge segment of the population of Clark County is dependent on employment within the gaming corporations, and much more, associated with auxiliary support services and suppliers to the gaming industry. On top of that, we also have a normal American economy and we have an enormous homeless population.
None the less, the smart boys setting the odds in Las Vegas made the correct decision a month ago. Shut this sucker down! If not, we will lose credibility as a tourist destination for decades. Their decision has already proven correct with the irreparable damage resulting to the reputation of Louisiana's Mardi Gras, and now, Florida's Spring Break. And, I think they got it right. As Bill Gates recently said, "It is much easier to revive the economy than to revive dead people."
Dead people are notorious for being out of the game. Maybe they come in for a free drink but they don't seem to bet much and they are lousy tippers. Clearly, you can't take it with you.