As a frequent visitor to Las Vegas (at times), I'm intrigued by how the casino parts of that town are coping with The Pandemic. Not well, it would appear. Everything I've seen and everything I've read about it — buffets gone, shows and many restaurants closed, gaming areas rearranged with distancing and plexiglass shields, et al — makes it sound like a seriously un-fun place to be. I'm not straying too far or too often from home these days but if I did stray, Vegas seems like one of the last places I'd stray to.
If at any given time, you want to know what's going on in that city, the guy to listen to is Anthony Curtis. Mr. Curtis moved to Las Vegas in 1979 to see if he could make it as a professional gambler. For a time, he did but he did even better when he began publishing The Las Vegas Advisor, a newsletter that keeps you to date on what's happening there and it reviews hotels, places to eat, shows, etc. It is not — and this is a big deal — supported by advertising from the casinos and local businesses.
There are many alleged magazines you can pick up for free around Las Vegas that will tell you every hotel is a palace, every restaurant is five-star, every show is fabulous. These are not magazines. They're advertising circulars…and of course, they won't tell you the truth about the companies that advertise in them and crave your business. Especially now.
Curtis's Advisor lives mainly off subscribers and since I became one of them in the eighties, it has turned from a print publication into a website that also puts out a version on paper. Either way, it's honest and not there to shill for anyone. And there's plenty of great info available on the website if you don't subscribe.
Curtis is now hosting little "news update" videos to tell the world about the state of coronavegas. In this, his most recent report, he gives the same answer I give to the persistent question of when things will be back to normal: No one knows. But he'll also tell you about which casinos are closed and what things are like there…