Las Vegas: What's open and closed amid coronavirus - Los Angeles Times
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What’s open and closed this week in Las Vegas

The Las Vegas Strip
Resorts on the Las Vegas Strip are mostly open except for bars, which will remain shut indefinitely.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Most Las Vegas resorts and restaurants, including pools and the city’s most popular chill spots, are open for business. Bars, however, will remain closed indefinitely to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Though they won’t be serving alcohol, Minus5 bars at the skywalk linking Luxor and Mandalay Bay, Venetian and the Linq Promenade offer a quick reprieve from outside temperatures expected to hit 113 this week. The bars will still be ice cold, but will put the freeze on alcohol for now in keeping with current mandates.

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Also, fans of the high-tech CES show need to rethink their plans. Organizers of the January event, which draws about 170,000 people, on Tuesday decided to host a four-day digital convention rather than a usual massive in-person gathering.

If you’re planning to visit Las Vegas, you need to know:

  • Nevada requires visitors to wear masks in public places, such as casinos, restaurants and other common spaces.
  • Californians right now are asked to delay their vacation travel plans because of the pandemic.

What’s open

Vdara reopened in mid-July. The resort’s Market Cafe is open daily 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Vdara Pool & Cabanas, along with the pool bar, are open Fridays through Sundays. On other days, guests may use the pool at nearby Aria. Vdara’s spa remains closed.

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Bally’s has reopened, along with a variety of restaurants and the resort’s pool, Blu.

Aria, Delano and Mandalay Bay welcomed guests July 1. At Aria, Catch, Jean Georges Steakhouse and Salt & Ivy are open. At Mandalay Bay, Shark Reef Aquarium and several restaurants have reopened.
Nobu, the hotel-within-a-hotel at Caesars Palace, reopened July 2.

The Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas and the Fly Linq at Linq Promenade started sending visitors soaring on July 2.

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Two popular day clubs — Liquid Pool Lounge at Aria and Wet Republic Ultra Pool at MGM Grand — are open Thursdays to Sundays, and reservations are required.

Travelers are finding many public restrooms closed these days, due to the pandemic. Here’s what you need to know about finding a place to go when you’re on the go.

July 25, 2020

Luxor and the adjoining Shoppes at Mandalay Place are open. At Luxor, the HyperX Esports Arena for high-tech gamers is open, along with a handful of restaurants, including Diablo’s Cantina and Pyramid Cafe.

At the Shoppes, the popular Minus5 Ice Experience provides the chill as Vegas temperatures rise to triple digits. It’s located on a skywalk linking Luxor and Mandalay Bay. Several other restaurants also have reopened.

Paris and Westgate hotel-casinos reopened in mid-June. Paris opened its hotel, casino and pool as well as dining options such as Gordon Ramsay Steak and the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, with stunning views of the Fountains of Bellagio across the street.

The Buffet at Wynn returned, but can you still call it a buffet? Diners are seated in the same pre-pandemic elegant dining area, but the long steam tables full of food have disappeared. Instead of standing in line, plate in hand, diners never have to leave their tables to savor dozens of dishes. They simply order from a menu featuring photos and descriptions of roughly 90 offerings. It’s still “all you can eat,” but there’s a two-hour time limit. The Buffet, the first to reopen on the Strip, is open daily. Prices range from $36.99 for a weekday brunch to $65.99 for weekend dinner. Reservations are required.

The new restaurant Elio at Wynn opened for a summer preview starting 5:30 p.m. Thursdays to Sundays. Guests choose from contemporary Mexican dishes by executive chef Sarah Thompson.

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Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, located lakeside at Bellagio, serves dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays to Tuesdays.

The Sahara introduced reservations for its baccarat, blackjack and roulette games. With space at gaming tables limited because of social distancing, guests can book a seat up to 72 hours in advance. Otherwise, they may wind up standing around waiting for a seat to open up.

Oscar’s Steakhouse, named for Vegas’ former mayor, reopened for dinner from Thursday to Sunday. The restaurant, under a glass dome at downtown’s Plaza Hotel & Casino, provides great views of the Fremont Street Experience.

Topgolf, a popular attraction themed around golf and other sports at MGM Grand, opened its doors too.

The Cosmopolitan’s adults-only Marquee pool is open 11 a.m. until sunset Fridays to Sundays, with resident DJs and plenty of food and drink. Reservations are required.

Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood: About half of the milelong mall’s 200 shops, restaurants and attractions have partly reopened with limited hours (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.). The adjoining Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino remains closed.

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These walking routes will help you explore the city and keep you fit.

July 28, 2020

Excalibur: Inside the castle walls, guests can enjoy gaming, a limited number of restaurants, the pool complex, fitness center and Fun Dungeon Arcade.

Caesars Palace: The hotel-casino as well as the sprawling Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis, complete with a swim-up gaming area, has reopened. The pool complex is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The resort’s race and sports book, and Restaurant Guy Savoy, are open too.

The Linq remains closed, but the casino will be up and running, as well as its restaurants.

For dining options, Hash House A Go Go is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, and celebrity chef Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen & Bar is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday to Sunday. Influence, the resort’s pool, welcomes guests 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. The High Roller observation wheel at the Linq Promenade is open with a limit of 10 passengers per cabin to allow for social distancing. (Before the mid-March shutdown, it was 40.)

Big Elvis, a.k.a. Pete Vallee, was the first performer to return to Harrah’s. The act that has been a Vegas stalwart for years returns at 2, 3:30 and 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays at Harrah’s Piano Bar — and it’s free.

Kenny Davidsen’s Celebrity Piano Bar a few blocks east of the Strip along Flamingo Road has relaunched at the Tuscany hotel-casino. In this pandemic era, the lounge has a wall of plexiglass that separates audience members from the stage. Shows start at 8:45 p.m. on Fridays.

Caesars Palace, the Flamingo and Harrah’s Las Vegas are open. So are (from north to south on the Strip): the Strat, Sahara, Circus Circus, Wynn-Encore, Treasure Island, the Venetian, Harrah’s, Caesars Palace, Bellagio, the Cosmopolitan, MGM Grand, the Signature at MGM Grand and New York-New York.

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Downtown, the hotels along Fremont Street that are welcoming guests are, from east to west, El Cortez, The D, Fremont, Four Queens, Hotel Apache, Golden Nugget, Golden Gate and Plaza.

The Neon Museum reopened in late May. Even though much of the site is outdoors, the number of visitors is limited at any one time. Visitors are encouraged to book timed tickets in advance.

The Mob Museum in downtown has also reopened, with temperature checks for visitors at the entrance. The museum encourages people to buy timed tickets in advance.

Updates

10:02 a.m. Aug. 3, 2020: 10 a.m. Aug. 3: An earlier version of this post said Las Vegas bars would be closed for at least another week. Bars are now closed indefinitely.

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