Covering My Tookus.

Some worrying rumors coming out of the Vegas-sphere that there may be another round of closures coming up for some strip properties.

@vitalvegas, the singular Vegas news authority whose Twitter feed (and to a lesser extent, blog) is required reading for we strip-hounds, reports that there's a good chance Venetian and possibly Caesars Palace may close down again after the 4th of July weekend, voluntarily. COVID cases are spiking in Nevada (as they are everywhere) and that could be a reason for the short term closures, or I'm theorizing it could have something to do with minimal room demand after the holiday. COVID's a great excuse to shut down in lean times if you're not going to cover your overhead in visitor intake.

Whatever the reason, it's clear that it's not "business as usual" or anything like it on the strip yet. That being the case, I have given myself a little insurance on the August trip by keeping my booking at The Cosmopolitan, and also booking a backup suite at Delano for the same week. There's been no chatter about Cosmo closing, to my knowledge, but it seems prudent to have a couple options lined up in case they do happen to be shut down that week. There's no risk in it, the Delano reservation is a no-deposit deal and I just need to cancel it by a couple days before the trip to have no obligation to it.

This virus is showing no signs of abating, summer be damned. The flu is a reliably fall/winter affliction, but this thing seems not to be seasonal in its virality. It continues to fuck up a great many things and seems, at least until a vaccine is released, to be here to stay. The "new normal". Masks are now 100% compulsory in all indoor spaces in Nevada, as it probably should have been since the re-open.

So, in short, I've given myself a little flexibility to go, should the primary resort be closed. If the WHOLE damn strip closes again, then I'm right back to where I was in March, but I don't even want to think about that right now. Fingers crossed.