Of course Vegas has seen dark days in the past, such as - 2008! and the financial collapse. Not too long before that - 9/11, where people were afraid for some time to even board airplanes to fly anywhere, including Vegas (I was one of the first people on a plane after that dark Tuesday, and my destination that Monday - was - Vegas!).

But, this current coronavirus pandemic is worse in a way, because the enemy is something that we seem unable to fight effectively and is discouraging people from flying, traveling (like 2001), and is bringing financial ruin to many (like 2008), with unemployment currently at levels not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The combination of these factors of fear of travel and public places, coupled with an economic downfall, is bringing Las Vegas occupancy rates down to the 30 percent level during the week, and not much more than 60 percent on weekends, not to mention that gambling revenue is down, day and nightclubs are all closed, and convention visitors are nonexistent.

What's next for Vegas? Will it survive?

Yes. Of course Las Vegas will survive. If for no other reason than that the infrastructure is too valuable to be simply discarded, Vegas will remain as a palatial playground for adults for all time. What might happen however, is that more resorts will go down, including with bankruptcies, and then be bought up at lower price points, such that the operating costs of the behemoths is reduced. A wholesale wiping out of debt might be in order, and once that happens, the new owners of these palaces might be in a better position to accept leaner years, and remain in operation with lower over all overhead. Las Vegas will never die, but it just might have to tighten its belt for a while.