Conventions Set for 2022 in Las Vegas, As Boyd Gaming Joins Casinos at Full Capacity

Posted on: May 13, 2021, 03:14h. 

Last updated on: May 13, 2021, 03:27h.

Larry Henry Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Gaming Business, Legislation, Politics, Regulation.

The World of Concrete trade show on June 8 in Las Vegas is helping kick off a busy convention schedule extending into 2022, according to a report. The is happening as more casinos in Las Vegas are opening at full capacity with COVID-19 restrictions lifted.

Las Vegas Convention Center
A work crew puts finishing touches on a sign at the Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall late last year. Several conventions are scheduled to occur at the site in 2022. (Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is set to adopt its 2022 budget in a public hearing on May 26, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The budget reveals that several major conventions are coming to the Las Vegas Valley.

This comes as more than 30 hotel-casinos in Las Vegas have received permission from the Nevada Gaming Control Board to operate at 100 percent gaming floor capacity. The board granted the approval after resort companies verified they were taking measurable steps to vaccinate their workforce against COVID-19.

Boyd Gaming is the latest to receive approval from the board to operate its Las Vegas Valley casinos at full capacity. The properties are the California, Fremont, Orleans, Gold Coast, Suncoast, Aliante, Sam’s Town, Cannery, and Jokers Wild resorts. Another Boyd Gaming hotel-casino, the Main Street Station Casino, Brewery and Hotel, has not reopened since last year. 

In March 2020, Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) ordered casinos to close at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. He allowed casinos to reopen June 4. Main Street Station, located in downtown Las Vegas, has not posted a reopen date on its website.

Major Conventions Scheduled

One major convention coming to Las Vegas is the four-day CES show, set to begin Jan. 5, 2022. The Consumer Technology Association’s popular event once was known as the Consumer Electronics Show.

In early 2020, before COVID-19 cases surfaced in Nevada, the CES show attracted 180,000 visitors to Las Vegas. After being held in Las Vegas for four decades, the event was conducted virtually at the beginning of this year because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Among other conventions and trade shows, the Special Equipment Marketing Association has scheduled its SEMA event for Oct. 26-Nov. 7, the newspaper reported.

Other upcoming conventions include the Men’s Apparel Guild in California event, known as MAGIC, on Feb. 9-18 and Aug. 4-14, and the National Association of Broadcasters show on April 16-May 1.

Convention-goers will be able to take advantage of the nearly $1 billion new West Hall expansion at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Hope for a Recovery

Conventions and trade shows are considered important in filling up hotel rooms in Las Vegas, especially during the slow middle of the week. Last year, several resorts on the Strip were forced to close their guest rooms during the midweek days because of low consumer demand.

Since March 2020, when COVID-19 cases began to spike, conventions have been absent from Las Vegas. 

This has led to a slowdown the Las Vegas economy. Beginning in 1999, Las Vegas resorts have made more money from conventions and hotel amenities than from gambling, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The upcoming convention schedule gives industry experts hope that the city is recovering.

Chandra Allison, senior vice president of sales at the Venetian Resort, has said conventions such as CES are “paramount to the city’s economy.”