Tonight I drove down to the Las Vegas Blvd. to prove to myself that for the first time in its 115 year history, the casinos and hotels in Las Vegas were really closed.
When I got there, I was speechless! There was not one person walking down the Strip. It was a ghost town...without ghosts. The same sidewalk that always has thousands of people walking elbow to elbow 24/7, was completely empty. I’ve lived here for 51 years and NEVER would I have expected to see this happen. It really was quite eerie. Wow.
As of midnight on Tuesday March 17, 2020, all hotels and casinos in the entire state of Nevada were mandated by Governor Steve Sisolak to close their doors...for 30 days!
The biggest challenge was to figure out how to do it, as most hotels don’t have locks on their doors…they’ve never closed! (hence police vehicles/officers at every entrance last night). My best friend, who is a cashier at The Flamingo told me there aren't even safes in the cashiers 'cage' (as they are called). The money is so well guarded and re-distributed so quickly, they don’t need them….so now they’re working around that! Who knew?
You may be thinking, so what? Businesses are being forced to close around the world, and you're right. Nevada, however is somewhat of a one-trick pony and to close down the primary source of income for more than half the state, makes a huge impact, a HUGE one!
“The Las Vegas casinos are some of the most powerful moneybrokers in the world. With over 152,000 guest rooms, there’s no other city that rivals Las Vegas in capacity and year after year, millions of people flock to this surreal oasis in the desert to see shows, dine, shop and no matter what they tell you…gamble.”
In calendar year 2018, the 56 million people who visited Nevada collectively spent $65.5 billion, up from $63.7 billion the year before, and tourism provides jobs to nearly half a million people annually and indirect income to millions more. That means these workers are now unemployed. It's a scary thought, especially because who really knows how long this will last?
So, yes, I live in Las Vegas and I'm totally blown away. This community has provided a great life, outstanding education and exceptional income opportunities to my whole family. But I'm truly more concerned about what caused all of this in the first place?
My research has shown that the virus outbreak was all a complicated, and money driven, invention, born in 2003, of Institute Pasteur and the Chinese government in a research laboratory in Wuhan, China; as was SARS, another coronavirus that we're all familiar with.
Is it true? Many in the medical field have confirmed this to me, but who knows?
What we do know is that we are always at the mercy of others for our continued life on this planet. As we all realize, and often say, "Tomorrow is not promised to you." This COVID-19 pandemic puts a huge ‘!’ at the end of that sentence. So without the promise of another day, we must live the ones we have to the fullest as obviously, you never know if it will be your last (didn't your mother or some other person in your life, who cared, tell you that?). Believe it…instill it in your children and remind your friends and loved ones of it on a regular basis. We only pass this way once, My goal has always been to do everything I've ever imagined (within my control); to stop doing anything that doesn't make me happy and to accept that I do have the ability to make those kinds of decisions for myself...we all do.
Let's stop looking at the coronavirus as a terrible menace that may destroy our lives. Instead, take the proper precautions, pray for those it has affected and say thank you. Thank you for this wakeup call that can very well be a turning point in your life. Even though I've always lived by the philosophy I explained above, the coronavirus has still served to enlighten my thinking and push me to value, even more, every day I have on this earth.
I hope you'll allow it to do the same for you.
If there's ANYTHING that you find positive about the current challenges we are facing, please let us know in the comment section. We'd love to hear from you!
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If you want to chat one-on-one, just shoot me an email at mya@goingplaceswithmya.com.
Thanks!
Mya
www.goingplacesinternational.com
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