Back in May of 2018, we reported on the proposed construction of the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas. Last week The Vegas Sun is reporting construction has resumed. In march of this year the company reported they would be pausing construction. There was a concern last month they were shutting down permanently because the scaffolding was being removed from the structure when there was more work to be done. The company stated while this entertainment center was scheduled to open in 2021, they have revised the date to 2023.

The Mirage is opening on August 27th. “As we have slowly and thoughtfully reintroduced our properties across the country, we have placed the health and safety of our guests and employees first at all times,” MGM Resorts CEO and President Bill Hornbuckle said in a statement. “Reopening The Mirage allows us to bring many more of our employees back to work, which is critical in the recovery of our community.” That leaves only 11 casinos that remain closed like Planet Hollywood, The Rio, The Palms, The Linq and The Cromwell.

Staycations has always been a fun “locals’ thing but now The Nevada Commission on Tourism has created a plan to promote the locals use of our hotels and pools. This will include specials for locals and would create over $300,000 in room-tax revenue as we wait for tourism to ramp back up as Covid cases decline.

In northwest Las Vegas the 60 acre Gilcrease Orchard is open for business where locals Las Vegans fresh produce that they can pick themselves, has plenty of space for visitors and social distancing for those in line. It opened in April amid the coronavirus pandemic. For information on current crops, visit thegilcreaseorchard.org, call 702-409-0655 or use the orchard’s app.

And just as some stores have closed up during the pandemic, Target has opened a new store on the strip. The store, which is open for business and scheduled to hold a grand opening Sunday, is located where the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse building formerly stood. ROI Commercial Real Estate founder Dan Adamson, who represents Target locally in finding new sites, said the Strip made sense for the company because of the density of tourists strolling Las Vegas Boulevard’s sidewalks.