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LAS VEGAS Rick and JaNeen Bird areLas Vegas loyalists.

On Thursday morning, the retired Arizona couple stood outside Bally's,waiting for Elvis and the showgirls to open the resort for the first time in four months.

Rickcarrieda plain blueface mask in his pocket until it was time to go inside. JaNeenwore hers the entire time,a black maskwith her candidate's nameonit.

"President Trump," it read above a tiny American flag. "Keep America Great."

These Birds have for years refused to fly the Vegas coop. They've visitedThe Strip more times than they can remember.

Rick and JaNeen Bird visiting Bally's Las Vegas after it reopened Thursday, July 23, 2020.(Photo: Ed Komenda / Reno Gazette Journal)

They come forthe video poker machines, seafood dinners and live entertainment.

Theirson evengot marriedat the same Las Vegas wedding chapel where they renewed vows on their 30th wedding anniversary.

"We're very loyal," JaNeen said.

They lastvisited in June, whenNevada casinos reopened after a statewide shutdown that lasted almost three months.

White House: Las Vegas should take aggressive steps to stop COVID-19 spread

The'verefused to let COVID-19 get in the way of their enjoyment even if the pandemic has changed the tourist town they love.

"It's not as much fun," JaNeensaid.

An Elvis impersonator arrives at Bally's Las Vegas Thursday, July 23, 2020, after a shutdown that lasted almost four months.(Photo: Ed Komenda / Reno Gazette Journal)

The shows are shuttered, half the casinos are closed, and there's always someone telling you to put a mask on.

That's what happened to them at the Paris pool.

"Some (expletive) said, 'You have to wear a mask,' so we didn't go to the pool," JaNeen said. "I don't know who madethat rule. Whatan idiot."

There is no wayshe's wearing a mask by the pool in 100-degree heat, she said.

Nevada's casinos and COVID-19: Should they be open? It's complicated, experts say.

Next to the couple stooddozens of Vegas vacationers with cell phone cameras pointed at dancers and showgirls.

There was less than 6 feet of distance between many of them, but no one was there to tell them to social distance.

After the confetti cannon exploded, JaNeen and the crowd cheered and walked through the resort's revolving door.

Within an hour of Bally's reopening, the old hotel-casino was back to old form.

New arrivals rolled their luggage towardregistration and their rooms.

Jason Molinar, 54, visiting Bally's Las Vegas after it reopened Thursday, July 23, 2020.(Photo: Ed Komenda / Reno Gazette Journal)

Boyfriends and husbands hovered over girlfriends and wives sliding player cards and cash into slot machines.

Many pulled masks down to their chinsto sip beer andsmokecigarettes.

Jason Molinar is a Las Vegas local who visited Bally's to gamble on reopening day.

The 54-year-old Army veteranshowed up wearing rubber gloves, a sun hat and two masks.

He said he's doing his part to protect Las Vegasfrom the economic dangers of the pandemicby spending money at casinos.

"We have to open up Las Vegas," Molinar said. "It's going to kill Las Vegas if we don't."

Ed Komenda writes about Las Vegas for the Reno Gazette Journal and USA Today Network. Do you care about democracy?Then support local journalism by subscribing to the Reno Gazette Journal right here.

Read or Share this story: https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2020/07/24/covid-las-vegas-casinos-seeing-activity-reopening/5497892002/

Originally posted here:

COVID-19 in Las Vegas not stopping casino loyalists from vacationing - Reno Gazette Journal