Fontainebleau opens, casinos avoid strike: McKenna Ross’ best stories of 2023

2023 was a big year for business and labor in Southern Nevada. There were multiple casino and resort openings, a massive hospitality strike was averted and a major sporting event took over the Las Vegas Strip – and that was all in a few months.

Here’s how we covered some of those big moments on the Strip and beyond.

A near strike on the Strip

Culinary Local 226 members spent weeks threatening to go on a city-wide strike and it took a deadline right before the inaugural Formula One Grand Prix in Las Vegas to finalize a deal. Our reporting showed how those late-night agreements were reached.

‘Landing three planes at once’: How union, casino operators avoided strike

Not all engines were revved up for Formula One

Speaking of F1, while the resort corridor was excited to host the international motorsports event, some small businesses around it weren’t so keen.

Road construction, in particular, gave many nearby businesses serious headaches. Some feared it was causing major revenue losses – and the early results suggested a mixed bag.

‘This destroys business’: Owners lament F1-related road construction

Dealing with unemployment insurance backlogs

Nevadans waiting months for word on their unemployment insurance decisions and appeals learned that at one point this year, there were 26,000 claims in a backlog. The department was trying to work through thousands of appeals that fought overpayment determinations. Some Nevadans said they waited months for a hearing, worrying all the while about the thousands of dollars the state government wanted back from them.

“I felt like it was a big extortion plot,” one Las Vegas resident said. “The way they presented it, it was based on fear. There was no information up front that it could have been cleared up quickly. It was just a fear-based tactic.”

‘David versus Goliath situation’: 26K Nevadans await appeal hearing for unemployment claims

Nevadans get back to work, creating a tight labor market

Nevada’s labor market has held an interesting pattern coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic: it has the highest unemployment in the nation, while also having the highest job growth rate. Such a tight labor market led to a “reshuffling” when major venues like the Sphere, Durango and Fontainebleau resort-casinos opened this year.

Tight Vegas labor market could lead to job shuffling as casinos gear to open

A Strip hotel 18 years in the making

Fontainebleau Las Vegas had a long-anticipated opening – longer than most. The idea for a sister property to the historic Miami Beach hotel was first announced in 2005, but the project fell through during the Great Recession, leaving the shell of a towering, blue building over Las Vegas for the next decade. But the resort finally opened in December, hoping to be a game-changer for luxury and the north Strip.

What to expect when Fontainebleau opens Wednesday

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.