COVID-19 closures mean less pay for Las Vegas entertainers

Under most circumstances, Penny Wiggins might work 10 different jobs each month. This month, she’s working fewer than half.

As an entertainer and performer in Las Vegas, Wiggins is entirely dependent for her income on the gigs, odd jobs and bookings she can secure .

The rampant closures of venues and large gatherings in Las Vegas are resulting in uncertainty and lost wages for Wiggins and other locals who depend on the gig economy to make a living.

“I had a job as like a team-builder that got canceled, another one as a balloon artist for 1,000 people that was canceled,” said Wiggins. “I have two weeks of Airbnb bookings that were canceled. One was for $1,000.”

All of Wiggins’ gigs rely on one thing: large groups of people.

The recent concerns regarding exposure to the new coronavirus have meant cancellation of the events she generally depends on.

“It is absolutely hitting hard for them,” said Corinna Jones, who has hired Wiggins as one of seven private contractors for Alibi Las Vegas, a show and treasure hunt hybrid in downtown Las Vegas. “I have zero ticket sales in the next two weeks.”

Jones depends on attracting audiences for her immersive walking tours during this time of the year because the production quits when it starts to get hot out. Instead, she’s receiving requests for refunds.

“I don’t know what to do about refunding them. My business license was up, and I had to pay for the business license. Then I go dark in the hottest part of the summer,” said Jones. “I don’t have enough in reserve right now and I’m not getting ticket sales.”

Gov. Steve Sisolak declared a state of emergency Thursday. That will make business loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration available to small businesses that are losing revenue as a result of COVID-19 once the disaster declaration is finalized with the SBA.

“It’s a nice security blanket right now,” Jones said minutes after news broke that the low-interest loans would become available. “I’ll ride it out and see how I stand. If I have to apply, I would.”

Donald Contursi generally sees increased business for Lip Smacking Foodie Tours this time of year because of tourist traffic from conventions.

The successive cancellations of this month’s conventions — including Adobe Summit, CinemaCon and the Digital Signage Expo — have meant the private contractors who guide the restaurant-crawl tours downtown and on the Strip have two tours a week rather than the typical four or five.

“It definitely impacts guides,” Contursi said. “Less visitors means less hours for them to work. There’s a trickle-down effect.”

Tawney B lost $20,000 in just a couple of days because of event cancellations, including one for a corporate function at MGM Grand and one for a client at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.

“If this waited like one more month, it might be a little better situation for us” said B, a balloon artist who creates large-scale artworks and fanciful garments using balloons. “This time of year is generally a big season for corporate events and music festivals.”

Like other artists in her industry, B sees most of her business in December’s holiday season, then a lull until March attracts conventions and music festivals, with the next boost in business not coming until the Halloween season.

She was relieved to learn that the small business loans are available but wants to wait to see if they’re necessary.

“If it’s a couple months, I can ride it out. Six months starts to get more complicated,” she said. “If it gets to a year, that puts you in a really bad position.”

In her newly abundant free time, B used her excess balloons to create that which got her into this predicament in the first place.

“I stayed home and made a balloon coronavirus,” she said. “Looking at pushpins as a possible antidote.”

Contact Janna Karel at jkarel@reviewjournal. Follow @jannainprogress on Twitter.