Las Vegas tourist attraction announces layoffs

A Las Vegas tourist attraction is laying off workers and a top executive is leaving the company.

Area15 confirmed Friday that Chief Operating Officer Dan Pelson has resigned, and the company has enacted a strategic restructuring to “address evolving conditions in the marketplace.”

The restructuring will focus on the “most-in-demand” aspects of the entertainment complex and its business, Area15 said.

The number of employees to be laid off wasn’t disclosed. The layoff notice had not been filed with the state as of Friday.

“With next year’s launch of the expanded Area15 District and the upcoming opening of multiple brand-new attractions, this decision supports Area15’s vision and core strengths,” a spokesperson for the company said.

Former-COO Pelson is New York-based and the reason for his departure is location; a search is underway for a Las Vegas-based replacement, Area15 said.

Pelson had been with the company since 2019 and said he will help in the transition.

“The company is focusing on its development in Las Vegas for the foreseeable future, and while I have grown to love the city and the people of Las Vegas, my family is in New York,” said Pelson in a statement to the Review-Journal. “100 percent focus on Las Vegas requires more of my time there, and unfortunately that isn’t good for me, my family, or the company.”

Area15 plans to expand by more than 35 acres with a hotel and housing units in addition to the Universal Destinations and Experiences’ Horror Unleashed themed attraction that will open next year.

Contact Emerson Drewes at edrewes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.