Las Vegas local Jess Medina takes an excited selfie as he visits Fremont Street Experience for the first time since coronavirus shut it down on Friday, June 5, 2020 in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Las Vegas locals Rachel DeGennaro and Kyle Voodre pause in the middle of Fremont Street Experience as they spend their first night back at the iconic spot since coronavirus shut it down on Friday, June 5, 2020 in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Pedestrians cross the street on Fremont Street Experience with Golden Nugget in the background on Friday, June 5, 2020 in Las Vegas. Casinos and other nonessential businesses are reopened for the second day since coronavirus shut them down. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Tourists and locals return to Fremont Street Experience on the second day that casinos and other nonessential businesses have been open following the coronavirus shutdown on Friday, June 5, 2020 in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
People wait in line to enter part of Fremont Street Experience in front of Binion’s on Friday, June 5, 2020 in Las Vegas. Part of the new normal at the iconic Las Vegas attraction is multiple security checkpoints. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Las Vegas locals Lily Gamiz, left, and Alisha Cordova, right, pose for selfies as they returned to Fremont Street Experience for the first time since coronavirus shut it down on Friday, June 5, 2020 in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Some bartenders at The D’s bar on Fremont Street Experience wear face shields to protect from coronavirus on Friday, June 5, 2020 in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Foot traffic on Fremont Street Experience picks up as casinos and other nonessential businesses opened for the second day since coronavirus shut them down on Friday, June 5, 2020 in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Fremont Street Experience becomes busy later in the evening on Friday, June 5, 2020 in Las Vegas. It’s the second day since coronavirus shutdowns that the attraction is open, bringing in tourists and locals. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Some wore masks while others did not at Fremont Street Experience on Friday, June 5, 2020 in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Pedestrians make way from Fremont District East into Fremont Street Experience as Phase Two of Gov. Sisolak’s Roadmap to Recovery allowed casinos and other nonessential businesses to open for the second day on Friday, June 5, 2020 in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Andros Montalvo, an employee at Beer Garden, cleans off a table while wearing a mask in Las Vegas on Friday, June 5, 2020. (Chris Day/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Cash, 11, Cassie, Lacey, 9, Lily, 9, and Mike Bowen watch the Bellagio fountain show to "Your Song" by Elton John in Las Vegas on Friday, June 5, 2020. The family are from Colorado and stopped in Las Vegas for a day on their way to San Diego. (Chris Day/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Tim, Nikki, Tucker, 8, Teagan, 8, and Riley, 5, watch the Bellagio fountain show in Las Vegas on Friday, June 5, 2020. The family are from Phoenix and stopped in Vegas on their way home from visiting Tahoe. (Chris Day/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Mike, Cassie, Lilly, 9, Lacey, 9, and Cash Bowen, 11, watch the Bellagio fountain show to "Your Song" by Elton John in Las Vegas on Friday, June 5, 2020. The family are from Colorado and stopped in Las Vegas for a day on their way to San Diego. (Chris Day/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
There was much rejoicing Friday as visitors returned to Las Vegas casinos, open for the first time since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
RJ photographers captured the reawakening, including the first cheers in downtown Las Vegas at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the area’s casinos for 78 days.
Revelers on the Strip found sights both familiar — showgirls, fountains and the bings of slot machines — and not so familiar: sanitizing stations, face masks and temperature checkpoints.
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