The final countdown

When Formula 1 announced its intention to hold a Las Vegas race, it seemed a match made in heaven. The glitz and glamour of the US gambling capital would meet the glitz and glamour of the world’s fastest car race, propelling the sport into a new stratosphere of notoriety across America and the rest of the world.

the economic impact will surpass even the upcoming Super Bowl at around $1.3bn

For the local residents of Las Vegas and Nevada, this also seemed like a major coup. It marks the first Grand Prix in Las Vegas in more than 40 years and is expected to bring substantial funds to the region. In fact, economic solutions firm Applied Analysis has predicted the economic impact will surpass even the upcoming Super Bowl at around $1.3bn.

The final countdown to lights out has now begun, with the race to begin on Sunday this week. While F1 fans are rubbing their hands together in anticipation, it seems that things have not worked out as Las Vegas residents had originally hoped. The build-up has been marred by major issues, including disruption to local landmarks, some employees losing their jobs, and even the death of a construction worker.

VegasSlotsOnline News has dug into the real story behind this year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Disrupting the Strip

Understandably, F1 organizers wanted their Las Vegas edition to soak in as much of the gambling capital as possible. That’s why the 6.2km course travels right along the Las Vegas Strip, providing vantage points of the iconic sights of Caesar’s Palace, the Bellagio Fountain, and newest addition, The Sphere.

With that decision has come difficulty for both those living in the area and tourists visiting over the past few months. Grandstand and other course-related construction has caused disruption to some of Las Vegas’s busiest areas, causing serious traffic issues and in some cases cutting off access to attractions completely.

cut down 25-year-old trees in front of the Bellagio

MGM Resorts International started off on the wrong foot in September when making room for grandstands. The casino operator cut down 25-year-old trees in front of the Bellagio. While MGM transplanted some trees to other areas to be replanted at the end of the year, it chopped others down entirely, causing swathes of negative press:

In regards to the construction that followed, The Bellagio Fountain and the volcano at the Mirage were two of the worst-hit attractions. The latter closed in September and will remain so all the way until December 8. Meanwhile, construction work blocked out the main view of the Bellagio Fountain, forcing tourists to watch from a small viewing point until even this was lost to construction.

Las Vegas reporter Jen G shared some footage of some of these issues:

Criticism has been rife on social media among locals and tourists alike, causing F1 owner Liberty Media to apologize over the weekend. CEO Greg Maffei said: “I want to apologize to all the Las Vegas residents, and we appreciate their forbearance and their willingness to tolerate us.” He added that F1 would bring “something like $1.7bn of revenue to the area,” before deeming it “the largest event Las Vegas will have.”

Impact on employees

It might seem like an F1 Grand Prix coming to town might be good news for anyone working in the area. The Las Vegas Review-Journal has reported that 105,000 people will visit over race week, bringing with them wallets full of potential tips for hard-working hospitality employees. However, there have been plenty of issues here too.

Firstly, casino workers were left in the dark for much of the build-up regarding how they would even make it to work during race week. The Strip will close to the public from Thursday this week until Sunday, meaning casino workers will have to find a different route to their shifts. At the end of last month, F1 organizers said they still didn’t know exactly how they would get staff to their jobs. They have not provided an update since.

the outside gondolier workers at the Venetian have had to file for unemployment

Meanwhile, the situation is a little more serious for others. According to an anonymous source quoted by Jen G, some casino employees are even losing their jobs through the holidays due to the disruption. Her source explained that the outside gondolier workers at the Venetian have had to file for unemployment until the ride is reopened:

Luckily for casino operators, the Strip narrowly avoided a strike for race week too. The Culinary Workers Union members approved strike action in September as they struggled to negotiate better work contracts. To push those talks in the right direction they set November 10 as their strike deadline, days before the F1 opening ceremony. Rumor has it that MGM Resorts International even demanded its corporate employees step in for casino workers if there was a strike.

Caesars Entertainment, MGM, and Wynn Resorts all reached agreements with the trade union last week to prevent the strike action. Union boss Tedd Pappageorge took to X on Sunday to share his joy at what he deemed the “BEST CONTRACT EVER:”

Dangerous construction

The final issue that has risen from the Las Vegas Grand Prix had fatal consequences for one construction worker.

In September, VSO News reported that a carpenter union member had made some accusations about the safety of course construction sites. Joe Dotson, Data Engineering Lead for the Southwest Mountain States Carpenters, warned that F1 was attempting to avoid footing a hefty bill for grandstand construction by using cheap non-union laborers, most of which did not have certain safety certifications.

He shared his warnings on X:

Just one week later and his warnings seemed to come to fruition. A construction worker who was helping to erect scaffolding at the Bellagio Fountains died after suffering a “major laceration to the neck.” The unnamed worker was rushed to hospital but doctors were unable to save him. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that it will investigate the tragic death.

Worth the hype

With all the disruption and now a fatality resulting from the upcoming Grand Prix, locals will be hoping the actual event lives up to all the hype. We will find out this week when the biggest show in motorsport rolls into town: