LAS VEGAS (AP) – Brides walking to wedding chapels fielded warm wishes from strangers on the sidewalk and a cover band gave slot players a soundtrack as Las Vegas ushered in the new year.
The city’s celebration features some of the biggest names in music holding court in the nightclubs and an eight-minute fireworks show launching from the tops of half a dozen high-rise casinos. Local police joined forces with National Guard, Secret Service and FBI agents to protect Sin City and the more than 300,000 visitors expected during the weekend.
“We are very concerned about safety,” said 35-year-old tourist Jonathan Potwana, who was visiting Las Vegas from South Africa and snapped a picture with a group of uniformed officers milling outside of downtown bars. “When we see visible policing, we feel much safer.”
The heart of the Las Vegas Strip was closed to vehicle traffic starting Saturday evening so pedestrians could stroll the famous boulevard in the misty weather that was expected to drop to the mid-40s around midnight.
Police ramped up barriers this year to prevent cars from reaching partiers, and a new county ordinance prohibited large bags, strollers, backpacks and glass bottles on the Strip for the party. Las Vegas police spokeswoman Laura Meltzer said there were no significant incidents reported as of two hours before the new year, but officers had to remind people of the bag rule, which aimed to prevent people from hiding dangerous items.
Clark County fire officials said they took seven people from the Las Vegas Strip area to the hospital over the course of the evening, although none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.
A fireworks show synchronized to music – including the standard Auld Lang Syne and Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” – was planned for midnight. Revelers can watch the spectacle from unusual vantage points, including from the windows of a helicopter tour and the cabin of the High Roller, the world’s tallest observation wheel.
Casinos are pulling out all the stops for the holiday. Headliners at Las Vegas’ swanky nightclubs include DJ Calvin Harris, rappers T-Pain and Kendrick Lamar and artists Drake and Bruno Mars.
At a lower-key celebration in downtown Las Vegas’ casino-flanked Fremont Street Experience, bands played under a video canopy while visitors sipped giant beers. Ken and Linda Troyan of Peoria, Illinois were decked in a light-up “Happy New Year” hat and “2017” glasses as they took in a concert.
“We’re looking forward to a new adventure in our career,” said Linda Troyan, 54. She added, “2017’s going to be awesome.”
The couple said they’re excited to expand their carpet cleaning business and do renovations on their home in the new year.
Some tourists said 2016 was a year of disappointment. Colorado Springs resident Virginia Quill, 54, said she wished she had a better-paying job in 2016 and wasn’t thrilled that Donald Trump won the presidency.
But even those who troubled by the political climate were finding a silver lining as they looked toward 2017.
“Our president-elect has got to stop running his mouth … he looks like he wants a war,” said Albany resident Mike Mogavero, 47, who was spending New Year’s Eve with his wife Marissa. “That same bravado might actually get things done.”
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.
