LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Skip Miami Beach, go to Las Vegas instead.
A comment from a city leader in Florida is raising eyebrows in Las Vegas about spring break partiers.
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“You want to party without restrictions? Go somewhere else. Go to Vegas,” said Miami Beach City Manager Raul Aguila during a Feb. 10 city commission meeting.
The warning is aimed at spring breakers looking to come to his city.
Florida caught a lot of flak last year with images of people partying on spring break when mass gatherings were discouraged as the pandemic started.
“Miami Beach is not going to tolerate anarchy,” Aguila said.
Las Vegas Strip expert Anthony Curtis was not surprised to hear the city manager’s comments.
“It just shows through all of this, Las Vegas still has the reputation it has as basically the capital of fun in the United States.”
He says it may encourage some potential spring breakers to come to Sin City.
“Somebody puts that idea in your mind. That’s why people advertise. That’s why Vegas has an ad budget that says 'come to Vegas,'” he said.
Curtis says if they do come, don’t expect a free-for-all as they had on Florida beaches.
Restrictions in Nevada have been stricter compared to much of Florida, like mask mandates and social distancing.
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“The casinos are very, very careful about what they’re doing still. They don’t want to lose their capacity gains," said Curtis. "They don’t want to give it back so they’re extremely careful to follow all the rules."
He says the attention could be a good thing, but any visitors need to adjust expectations.
“You got another city in another state that’s all about tourism saying to go Nevada and that’s a good thing, as long as people know what they’re in for," he said.
"Which is going to be fun, but there’s still going to be rules," added Curtis.
13 Action News reached out to the Miami Beach city manager for additional comment and is waiting to hear back.
