When driving down Boulder Highway, you can't miss the line of casinos, especially the Eastside Cannery. It's been closed since the pandemic, but this week, there's a renewed hope it'll reopen.

Memorial Day weekend — the traditional kickoff to summer vacations — is expected to be bigger than last year, local tourism experts say. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said Wednesday it is projecting 343,000 people will visit Southern Nevada in the upcoming weekend, a 1.8 percent increase over last year.

Eastside Cannery will continue its closure to the public, though gaming officials maintain operations in hopes of an eventual reopening for the casino and hotel. Eastside Cannery closed March 17, 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when casinos were ordered to close temporarily across the state. It never reopened.

The Mirage Hotel and Casino ignited a ‘90s Las Vegas resurgence and ushered in Sin City’s megaresort era when it opened in 1989 as the world’s most expensive hotel construction project at the time with a $650 million budget.

Alan Feldman remembers the anxiety that reigned on Nov. 22, 1989, the evening when The Mirage first opened its doors. “There was the normal chaos that occurs anytime you open a new property with all the last-minute things that had to be done,” he recalled.

Two multibillion-dollar resorts — both with arenas that would be capable of hosting a National Basketball Association team — are in the works for Southern Nevada. They leave the public wondering: Are both of them financially viable projects? Which would be more capable of hosting the fourth of the four Las Vegas-based major-league sports teams? If it’s a race, who wins? And is there a dark-horse rival lurking?

The transformation of the Tropicana has begun, and the public said farewell last week to one of the Strip’s historic gaming establishments. The next property headed for big change: The Mirage.

A planned 486-room kosher hotel located on a small parcel off of the Las Vegas Strip may face an uphill battle, but experts agree if the 46-floor property ever opens, it will meet the needs of the growing number of observant Jews.