Las Vegas gaming properties rang within the Lunar New 12 months this previous weekend with conventional lion dances, a group parade, different particular occasions, and feasts. They marked the launch of the 12 months of the Tiger.
The Lunar New 12 months’s colourful parade held in Downtown Las Vegas this previous weekend, pictured above. It’s an annual occasion. (Picture: KSNV)
The tiger is understood for being courageous, sturdy, and clever. It’s one in every of 12 animals which can be used to call years on the Chinese language calendar. Their traits come from conventional folklore.
Qingfang Zhang, a social work skilled at Desert Behavioral Well being who has been a Las Vegas resident for 20 years, defined that Lunar New 12 months stays essential to members of the Asian group, in addition to various guests to the area.
It has develop into a major custom and [provides] points of interest for the locals’ Asian group, not just for Asian guests to the US, however guests generally who go to Las Vegas round Lunar New 12 months,” she advised On line casino.org.
She notes there’s a good-sized Asian inhabitants dwelling in Las Vegas and different components of Nevada. Lots of them work within the on line casino business. Nevada has some 237,588 Asian-American residents, in response to current estimates. That represents 8 % of the inhabitants.
Honoring Heritage
“It’s their root and custom to rejoice Lunar New 12 months to honor their very own heritage,” Zhang stated. “Virtually each on line casino has developed some type of program or places decorations [up] to rejoice Lunar New 12 months.”
As an example, Caesars Leisure has celebrated Lunar New 12 months at its Las Vegas resorts for a few years. Current and ongoing celebrations embrace VIP on line casino occasions for invited company, festival-themed decor, eating specials, and conventional lion dance performances at on line casino resorts.
“It is likely one of the most essential festivals of the yr for a lot of Asian cultures, and we’re proud to honor this special day with our Asian workforce members, company, and communities,” stated Sean McBurney, regional president of Caesars Leisure, to On line casino.org. “As we welcome the 12 months of the Tiger, we want everybody happiness, good well being, and prosperity.”
Floral Shows
At one other property, the MGM Resorts-operated Bellagio, the Bellagio Botanical Backyard is adorned in a colourful and festive show known as the “Eye of the Tiger.” It contains lotus flowers, silk-lantern chandeliers, a tea home, a pomegranate tree, and lots of gold cash. An 8,000-pound bronze tiger is the centerpiece of the show.
“The Lunar New 12 months exhibit incorporates conventional parts with modern items that add pleasure and a recent perspective to long-standing Asian traditions,” Ed Libby, a floral designer on the Bellagio, advised KTNV, an area TV station.
The Bellagio Botanical Backyard is adorned for the “Eye of the Tiger” for the 12 months of the Tiger. It includes a bronze tiger. (Picture: MGM Resorts)
Two different properties, The Cosmopolitan and Mohegan Solar On line casino at Virgin Inns, each featured a lion dance this previous weekend. The lion dance is seen as a method to usher in a yr marked by prosperity, fortune, and total good luck.
The lion dance was adopted by the standard consuming of lettuce. It, too, is a method to deliver good luck within the coming yr, KSNV, one other native TV station, reported.
One other community-wide occasion was a parade full with a lion dance and ornamental floats. The yearly parade came about Saturday in Downtown Las Vegas on the Fremont East Leisure District.
