It seems that the phrase "pent-up demand" has replaced the phrase "new normal" when it comes to evaluating the current state of the casino industry. I know we are all sick of the new normal phrase. It almost sounds like constipation, but the good kind, if anything like that.

Yes, we all yearned for the reopening and thought the closings lasted too long, at least I did. As a Nevada resident, who had low Covid-19 numbers compared to other states, I thought that Governor Steve Sisolak was too late.

Remember, gambling tax revenue represents 40 percent of the Nevada state budget, and tourism and other gambling-related tax revenue represents at least another 20 percent. And with more than 300,000 people out of a job, which gave Nevada the highest unemployment rate for any state in history, by far it was frustrating to see that people and gambling companies suffered so much.

"And when Arizona reopened completely two weeks before Nevada in full casinos (within Covid's parameters), all citing" pent-up demand, "it was even more frustrating and progressed to worsen."

Across the country, the story was the same. Customers who had been homebound for more than two months had one thing in mind: let go and play for a while.

Now this was a surprise to most observers. First, they thought that people would be shy and fearful of coming out of the running of the bulls and meeting other people. Well that turned out to be wrong. People have gotten lost from the camaraderie of gambling and hanging out on the casino floor.

They also hoped that because many people suffered a financial hit, whether they were suspended from their jobs, seeing their 401Ks drop, or some other fiscal calamity, their desire to return to the game would dim. Again, it is not necessarily true. One study revealed that it wouldn't change much of the player's budget, and that turned out to be true. The additional $ 1,200 that each American received in their pockets was not covered in the survey but spending so far seemed healthy enough.

Of course, all casinos were opened with similar procedures. All included a combination of temperature controls, employee testing, social distancing, capacity limits, Plexiglass dividers, cleaning patrols, mask provisions, and more.

Virtually all casino employees were required to wear face masks, which is highly recommended for casino customers in most jurisdictions but required in others. The disagreements came particularly when some customers showed up with old western scarves that covered the bottom of their faces but did not seal their mouths. A nightmare for surveillance.

Face masks became a problem when probably only a quarter of customers wore them, even though there are boxes of them at the entrances to the casino. In the following days, there was a debate about whether facial masks should be required for everyone entering the casino.

I walked around the Bellagio the first day it was open and the casino floor seemed like a foreign land. Plexiglass shields spanned all blackjack and poker tables. Slot machines turned off, a terrible look, by the way. A full dice table meant six players, three on each side.

What did I see during this day 1 of freedom? People having fun, which has been a rare commodity in recent months. I saw people who don't live in fear, who just want to get on with their lives, which includes enjoying the game and all that goes with it.

And frankly, this surprises me. I had several conversations over the past year about how the fun seemed to have come out of casino games. This experience seemed to reject that statement.

No, we don't know everything about how casinos will respond after reopening, but providing a place where people can find an escape and have fun to meet their "pent-up demand" is not so bad for our business.