Fifteen months after the pandemic transformed Las Vegas from flamboyant spectacle to ghost town, Sin City is back.

Tourists are streaming in again, gambling revenue has hit an all-time high, the Las Vegas Strip has its first new casino in a decade, and big concerts are starting at a gleaming new stadium.

Plexiglass panels installed to separate gamblers at the poker and blackjack tables have largely been removed, the world famous buffets are reopening, and nightclub dance floors are packed.

But that progress is threatened: Nevada this week saw the highest rate of new Covid-19 cases in the country, hospitalisations are on the rise again, and the highly contagious delta variant has become the most prevalent form of the virus in the state, adding urgency to the campaign to get more people vaccinated.