Rajine Jones has a front-row seat to the Las Vegas Grand Prix, one of the most audacious events to roar into a city built on spectacle. Not that she will be able to see it.
On Saturday night, Formula One racecars will be hurtling down the Las Vegas Strip and buzzing past towering casinos, just outside the convenience store where Ms. Jones sells vape cartridges and energy drinks to tourists. But race organizers have shrouded the Strip in black tarp and fencing, and covered the glass on pedestrian walkways with white film and floodlights, obscuring the festivities from those without a $1,000 ticket.
“They blocked it,” Ms. Jones said, looking out her front doors at a line of tarp-covered fence. “We can’t see nothing.”
Race and county officials described the barriers and film as safety measures to protect the public and drivers. But to workers and small-business owners, it is the latest indignity of a monthslong construction project that has turned the Strip into a racetrack, while also causing huge headaches.
We are confirming your access to this article, this will take just a moment. However, if you are using Reader mode please log in, subscribe, or exit Reader mode since we are unable to verify access in that state.
Confirming article access.
If you are a subscriber, please log in.