LAS VEGAS — LAS VEGAS (AP) — The casino coronavirus closure has ended. Cards are being dealt, dice are rolling and slot machines flashed and jingled for the first customers who started gambling again early Thursday in Las Vegas and throughout Nevada.

Hotel-casinos in suburban areas were first to open at 12:01 a.m., to be followed later in the day by a restart of the iconic Bellagio fountain and reopenings of several resorts on the Las Vegas Strip.

There are big hopes for recovery as officials balance health concerns against the economic loss of billions of dollars per month in gambling revenue and unemployment that topped 28% during an idled April.