The CDC announced new guidelines on wearing masks inside for people who are fully vaccinated. USA TODAY

LAS VEGAS Is Las Vegas finallyback?

There's a new sense of optimism on The Strip, as tourists shed their masks and step into casinos where they no longer have to social distance andcover faces.

But is Las Vegas thedestination where people are looking to escape again?

The powers that be in Nevadas tourism industry believe so.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority released a new ad this week pitching the glittering gambling and entertainment mecca as the place cooped up travelers are looking to go to enjoy freedom after 14 months of isolation.

The Reno Gazette Journal, which is part of the USA TODAY Network,talked with insider Billy Vassiliadis, CEO of R&R Partners the company behind "What happens here, stays here" tasked with getting peopleback to Las Vegas and asked him what's next for this town. The interview has been edited for length and c

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Is Vegas back?

People are really, really, really starting to look at travel. There is a sense ofI gotta get away settling in. We know from our research, thats what tourists are looking for. Theyre looking to escape. They need to escape, and they need to think about, dream about, hope for something that is life again and living again in full color with full sound and changing and wearing fun outfits and doing things they havent been able to do. I think Las Vegasoffers it right up to them.

What research are you looking at?

Listening on social media is a big one, but we specifically have been tracking for years but with a keener eye the last two, three months the intent to travel. The intent to travel to Las Vegas. Were seeing that on a steady climb. Were beginning to almost reach reach pre-COVIDdemand. What we need to do is now use that knowledge and then motivate and excite them to actually book it. Theirintent is to do it, theirintent for Vegas is high. We just need to activate it.

Whats the next landmark for Las Vegas tourism?

A spectacular Fourth of July. The return of live entertainment. The pieces are in place to activate that group that intends to come here andhave them book.

The Fountains at Bellagio on April 30, 2021.(Photo: Ed Komenda / Reno Gazette Journal)

After 14 months of pandemic living, how are you feeling now, being the guy tasked with brining people back to Las Vegas?

Like Ive got a new lease on life. Its what Im seeing. On the Las Vegas Strip right now and throughout Southern Nevada there is a jubilation. Theres an excitement. Theres an energy. The people who were coming here before, they were having fun. They enjoyed being away from their homes and being outsidefour walls, but it was with some caution. The shows werent open and the clubs werent open. While it was a great escape from their current situation, it wasnt the jubilation and excitement Las Vegas is known for. Im seeing that again. Im feeling that again.

Where do we go from here?

As we continue to get more comfortable with this horrible virus thats around us especially the people that are vaccinated there will bea sense of liberation that is pretty special. One thing to not underestimate is how ones environment effects ones intent to travel and how much fun they can have.

A woman watches the fountains at the Bellagio hotel-casino along the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas on Nov. 19, 2020.(Photo: John Locher/AP)

What do you mean by that?

Kids going back to school is normal. Fans back to a baseball park in their hometown is normal. When LAs numbers go down or Chicagos numbers go down and their rules begin to ease, the people who live there savor the idea of going to Las Vegas even more. Their comfort level is increasing and their idea of some sense of normalcy begins to reset. The decision to come to Vegas isnt as complicated and difficult as it was last December, when you had to rationalize a lot. There was a lot of thinking and rationalization that went into the decision. Now I think its Lets go.

Ed Komenda writes about Las Vegas for the Reno Gazette Journal and USA Today Network.

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Las Vegas Strip: Masks are gone, but is Sin City finally back?