If you're feeling the itch in Vegas, it may have nothing to do with gambling.
The itch — that urge to gamble — is what drives people into casinos to try their luck at all sorts games of chance.
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On top of that, there's an old superstition that says an itchy left hand or palm means you may be coming into money.
So what's not to love about the itch?
Bed bugs, that's what.
Yes, those little blood-sucking buggers that make people itch in all the wrong ways bring nothing but bad luck.
Bed bugs can be found in every state in the union and nearly 1 in every 5 Americans — or about 20% of the population — has had a bed bug problem or has known someone who has.
The creepy critters were slowed down by covid, since their human hosts had curtailed traveling and socializing. But as lockdowns were lifted, bedbugs started making a comeback.
And what better place to stage a comeback than Las Vegas? Bed bugs have been reportedly checking into several Sin City hotels.
Bed bugs 'catching a ride'
Caesars Palace, which is owned by Caesars Entertainment (CZR) -), Planet Hollywood, Circus Circus, Palazzo, Tropicana, MGM Grand, and Sahara are among the list of hotels with recent reports of bug bites.
The first report was filed in 2022, KLAS-TV reported, citing Southern Nevada Health District records.
A Circus Circus executive was notified of bed bugs in a room after a guest was bitten in January 2022, the TV station reported. The room was inspected and bed bugs were found, placing it and nearby rooms out of service for a two-week treatment.
A few months later in June, health officials received another bed bug complaint for another Circus Circus room, which was treated.
In a statement, MGM Resorts International (MGM) -) said in part, “We have comprehensive procedures in place to address and resolve any issue that may arise.”
The Tropicana Las Vegas, which was also hit with bed bugs this year in February, told KLAS-TV in a statement that “while highly unlikely, in the event of a complaint, we immediately isolate the affected room and its surrounding areas.”
None of the other hotels responded to the station's request for comment.
“We got thousands of people coming into Vegas every day, so bed bugs catch a ride with somebody," Bobby James of Top Line Pest Control, who takes care of bed bugs at off-the-strip hotels, told the TV station. "They jump off into a hotel."
Bed bugs are typically 3/16 inch long, red to dark brown in color and are mostly nocturnal so they can come out at night and feed on sleeping humans.
Hotel owners worried
And they can breed like the dickens. Female bed bugs can deposit one to five eggs a day and may lay 200 to 500 eggs in their lifetime.
Of course, bed bugs aren't solely hitting hotels in Vegas.
The pest control company Orkin conducted a survey of 100 U.S. hotels and found that 90% of them had been treated for bed bugs at some point and 91% of hotel owners and similar hotel businesses from the survey were worried about bed bugs.
A bed bug problem hits hotels square in the wallet, with the loss of room revenue, disposal of soft goods and pest control treatment.
Orkin's 2016 study found that hotels’ most recent bed bug incidents cost an average of $6,383, which back then was the equivalent of 51 nights in the average hotel room.
And Las Vegas visitors and tourists alike should be happy to learn that the Gambling Capital of the World was nowhere to be found on Orkin's Top 50 Bed Bug Cities.
Chicago has that dubious distinction, followed by New York and Philadelphia.
"While it’s important to be aware of bed bug infestations within hotels, practicing precautions in other aspects of travel are also important,” Ben Hottel, Orkin entomologist, said in a statement. “Taxis, buses and airplanes are also common bed bug hiding places, allowing these pests an opportunity to hitch a ride with unsuspecting travelers."
He added that examining clothing and luggage regularly while traveling can help to catch a bed bug infestation in the early stages.
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