Good question. We've been following these developments (and posting them as they occur in Vegas News) for exactly the same reason.
The three best casino-company employee policies for the shutdown are Venetian, Wynn, and Stations, none of which, by the way, charges for parking (the Venetian never has, though it did deal triple-zero roulette; we'll see if that survives the pandemic).
The Venetian's parent corporation, Las Vegas Sands, is paying its 10,000 employees "throughout the shutdown, with no layoffs or furloughs." That's one claim we've seen; the other is through May 17, but that was when the casinos were expected to open in mid-May. Sands is also going the extra many miles by paying around 1,200 workers at 14 restaurants who aren't direct employees. The casino company will cover the partner restaurants' payrolls during the shutdown for salaried employees and distribute a weekly stipend for hourly and part-time employees.
Wynn Resorts was the first to announce that it would pay its employees and retain their benefits for 30 days while the casinos were closed and that the salaries of company executives would be cut by 33% to 100% to help defray the cost of issuing paychecks to the rank and file. It extended that time period once through May 15, totaling 60 days of paid leave; for tip positions, their pay includes average tips since the beginning of the year.
Station Casinos extended pay and benefits through May 15 after committing to paying through April 30. Then, when the shutdown was extended at least through May 15, Station announced that it would lay off an undisclosed number of employees on May 16. Medical, dental, and vision benefits will be extended until Sept. 30. Employees who are not laid off will continue to receive regular pay and benefits through at least May 31.
The Cosmopolitan paid through April 16, then laid off most of its workers, though it's picking up health insurance payments through June 30.
Silverton paid through April 13, then laid off all its workers.
Boyd Gaming paid staffers through April 10, then furloughed most of its hourly employees nationwide, though it will continue to pay furloughed employees' health insurance premiums through June 30 or when they return to work, whichever comes first.
Caesars committed to two weeks of pay, then laid off nearly all of the employees at its 36 U.S. venues, as well as its administrative offices. Employees are using their available paid time off and the company is paying the health insurance premiums for furloughed employees through June 30 or the day they resume working, whichever comes first. Caesars has, however, launched an employee assistance program funded by donations from the company’s executives and board of directors. Employees facing "unusual hardships" caused by the shutdown can apply for extra help.
MGM Resorts is similar. It originally announced two weeks of pay for full- and part-time employees, which ended on April 2; on that day, 60,000 of its 69,000 employees in the U.S. were furloughed. The company has an Employee Emergency Grant Fund, which has climbed to $12.5 million (thanks in part to contributions from executives and MGM entertainers), has received applications from more than 3,000 employees, and has distributed more money in April alone than what it normally does in an entire year.
You can safely assume that the rest of the casinos laid off all its employees immediately without pay. Notable among those is Treasure Island, owned by Phil Ruffin, whose net worth is $3.2 billion. He told Forbes.com that he has "enough cash to keep my casinos closed for 20 years."
