Eighty demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis were arrested on the Strip on Friday for refusing to obey orders to disperse, with 12 police officers injured by thrown rocks and a minor amount of property damage. But last night things got much uglier as police and demonstrators faced off again, this time downtown. Upwards of 2,000 demonstrators took to the streets around Container Park, with isolated groups breaking windows, spray-painting storefronts, looting a pawn shop, and burning a police vehicle. Metro officers out in force responded with tear gas and, reportedly, rubber bullets. So far there have been no reports on injuries or arrests from last night's unrest. Things were worse in Reno, where the Nevada National Guard was activated after demonstrators smashed windows of businesses and set a fire inside the Reno City Hall that was quickly contained.
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area will reopen Monday after being shut down shortly after the state was closed in mid-March. The Scenic Drive, along with the overlook, boardwalk, and three trails will reopen during the hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. till further notice.
Tyron Woodley is a -175 favorite over Gilbert Burns in tonight's UFC main event. In the other featured match, Mackenzie Dern is -465 over Hannah Cifers.
The bars are open. That is, if they want to be. We checked out 10 or so on yesterday’s opening night and only half that we visited were open. All were crowded. The consensus is that the others are waiting for June 4, when the bar machines will be turned on.
The Bellagio Fountains will debut three new songs after the hotel-casino opens at 10 a.m. next Thursday. The three songs are "dedicated to the strength and resiliency of front line workers, the country, and the people of Las Vegas, respectively." They are: 1) the 1848 Shaker song, "Simple Gifts," a tribute to frontline workers; 2) "The Star-Spangled Banner," commemorating the country’s strength throughout the current crisis; and 3) “Viva Las Vegas,” celebrating the resiliency of the people of the city.
The Ohio House of Representatives yesterday overwhelmingly (83-10) approved a bill that would legalized sports betting. The Ohio Lottery Commission would be in charge of the sports books and would tax betting receipts at 10%, sending the "net proceeds" to education and gambling-addiction programs. The bill would allow mobile betting certain veterans’ and fraternal organizations to offer on-site betting through approved state vendors. Sports betting has been debated in the Ohio Statehouse for over a year. Senate leaders and the governor would prefer the Casino Control Commission as the regulator over the Lottery Commission and the Senate bill would levy a 6.25% tax, with proceeds going into the General Fund.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has released April's visitor count and it's about as bad as expected, with the city mostly closed. The number of visitors plunged 97% from April 2019, all the way down to 106,900 from 3.5 million in April 2019. The number of convention visitors fell exactly 100% -- down to zero from 530,000 last year. Hotel occupancy was 1.7% and the average daily room rate was $60. Laughlin saw 4,300 visitors, while Mesquite hosted 3,100.
Following directly on the heels of the reopening of Caesars Palace and the Flamingo, Caesars Entertainment's third hotel-casino will fling open its doors on Friday June 5 at 11 a.m. The press release cited "much stronger than anticipated customer demand" as the Harrah's trigger. The property will unveil a $200 million multi-year transformation, including renovated rooms and suites, a remodeled casino floor and hotel lobby, Buddy Valastro’s PizzaCake, and the recently refreshed Ruth’s Chris Steak House.
The Valley View Casino outside San Diego will open its locally popular Maine lobster buffet on Monday at 4 p.m. for dinner. The announcement states that the spread, dubbed "Our Whole New Way to Buffet," has been "completely reimagined and reinvented," with "more than 100 dishes to enjoy in a safe relaxing environment without ever having to leave your table." They'll accomplish that with additional food servers and runners "to raise the level of your dining experience." And here's an interesting twist: "To minimize any handling of cash or credit cards during your meal, we are asking all of our guests to please leave a $5 per person tip with our cashiers before you are escorted to your table." We're not sure if the "asking" and "please" mean the tip is mandatory or voluntary; either way, the announcement states, "If you do not receive the first-class guest service that you deserve, we will be happy to refund your tip at the end of your meal."
McCarran International Airport passenger volume hit bottom last month, down 96% to 152,716 passengers for the entire month, as compared to 4.3 million in April 2019. Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air carried 199 passengers into and out of McCarran over the entire month, compared to 199,000 a year ago April. Year to date, McCarran has processed 10.2 million passengers, down 37% from the 16.2 million in the first four months of 2019.
Nevada gambling revenues were down 99.6% in April 2020 compared to April 2019. Statewide, casinos earned a piddling $3.64 million last month, after raking in $936.4 million in April 2019 and more than $1 billion each in January and February 2020. The only reason the state showed any income at all was due to one poker website, WSOP.com, and mobile sports wagering on obscure sports from remote corners of the globe. In fact, the Gaming Control Board revenue report had to redact the sports betting numbers in order to maintain confidentiality of financial records, as in some jurisdictions, sports books registered losses, mostly due to belated payoffs of winning college and NFL bets. By contrast, New Jersey, which allows igaming, booked a 68.9% loss year under year in April, setting an online-gambling revenue record of $82.6 million, while earning $0 from its nine brick-and-mortar Atlantic City casinos -- the same zero dollars earned by Nevada casinos in April.
The Golden Nugget, El Cortez, seven Station Casinos, and two Wildfire casinos will reopen at exactly 12:01 on Thursday morning June 4, pending final regulatory approval. So far, these are the announced early birds; some casinos might join them at the witching hour, though most are opening later in the morning. Fremont Street, which has been closed throughout the shutdown, will reopen the four-block pedestrian promenade on June 3 at 9 a.m., providing access to adjacent hotel-casinos and retail stores. Leading up to the reopenings, the Viva Vision video screen will display a 144-hour countdown that will conclude at the exact moment gaming operations restart at 12:01 a.m. on June 4. The SlotZilla zipline will also reopen in downtown Las Vegas on June 4 at 4 p.m.
Despite the fact that Mike Tyson is 54 and Evander Holyfield is 57, there’s serious talk of a third meeting of two of the greatest boxers of all time. Holyfield won the first two fights, the second by the infamous ear-biting disqualification, but Tyson has been put up as a -300 favorite at the Westgate if the fight takes place.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board has updated its reopening protocols for casinos, adding instructions on what to do if a guest's temperature is deemed too high. The body temperature of all guests' entering the state's casinos must be checked upon entering. Guests who register 100.4 or above will have 15 minutes "to cool down" before being retested. If they fail again, they’ll be asked to go to the secondary screening area. Medical professionals will monitor basic vital signs, consult with a tele-health provider, collect a lab sample if recommended by the provider, and transfer the guest either to a quarantine hotel or hospital if medically needed. Apparently, 10 non-gaming hotels are being set up to quarantine infected guests. We don't which properties, nor do we know how much they'll be charging for the duration of the quarantined stay, but we'll update all that as more details are known.
In April 2019, the unemployment percentage in the Las Vegas metropolitan area was 4%. This April, it was 33.5%, after a loss of nearly 200,000 jobs practically overnight. That was more than double the job losses sustained between 2008 and 2010, when the Las Vegas area was among the hardest-hit in the country by the Great Recession. Jobs in construction and at hospitals rose, but only slightly.
Here is a list of casinos that will reopen on June 4, pieced together from various sources.
MGM Resorts: Bellagio, New York-New York, MGM Grand
Caesars Entertainment: Caesars Palace, Flamingo
Wynn Resorts: Wynn, Encore
Las Vegas Sands: Venetian
Boyd: Fremont, California, Suncoast, Aliante, Cannery, Sam’s Town, Orleans, Gold Coast, Jokers Wild
Station: Red Rock, Green Valley Ranch, Santa Fe, Boulder, Palace, and Sunset Stations, Wildfire
Others Downtown: Apache at Binion's, D, Downtown Grand, Four Queens, Golden Nugget, Golden Gate, El Cortez, Plaza
Others Strip and vicinity: Strat, Arizona Charlie's (both), Sahara, Circus Circus, Treasure Island, Cosmoplitan, Ellis Island, Tuscany, OYO, Silverton, South Point
An earlier post indicating that the Sahara had rescinded its resort fees may have been in error. We had what we felt was sufficient information to make the post, but an attempt to book was not RF-less. We've taken down the original post for now and will continue to investigate.
Less than two hours after announcing the free-flight promotion from the D, all 1,000 flights were booked. In response, Derek Stevens has added 700 more flights under the same conditions. We just checked and they're available as of this posting, but you'd better move fast.
No longer rumor, it's been confirmed that MGM Grand will open on June 4. That makes three MRI resorts that will open in the first round, along with Bellagio and New York-New York.
Derek Stevens of the D and Golden Gate, which will reopen on June 4, is giving away 1,000 free flights to Las Vegas from more than 20 major U.S. cities. Stevens’ “Keep America Flying” promotion is intended to help stimulate the Las Vegas tourism and national airline industries. Participants can book a seat by signing up at theD.com on a first-come first-serve basis; the cities that still have seats available are listed there. The fine print: Tickets are one-way only. Accommodations and all additional costs are the recipients' responsibility.
Yesterday evening, Governor Steve Sisolak announced that Phase Two of the reopening of Nevada will begin May 29. The order clears the way for the opening of bars, gyms, fitness centers, recreation areas, swimming pools, movie theaters, and bowling alleys, along with other businesses and activities. Casinos are excluded for another week, but, pending instructions to be issued today by the Gaming Control Board, will be allowed to open less than a week later on June 4. No mention was made of gambling machines in the bars, but we presume they will resume operation with the casinos on June 4. Excluded with no date for reopening given are nightclubs, day clubs, gentlemen's clubs, brothels, and live sporting events. Sisolak based his decision on COVID-19 statistics: The percentage of those testing positive for COVID-19 has fallen for 30 straight days. Phase Two is expected to run for two to three weeks.
Stanley Ho, the godfather of gambling in Macau, died in his sleep in a Hong Kong hospital last night at age 98. Ho made his fortune by transforming the Portuguese colony of Macau into a gambling hub that has become the largest in the world; it's the only place in China where casino gambling is permitted. Ho had a casino monopoly in Macau for 40 years until 2002, when foreign companies became eligible for casino licenses and Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands entered the market. Around the same time, China eased travel restrictions, making it easier for tourists to visit the city, and Macau took off like a rocket. Still, Ho's company remains the largest casino operator in Macau, with 22 venues. He fathered 17 children with four women (a couple of whom he was legally married to for most of his life). His net worth last year was just under $15 billion. Ho wasn't a gambler. He famously said, "I know nothing of gambling. I still don't gamble."
The executive board of the National Hockey League Players' Association has approved a 24-team "return-to-play" format for the restart of the postponed 2020 season. The NHL is expected to approve the format at some point this week. The details are a bit complicated (the divisional wild-card format is altered to two conference tournaments of 12 teams), but for our purposes, the Vegas Golden Knights are one of the top four seeds in the Western Conference, as determined by their standing when the regular season was paused on March 12. The VGK would have a bye through a round of best-of-five series among seeds 5 through 12. The Westgate has already posted futures odds for the playoffs and the Knights are co-favorites to become NHL champions at 6-1, along with the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning.
The official word is that Bellagio and New York-New York will be the only two casinos in the MGM Resorts International group to open immediately, with the rest of the gaming company's properties reopening later based on demand. However, rumors are out there that MGM Grand may also be in the mix. MGM, along with Bellagio and NY-NY, is taking reservations as of June 4 (while the others are not), which is the date the casinos are now expected to be allowed to reopen. The situation is expected to become clearer this week, beginning with a press conference held by Nevada’s governor on Tuesday.
Three Las Vegas bars — No Regrets and Las Vegas’ two locations of Miller’s Ale House — have indicated that they’ll remain closed after shutdown orders are rescinded. We’ve referenced all three on several occasions — No Regrets for its good video poker promos, and Miller’s as one of the best places to view UFC and boxing pay-per-views. We fear this may be just the tip of the iceberg for the city’s gaming bars.
What will Las Vegas casinos look like when they reopen? Here are the most visible changes that gamblers and customers will notice. Masks will be mandatory for dealers, front-desk employees, luggage handlers, security officers, housekeepers, and wait people. Guests will have access to free masks, but they won't be mandatory. The dice will be disinfected between shooters and chips will be sanitized frequently, though the process is unclear. Decks of cards will be changed frequently; we've heard rumors that they'll be replaced after every round, but that sounds a bit unlikely to us. We've also heard that ensuring social distancing will be the responsibility of every employee, particularly at the tables, where we understand that the limits will be three players at blackjack, four at roulette, and six at craps, with plastic partitions separating dealers from players and players from one another. And when the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian reopen, gondoliers on the vessels will wear masks, while others on the banks of the canal will serenade passengers "from an appropriate distance."
The typical long-weekend crowds are mostly absent, but events are going on around the valley. Various patriotic car and motorcycle parades are happening, including one with classic cars leaving from the South Outlet Malls at noon. The finale is the annual Southern Highlands fireworks show, a couple miles south and a bit west of South Point; the fireworks are shot off from Olympia Sports park, which is closed, but they'll be launched from the top of the hill for better viewability. Lake Mead National Recreation Area is open, as are Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, Mount Charleston, and Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks (day-use only); Red Rock Canyon and Hoover Dam are closed.
What will poker look like after the Las Vegas casinos reopen? The Wynn and Station Casinos will open without offering poker, while the Venetian has announced that it will reopen its poker room and follow guidelines from the Gaming Control Board: mainly, masks and four players at the tables. Pros agree that masks make it difficult to read other players and six is a better minimum number. The Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa opened with its poker room in action and is hosting six-player tables with players separated by plexiglas and masks mandatory, while the dealers wear masks, eye coverings, gloves, and -- get this -- a bottle of hand sanitizer as the button.
It was rumored for a while and now it's official: The Corner Market Buffet at Treasure Island won't be reopening when the rest of the joint does. Sorry to say so, but it's no great loss. It was closed for four months over the summer of 2018 for a $3 million renovation and both the room and number of selections were greatly expanded, but we found that the food hadn't improved much, especially at the high-end prices. The entire space will be taken over by the race and sports book.
In a replay of sorts of the Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson matchplay golf challenge that was played in Las Vegas and won by Mickelson in 2018, the two will partner with NFL greats Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in today’s “The Match: Champions for Charity” fundraiser for COVID-19 relief efforts. Competing in a playing format created specifically for this event, Woods/Manning are -175 favorites over Mickelson/Brady, with lots of prop bets also offered.
We continue to receive questions about the driving situation in Las Vegas and we finally have a definitive answer. In April, even though all bars were closed, southern Nevada's DUI Strike Team arrested 133 drunk drivers, nearly double the 75 in April 2019. In addition, there were 24 fatalities on Nevada roads in April, double the number in March. And arrests of reckless drivers at speeds up to 125 mph have gone up during the shutdown
If you missed Anthony Curtis on Wednesday’s ZorkCast, the show is now up on YouTube. A lot of ground was covered in this discussion, primarily with regard to Las Vegas’ pending emergence from the shutdown and what you can expect when it does.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, a grand total of 11,041 visitors arrived in Macau in April. It's hard to figure how anyone did, given the border restrictions between Macau and mainland China. But 61 managed to arrive by air, while 328 came from Hong Kong and 210 from Taiwan. The rest somehow managed to get in from the mainland. The total represented an incomprehensible 99.7% drop in visitation year over year. Visitor arrivals for the first four months of 2020 have bottomed out at by 76.6% less than the same period in 2019.
Nevada’s unemployment set a new record of 28.2% in April, when the lion's share of the state's businesses were shut down in response to the coronavirus crisis. It was the worst in the country and it was worse than the national average of 25% at the depths of the Great Depression. Jobs in the hospitality and food industries were down even more (41%). The state has paid out more than $1.6 billion in unemployment benefits in the past two months. Nevada is followed on the list of worst states for unemployment by Michigan (22.7%), Hawaii (22.3%), Rhode Island (17%), and Indiana (16.9%). Minnesota (8.1%), Nebraska (8.3%) and Connecticut (7.9%) are the bottom three. Big spread.
In the midst of the pandemic and with 16 workers testing positive for the virus, Allegiant Stadium is described as in the "fourth quarter" of a hard-played game. Upwards of 2,000 workers on site have gone to three shifts from two to allow for increased distancing. The roof is on and done, video boards are installed, sod is laid. Systems are being tested. Work is now focusing on restrooms and concession stands, though those don't need to be completed if fans aren't allowed. The first event at the stadium is a Garth Brooks concert on August 22 and the first game is scheduled for Aug. 27. The home opener is against the New Orleans Saints on September 21.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak issued a statement a couple of hours ago in which he said the state's casino industry could reopen on Thursday June 4. The reopening is contingent on the state's COVID-19 data continuing to indicate consistent positive trends through this long weekend, along with a workshop held on Tuesday May 26 by the Gaming Control Board with experts providing health and safety responses to the ongoing virus crisis. Pending the trend data and following the the workshop, the governor could announce the official start of Phase 2, which would occur nine days later.
Two blocks Downtown have been closed to vehicle traffic for the city's new "Dine Out Downtown." Between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m., the blocks are converted to a public takeout dining seating with tables, chairs, and pop-up shade shelters as an alternative to eating inside restaurants. The two locations are 6th St. between Fremont and Carson and California Ave. between Main and Casino Center. The seating areas will continue through Phase 2 of Nevada's reopening; city staff is there to clean and disinfect the tables and chairs between uses.
The latest economic models for southern Nevada's return to normalcy from the pandemic shutdown show "somewhere between an 18-month to 36-month recovery," according to Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst with Applied Analysis of Las Vegas. Aguero, considered the top fiscal analyst for the Las Vegas economy, said in an interview yesterday that mass gatherings of people, international points of origin, conventions and trade shows, and the danger of becoming a coronavirus hot spot all conspire against a full recovery for up to several years. "It's not going to be easy and it's going to take some time," he said.
As expected, Caesars Entertainment has announced that it will “suspend” its policy of charging for self-parking at all of its casinos upon reopening. CET was the last of the companies that had implemented paid parking to make the move. Parking is now free at all Strip casinos; however, Caesars, MGM, and Cosmopolitan have all left the door open to reinstate paid parking at some point in the future. Downtown casinos continue to charge, but they all have easy validation options in place.
Promoter Bob Arum has announced a plan to present a boxing card of five fights on June 9 at MGM Grand Garden Arena and a second on June 11. No fans will be attendance, but ESPN will televise both cards. A series of twice-weekly fights will follow through July. The ambitious schedule is dependent on the approval of the Nevada Athletic Commission and the reopening of the MGM, but the announcement appears to be another indication that the Strip will be allowed to reopen over the first week in June.
Caesars Entertainment has announced that it will go with Caesars Palace and the Flamingo when the green light is lit for casinos to open their doors. It mimics the strategy of MGM Resorts International of opening only one high-end and one efficient middle-market property to start (MRI chose Bellagio and New York-New York). An opening date was not specified, but both casinos are taking reservations as of May 29. We continue to believe that June 1 is the more likely opening date for these and multiple other Las Vegas resorts. Of interest in the CET press release: “Some offerings, including live entertainment, bars, spas, buffets and valet parking will not be resuming immediately.” CET also said, “… other Las Vegas properties and dining amenities are expected to reopen based on customer demand.”
It's been more than two years since Steve Wynn's fall from grace over allegations of sexually harassing several women employees and he has remained "radio silent" ever since. Yesterday, however, he sat for a 10-minute interview with Fox Business. Wynn, who now lives in Palm Beach, Florida, said that the "first hurdle" was getting the airlines up to speed ("Otherwise, people will only be able to drive from California"), and talked about China ("We’ll see really depressing May numbers, but when restrictions are lifted, Macau will come back fairly quickly”), social distancing ("There is an overwhelming impulse for people to return to their normal habitual behavior"), and his prognosis for the Las Vegas gaming industry ("June 1 is the targeted beginning of the opening of the hotels. By June 15, we’ll get really good clarity on [casino survival]. It’s a little early now”).
A Northern California card room was raided and shut down by the state’s Department of Justice when it opened with restrictions on business operation still on place. Towers Casino operated for one day before the raid was launched. Indian casinos are also opening in California despite governor Gavin Newsom’s request that they don’t. Unlike the card rooms, the state does not have jurisdiction over the tribes and can’t take action against them.
The American Gaming Association (AGA), responding to a federal executive order "to swiftly identify regulatory reform opportunities to help promote job creation and economic growth," restarted its lobbying campaign to modernize the $1,200 slot-jackpot reporting threshold, which has been in place since 1977. “The current threshold is outdated and imposes significant compliance burdens on both the Internal Revenue Service and gaming industry," the AGA said in a statement. The AGA argues that, even more important than last year when it "encouraged" the Department of the Treasury to update the threshold to a realistic level in line with inflation, such as $5,000, in light of the pandemic, any increase would "also significantly reduce close interactions between gaming employees and patrons to issue tax forms."
One of the two Resorts Worlds hotel towers, which together contain 3,500 rooms, were on display last night as construction crews tested some of the exterior lighting on the Strip-facing walls. The lights were white vertical stripes against red, green, and blue backgrounds. Though it was just a hint of the capabilities, the brightness and shapes promise some great effects when the lighting displays are completed. Work continues on the $4.3 billion megaresort, scheduled to open in a little more than a year.
The free PT's video poker tournaments are back, running through June 7. The prize is a 2-day stay and $300 in comps at The STRAT or one of Golden Gaming's Laughlin properties and it’s awarded weekly to each of the first five finishers. See our “Vegas and the Virus” blog for details.
The well-known "underground house" at 3970 Spencer St. in southeast Las Vegas is back on the market. It has 5,000 square feet of livable space surrounded by a 15,000-square-foot bunker of steel-reinforced concrete, built in the early 1970s to survive a nuclear attack. The $18 million sale price includes a 2,300-square-foot two-bedroom above-ground caretaker's house through which residents gain access to the underground part of the property; combined, it's a low low $2,500 per square foot and only $16.85 million more than the current owner paid in 2014. We've written several Questions of the Day about the underground house; the most recent one is here.
Las Vegas' five Macy’s stores, one Nordstrom and two Nordstrom Racks, and eight Kohls are open. All have instituted the expected health and safety measures and offer limited-contact drive-up service.
Only four months after the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority unveiled its "What happens here only happens here" campaign, the LVCVA released its new slogan in a 30-second commercial that has aired on several TV channels: "A new Vegas for a new reality." The campaign, titled "Reimagined," uses lines such as, "Things will be a little different when we reopen again, at least for a while," and "The world has changed and Vegas is changing with it," and "If you've ever imagined a Vegas that is just for you, it's only here."
Anthony Curtis will be the guest on the ZorkCast Wednesday at 3 p.m. EST. This is a good format where you can watch AC on your computer and text in questions that will be answered live. To view the show, sign up at ZorkCastLive.com.
With Governor Steve Sisolak's continued silence on introducing the phase that allows the reopening of casinos, dates based on optimism alone continue to be pushed back. Downtown Grand and Treasure Island have moved their opening dates for the third time to May 22 and May 26, respectively. We expect them to retreat a fourth (and maybe fifth) time. Circus Circus, also owned by the TI's Phil Ruffin, is listing May 31. The Wynn, which made a big announcement about May 26, will now reopen, if allowed, on June 1. Four of the other big casino companies are banking on June 1: MGM, Boyd, Station, and Venetian, which just announced its reopening date. But Caesars is now May 29, moved back from the original May 22. The Cosmo is June 4 and Westgate is June 18. Good luck to South Point, which is still May 26.
The Cosmopolitan announced this morning that it non-hotel guests can self-park for free when it reopens (currently scheduled for June 4). Valet parking will continue to "remain complimentary for hotel guests,” a polite way of saying that non-hotel guests will still pay for valet. Interestingly, the Cosmo stated that the resort fee will remain in place; MGM didn't touch that one with a ten-foot crap stick. We anxiously await the announcement from Caesars; as we wrote yesterday in our Vegas and the Virus blog: "We’d be shocked if any company opens with parking fees."
The nearly 1,200-room Colorado Belle Hotel-Casino, with its riverboat facade on the Colorado River in Laughlin, will not reopen after the crisis. Owner Golden Entertainment informed the Belle's 400 employees of permanent layoffs in a letter dated last Thursday, then made the public announcement yesterday. Golden also owns the Aquarius casino in Laughlin, which it bought in 2017, and the Belle's sister casino, the Edgewater; it bought both in January 2019 for $190 million. Both will reopen. Another casino, DiamondJacks in Bossier City, Louisiana, has also announced that it's closing for good.
When they reopen, all nine MGM Resorts' hotel-casinos will return to free self-parking. According to the statement, “MGM Resorts is updating many of our offerings as we prepare to welcome back guests, and that includes implementing free parking," adding, "for the foreseeable future." Charges for valet parking, when it returns, are expected to remain in place, as well as paid parking for events, such as concerts, games, and UFC/boxing matches. Are resort fees next?
The Container Park, downtown's open-air retail center, reopened last Thursday; upwards of 80% of the stories and restaurants reopened, while the capacity of diners and shoppers is limited to less than 50%. The District at Green Valley, Town Center on the south Strip, Downtown Summerlin, and the two outlet malls north and south, all outdoor shopping centers, are also open with restrictions, while the indoor malls are accessible, though only the restaurants therein have reopened for business. And the Library District began offering curbside pickup Saturday morning.
The Professional Bull Riders will host the PBR Monster Energy Team Challenge in the South Point Arena on Fridays and Saturdays throughout June. Forty-eight of the world’s top professional bull riders will be split into teams and compete in "games" until two teams remain to compete for the championship. A “Game of the Week” will be televised on CBS Sports Network each Sunday. All four weekends will be closed to the public and PBR will employ the safety protocols debuted during three previous event weekends in April and May, including scaled-down crews, medical testing, functional separation and social distancing. The competition will culminate in a championship weekend that will welcome fans to ticketed events at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, July 10-12.
The Mississippi Gaming Commission has given the green light for casinos in South Mississippi to start reopening at 8 a.m. on Thursday May 21. The governor's office affirmed the go-ahead. Anticipating the end of the shutdown, many of the casinos are bringing back cleaning crews to sanitize and maintenance crews to ready the properties. No word yet on the casinos in northern Mississippi (Tunica).
NASCAR returns today with The Real Heroes 400 at South Carolina’s Darlington Raceway. Kyle Busch is the favorite at +475, followed by Denny Hamlin (+575) and Kevin Harvick (+600).
To celebrate its reopening on May 22, Maverick Helicopters is giving away 250 free rides on its choppers over the Strip and downtown. Random drawings will be held from May 20 through June; the winner can take a guest, so it's technically 500 free rides. You can register at maverickhelicopter.com/ourvegas.aspx; registration includes your full name, home town, email address, and phone number.
Passengers at McCarran Airport can now buy personal protective equipment (PPE) in vending machines, one in Terminal 1 near the ticket counters, the other in Terminal 3 near the TSA checkpoint. McCarran says it's the first airport to offer PPE items for sale from machines: hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes, gloves, and various mask options, with prices ranging from $4.25 to $14.50. Most airlines are now requiring at least masks onboard, but they're available only at gates; this option, outside TSA checkpoints, are useful for last-minute purchases of PPE if passengers arrive without them.
Walt Harris is a -160 favorite over Alistair Overeem in tonight's UFC main event. In the other featured match, Claudia Gadelha is -250 over Angela Hill.
In every instance of a casino reopening thus far, big crowds have materialized. The most recent example is the openings of five casinos in the Phoenix area last week, where customers indicated they were having problems finding open machines. According to reports, about half of customers have been wearing masks.
Restaurants in the Arts District, Fremont East, and in select areas of downtown can now put tables on the sidewalks outside their doors. Restrictions include social distancing between tables and pedestrians (six feet) and adjacent restaurant seating (50 feet), with removable barriers delineating the space. Music must remain inside.
Governor Steve Sisolak is cautiously optimistic about the downward trend of COVID-19 statistics in the state, including the daily rate of positive testing results, an increase in tests, and an increase in hospital capacity. However, he remains circumspect about loosening restrictions beyond Phase One, which began a week ago. In a press conference yesterday, he said Nevada needs to determine the impact of the eased restrictions before further reopenings, which will take another couple of weeks at least.
The earthquake that struck a remote area in west-central Nevada early Friday morning was, according to the director of the Nevada Seismological Lab at the University of Nevada, Reno, the worst since 1954, when the area shook from a 7.1 and a 6.8. The 6.5-magnitude temblor was reportedly felt as far away as Salt Lake City and central California. Amazingly, nearby Tonopah suffered only minor damage: broken windows, shelves emptied, sidewalks buckled, and signs off their moorings. US 95 reopened yesterday mid-afternoon after road crews repaired stress fractures in the asphalt.
According to the American Gaming Association, to date, 52 casinos have reopened in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, New York, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington. Louisiana is the first major commercial casino market expected to reopen when its restrictions lift on Monday. Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Oregon will likely also see some reopenings in the coming week. Nevada's gaming market is expected to reopen in a phased approach in late May or early June.
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake that took place this morning around 4 a.m. 35 miles west of Tonopah was felt in Las Vegas, nearly 250 miles southeast, and even Sacramento, 350 miles northwest. The USGS reported a series of aftershocks, one as high as 5.1 on the Scale. No injuries or damage have been reported so far in central Nevada, though traffic on US 95 is being diverted around the area (NV 360 to US 6 back to US 95).
Yesterday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board released guidelines under which restaurants in casinos can reopen during phase one, which we're in now. It's a little unclear how many will actually be able to resume operations, given the restrictions imposed by the Board. First, restaurants "must report to Gaming Control" if there's a separate entrance, so patrons can access the space without going into the casino. The same holds true for restrooms, which would seem to eliminate the lion's share. And patrons won't be allowed to congregate outside the restaurant, but only in counties with 100,000 or more residents (a curious way of specifying Clark and Washoe, the only Nevada counties that even come close). Meanwhile, with the price of meat soaring, restaurants have a new challenge. Owners report that wholesale costs have gone up from 30% (for pepperoni and ground beef) all the way to 200% for brisket.
The venerable Strip coffee shop, the Peppermill, has announced that it will reopen a week from tomorrow, Friday May 22, at 7 a.m.
The formerly 24/7 restaurant will now close at 11 p.m. and reopen at 7 a.m. daily. Health and safety precautions include staff in masks, frequent sanitizing, plexiglass barriers between booths, reduced capacity, disposable menus, and plasticware. The Fireside Lounge will remain closed. Conversely, the Rampart locals casino in Summerlin left a voicemail on the phones of most of its employees yesterday, laying them off permanently. Health benefits expire on May 31. End of call. Beep.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority says it has a cash burn of two years: It can survive for 24 months without any revenue. It's obviously well-funded, but its just-announced 2020-2021 budget reflects a 36% drop from last year's. In addition, the LVCVA is in the process of eliminating 80 jobs and furloughing 270 workers, who'll continue to receive health-care benefits. Executive salaries have been reduced and bonuses have been eliminated; early-retirement packages have been offered. One line item that remains intact is the $1 billion expansion, which is four-fifths completed. The second tunnel in the people-mover subway will be completed today or tomorrow and work on the three stations is also on schedule.
Anthony Smith is a -190 favorite over Glover Teixeira in tonight's UFC main event. In the other featured match, Ovince Saint Preux is -145 over Ben Rothwell.
According to Howard Stutz of CDC Gaming Reports, Hard Rock International has acquired the rights to the name Hard Rock Hotel Casino Las Vegas. The Florida-based company is owned by the Seminole Tribe and "the acquisition gives the company exclusive full rights to the name Hard Rock Las Vegas, along with memorabilia, signage and merchandise, intellectual-property rights for affiliated restaurant and entertainment trademarks, and website domain names." In addition, "The transaction removes any restrictions placed on Hard Rock International from “developing, owning, licensing, managing or operating any Hard Rock-branded casino and integrated resort within Southern Nevada’s Clark County, which includes the Las Vegas Strip." Hard Rock International bought the shuttered Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City in May 2019 for $50 million (it cost $1.2 billion to open) and turned it into Hard Rock Atlantic City.
Sheldon Adelson, CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp., announced yesterday that his casino company is withdrawing from the competition for a casino license at one of three proposed integrated resorts (IR) in Japan. At one time, Adelson claimed that he'd spend $10 billion to $12 billion on construction in Japan, but Las Vegas Sands will now concentrate on its Singapore and Macau casinos, where it's spending upwards of half that sum on improvements. Caesars dropped out of the Japan process last year in order to focus on its merger with Eldorado. It's unclear which casino companies will bid next year, when Japan is expected to begin accepting applications for the three licenses.
A new neon sign has been installed on Binion's to advertise the 81-room Apache Hotel that opened last August. The sign is the face and neck of a Native American man in profile, with long black hair wrapped by a red headdress with two black-and-white feathers.
Casino-industry leaders addressing a digital gaming conference (ICE North America) going on this week are predicting an initial surge of patrons returning to brick-and-mortar casinos when they reopen, based on a lot of pent-up demand. And boy, was that ever the case at the Thunderbird Casino in Norman, Oklahoma, at its soft reopening yesterday. From 10 to 11 a.m., the casino was reserved for guests age 50 and older and at 10:10, it hit its reduced capacity of 250 people, roughly one-third of normal capacity. Very few brought masks with them; required, they were handed out at the entrance by staff, all of whom wore them. (Patrons were allowed to smoke once inside; one gambler reportedly cut a hole through his paper mask to fit a cigar through it.) Everyone's temperature was taken on entry. The bar was closed, but drinks were available from the restaurant, which was serving a limited menu. Speakers at ICE North America say that after the initial rush, with casinos restricting capacity, number of players at tables, and slot devices and enforcing social distancing, if people don't enjoy the experience, they might not make repeat visits.
A massive $1 billion 7,000-acre solar-energy project, dubbed "Gemini," has been approved by the Department of the Interior for a location roughly 35 miles northeast of Las Vegas along Valley of Fire Highway. When it's completed in 2022, the 690-megawatt generation station will be the largest in the U.S. and eighth largest in the world, big enough to power 260,000 homes in the region. It will provide 900 jobs at its peak and infuse upwards of $700 million into the southern Nevada economy; in addition, it will bring the state closer to complying with a bill passed last year that requires Nevada energy providers to derive at least half of their power production from renewable resources by 2030. Approximately 30 desert tortoises living in the area will be extensively monitored for the project's impact on their habitat.
It appears that the Wynn and Encore have set a firm date of May 26 to reopen; employees are being mobilized, including at all the restaurants and the buffet. The date was pushed back from the Friday before to the Tuesday after Memorial Day weekend and we await this development with bated breath. The Venetian, on the other hand, has announced that it will open "sometime in June." Boyd is apparently weighing the idea of opening its locals casinos first and delaying unlocking its downtown doors while it waits for tourism to pick up, particularly from Hawaii. The original location of Lotus of Siam in the Commercial Center will reportedly reopen within the May 20-25 time frame; it closed in 2018 after its roof collapsed from the weight of monsoon rains. The new location on E. Flamingo is still undergoing repairs from its roof collapsing due to rain a couple weeks before the shutdown. Weird. And the North Premium Outlets have reopened; it's allowable, since it's an open-air mall, but with enhanced safety measures in place. The mall employs more than 1,400 people at its shops.
An eagerly anticipated press conference held by Caesars Entertainment didn’t clear up much. CET will emphasize safety and open in stages. Yup, no surprises there. No information regarding the which and when of the openings was forthcoming.
Last week we wrote that Island Resort and Casino in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula had reportedly opened, but those reports were incorrect After receiving a letter from state authorities discouraging the opening, the decision was made to delay until at least May 16.
After an attendee at the Consumer Electronics Show (January 7-10) tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, reports have started to surface about other attendees and, especially, workers at Las Vegas' largest trade show of the year exhibiting symptoms of the acute illness. A spokesperson for Teamsters Local 631, whose members work at CES and the other large Las Vegas conventions in January, believes that "it's very very likely" at least some Teamsters were infected. According to union health-insurance data, out of more than 1,500 members, at least 700 were diagnosed with flu-like symptoms, some severe, between December and February, a 20% increase year over year. Could it be that This Thing came to Las Vegas with some of the 175,000 attending the show, two full months prior to the first confirmed case of it on March 5?
The Las Vegas Review-Journal's food writers canvassed restaurants serving Mother's Day meals to dine-in patrons and found that, in the second full day of the controlled reopening, those with patios were full (according to distancing restrictions), well-prepared, and busy. Of those without patios, most were busy; some were serving efficiently, while at others, service was slow due to a lack of staff and a gradual ramp-up. Most claimed that diners were understanding, though at one downtown restaurant, it was reported that "customers complained about the staff wearing face masks and threatened to leave one-star Yelp! reviews unless the restaurant agreed to ignore government guidelines on limiting how many guests could be seated at the same table." The reporters found that most of the eateries they surveyed remained curbside pickup only and a number didn't even open for the day.
Comicbooks.com reports that Deanna Martin, Dean Martin's daughter, is in talks with UK-based PA Media to bring back her father, along with Frank, Sammy, Joey, and others, using hologram technology. Deanna says that possibly as early as next year, she would do duets with her dad if the idea flies. Hologram performers are increasing in their popularity; Michael Jackson "appears" in the Cirque show One at Mandalay Bay; a tour with a Roy Orbison hologram launched last year; the image of Tupac Shakur did a song with Snoop and Diddy at Coachella a few years ago; and An Evening with Whitney: The Whitney Houston Hologram Concert was supposed to begin an extended residency at the Flamingo last month.
Monday May 18, a week before Memorial Day, is shaping up to be a big day for the reopening of casinos. Arkansas' three casinos will reopen that day, allowed to operate at 33% of capacity. In North Carolina, Harrah’s Cherokee and Cherokee Valley River will begin a gradual reopening on that day. In Massachusetts, the third extension of the shutdown expires May 18; if it's not extended a fourth time, the state's casinos could reopen then. And West Memphis' Southland Casino is also scheduled to open its doors for limited operations on that Monday.
Tony Ferguson is a -225 favorite over Justin Gaethje in tonight's UFC main event. In the other featured match, Henry Cejudo is -210 over Dominick Cruz. This return to live sports in the U.S. is expected to draw a big audience and betting handle.
Sweet Tomatoes, with 97 buffet-style restaurants nationwide, including three in Las Vegas and 44 in California where it originated, is closing permanently. In a statement, the company CEO cited FDA recommendations for self-serve stations (such as beverages at fast-food restaurants) that singled out salad bars and buffets. “The regulations are understandable, but unfortunately, it makes it very difficult to reopen. And I’m not sure the health departments are ever going to allow it." The San Diego Union-Tribune, covering the closing of Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation, the buffet brand founded in San Diego 42 years ago, called the permanent closings "a casualty of the coronavirus pandemic that is likely to be the death knell for all self-serve eateries."
The schedule for the first season of the Las Vegas Raiders has been announced and it looks like the NFL is predicting a lot of interest in the team. In their first home game scheduled for September 21, the Raiders will host the New Orleans Saints in a Monday Night Football appearance. The team will also make two appearances on Sunday Night Football, at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 25 and the Kansas City Chiefs on November 22, and one on Thursday Night Football, against the L.A. Charges on December 17 also at Allegiant Stadium. Four of the Raiders' eight home games will be nationally televised -- if, of course, the NFL's 2020-2021 season goes on as planned.
In an address to the SBC Digital Summit, former Las Vegas mayor and Caesars exec Jan Jones Blackhurst said that it might be necessary for the casinos to do away with resort fees and paid parking. While making it clear that she wasn’t speaking for the industry, she said, “My personal opinion is that they need to be eliminated … [in the past] people saw Las Vegas as this tremendous value. You weren’t going to pay parking fees and resort fees. I’m just not sure that, in this new world, you can lead with that.”
Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy fame has died from COVID-19 complications. Roy was 75 and severely compromised from injuries he suffered when attacked by a tiger onstage in 2003. Siegfried & Roy and Cirque du Soleil are considered to be the two most powerful influences on today’s Las Vegas entertainment scene.
Frontier Airlines has dropped its plan to charge passengers extra to sit next to an empty middle seat. The ultra-low-cost carrier (like Spirit and Allegiant), which charges for checked luggage, carry-on bags, all seat selections, snacks, booking online, etc., had announced a $39 charge per flight to guarantee aisle and window passengers would have an empty middle seat between them. After an outcry, Frontier abandoned the plan, saying, “We recognize the concerns raised that we are profiting from safety and this was never our intent. We simply wanted to provide our customers with an option for more space.”
According to Equibase, which provides the thoroughbred industry with a uniform database of information and statistics and is the sole data-collection agency for the Daily Racing Form, horse racing on race days garnered a daily handle of $7.5 million in April, up 176.5% year over year. And that's despite the total number or races being down 71.4%, with many tracks out of service. Legal Sports Report observed that, though the overall handle for the month was down nearly 25% to $639.4 million last month compared to April 2019, if the number of races had been the same as last year, the handle would have been a whopping $2.3 billion.
Though some Nevada businesses -- restaurants, beauty parlors and barber shops, and retail stores -- can reopen tomorrow morning, plenty of others are still restricted. These include bars that don't serve food, gyms, spas, movie theaters, bowling alleys, nightclubs, tattoo and piercing parlors, strip clubs, brothels, malls, and casinos. Big-event venues for shows, concerts, and sporting events will, in all likelihood, be last to restart. But the drive-in theater in North Las Vegas is allowed, after the dust-up over it a couple weeks ago.
In a news conference today, Nevada governor Steve Sisolak declared the state would enter Phase 1 of the recovery plan at 12:01 a.m. on May 9, almost a week earlier than originally planned (up till now it was considered Phase 0). The key points of the change are that businesses that had been deemed non-essential will be allowed to open, though with strict sanitary and distancing guidelines. This includes allowing non-casino restaurants and bars that serve food to accept dine-in customers, but only for table seating (no sitting at the bars) and at 50% of previously allowed capacities. All employees must wear masks. Salons will also be allowed to accept customers if enacting the same mandated precautions. In an odd requirement, only customers with reservations at restaurants and appointments at salons can be accepted. Casinos have still not been cleared for opening and gaming machines in bars will remain off. Casinos will open when approved by Nevada Gaming Control, with June 1 looking most likely. Today's order will run through May 31 unless altered sooner.
A former poker-pro Las Vegan yesterday filed a notice of intent to circulate a petition to recall Mayor Carolyn Goodman, accusing her of “failing to responsibly represent her constituency.” If the petition drive collects 6,745 signatures, representing 25% of people who voted in last year's municipal primary election, by August 4, Goodman would face a recall election. Meanwhile, in a meeting of the Las Vegas City Council last night, a majority of the Council sided with the mayor's highly publicized contention that Las Vegas should be allowed to reopen all businesses immediately.
The CEO of Wynn Resorts announced yesterday in a quarterly conference call that the company will pay all salaried, hourly, and part-time employees through May 31. Wynn 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 the first time through May 15; this second extension gives Wynn/Encore's 15,000 employees a total of 75 days of average, including tips. In all, Wynn will spend $250 million in payroll for the 75 days without an operating property, contributing to a loss of nearly a half-billion dollars and counting.
In a legal notice sent to the more than 63,000 furloughed employees of MGM Resorts, largest employer in Nevada, the new CEO told workers that the furloughs could last up to six months, which would put them into September, and that due to an expected slowdown in travel and a gradual ramp-up in reopenings, the job losses could become permanent layoffs. The company will continue to pay employee health-insurance premiums in full through August 31, which extends the original June 30 date by two months, but jobs are far from guaranteed.
Among the last casinos in the nation to shut down, casinos in Deadwood, SD, could be among the first to reopen. Monday, the Deadwood City Commission passed a measure that allows city businesses to reopen their doors tomorrow and three casinos have announced that they're ready to reopen in the morning. In Washington state, Northern Quest in Spokane reopened yesterday and has reportedly been "slammed"; Angel of the Winds in Arlington, WA, will open on May 13 and three more on May 19. Meanwhile, the reopening of Detroit's three casinos, according to the mayor, "are a long way off." He wondered aloud in yesterday's Detroit News if they could start up again sometime over the summer at 25%-30% of capacity max. And in Mississippi, the governor told the Biloxi Sun Herald that he's having second thoughts about the casinos in his state reopening by Memorial Day amid a rapidly growing number of COVID-19 positive tests and death count. "Two days seems like an eternity in the face of the pandemic," he said, "and 18 days away is a lifetime." In other words, in Mississippi, as in most of the rest of Casino Land, it's still a wait-and-see.
The Native American-operated Island Resort and Casino reportedly opened today in Michigan. Only slots and bingo are being offered, with no date set for opening table games and poker. Located in Michigan’s sparsely populated Upper Peninsula, Island Resort is in a distinctly different position than the state’s other casinos -- especially those in Detroit, where the mayor says they might not open until a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, which could be a year or more.
With a big UFC card this weekend and NASCAR about to resume, the Las Vegas sports books that turned off their mobile apps are beginning to start them up again. South Point will resume mobile betting today and is taking drive-thru deposits in the valet area from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. Circa, which kept its app running through the shutdown, is setting up a drive-thru for deposits beginning tomorrow in the Golden Gate parking lot. Westgate will resume app betting tomorrow, but is not taking new deposits and will accept bets only from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and until 9 p.m. this Saturday.
In today's Travel Game post, Mike Friedman takes a look at the airline industry's prospects for emerging from the pandemic crisis and argues that, from a recent historical perspective, "virtually every downturn has been good for Southwest." He's convinced that "the industry will be smaller, but more of it will belong to the LUV airline." His conclusion: "With its investment-grade balance sheet, Southwest has the strongest financial position in the industry. And the longer that the effects of COVID-19 go on and the more damage they cause, the better it will be for Southwest in the long term." It's definitely worth a few minutes to read how Southwest, already Las Vegas' number-one carrier, will wind up with even more market share -- including you.
The West Virginia Lottery Commission has approved an "emergency" measure that would ramp up online gambling as early as July or even June. The new rules are due at the Secretary of State’s office by May 15; the office will then have 42 days to approve or reject the rules set forth by the Lottery Commission. If approved, West Virginia casinos would be able to offer igaming under the emergency rules for 15 months, until the permanent rules are adopted by the state legislature. West Virginia would become the fourth state to offer igaming, along with New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
Local celebrity chefs Dan Krohmer (Other Mama, La Monja, Hatsumi) and James Trees (Esther's Kitchen, Ada's, 108 Eats) are two of the six finalists for the prestigious James Beard Foundation's Best Chef in the Southwest (Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma). They're up against chefs from restaurants in Albuquerque and Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Sedona, Arizona. Marc Vetri of Vetri Cucina (Philadelphia and the Palms) is a finalist for Outstanding Chef, one of six from around the entire country. The winners will be announced on Wednesday May 27.
Episode 6 of the 10-part docu-series “The Last Dance,” goes into detail on Michael Jordan’s gambling habits. Jordan drew criticism for going to Atlantic City on the eve of an NBA playoff game against the NY Knicks, which led to more disclosures about his gambling. Jordan denied having a gambling problem and termed it more of a “competition problem.” Jordan was portrayed as someone who would gamble on anything, but he specifically said he liked playing blackjack and gambling on golf.
A story in today's Las Vegas Review-Journal enumerates the ratio of the compensation for chief executive officers of the big publicly traded casino companies and the median wage of the companies' employees. Suffice it to say that the differential is quite large, from 583-1 at Las Vegas Sands down to 63-1 at Station Casinos. The article points out that an employee would have to work the number of years of the difference to make the same money; at the Wynn, for example, the employee would have to put in 303 years to make what the CEO does in one. But more interesting to us were the median salaries. From highest to lowest: Wynn $45,706, Las Vegas Sands $42,228, MGM $38,954, Caesars $37,103, Boyd $31,728, and Station $31,003.
For a "scorecard" of the casinos that have paid their employees since the shutdown, are still paying employees during the shutdown, and will pay employees for the duration of the shutdown, read today's Question of the Day. Hint: The top three casino companies in terms of taking care of their employees through the crisis don't charge parking and two of them are on the Strip.
Casinos and bars were permitted to open today in Montana, with the Drunk’n Miner Saloon in Butte reportedly the first casino to open. Montana’s casinos are small operations, making it easier for them to implement necessary precautionary measures.
The Westgate is accepting reservations on its website starting Thursday June 18. That's a full five weeks after the Downtown Grand, which is planning to reopen on May 14, and Treasure Island (May 15). The Sahara has announced that it's reopening on May 22, the Friday of the long Memorial Day weekend, and the Wynn has broadcast its intention to do the same. If, over the next week or so, Governor Sisolak announces that he's lifting the shutdown order after May 15 as currently scheduled and if reopening plans submitted to Gaming Control by Ti, Sahara, and Wynn are approved, the Strip could start opening as early as late next week. And for the reopening dates of most of the other Las Vegas casinos, check our ongoing Vegas and the Virus blog.
A seven-page policy statement issued late Friday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board gives a predictable glimpse of casino life after the shutdown. Essentially, it boils down to the "two D's" -- distancing and disinfecting. Nevada casinos will be required to limit capacity to 50% occupancy, as determined by security, surveillance and accounting systems. In addition, all casinos, along with properties with up to 15 slot machines (including bars, restaurants, convenience stores, and supermarkets), must submit detailed plans to Gaming for reopening approval, spelling out "how gaming machines, devices, chairs, and other ancillary equipment, such as table games, rails, dice, card shoes, shufflers, roulette wheels, Pai Gow tiles, pit podiums, cards, chips, blackjack discard holders, and toke boxes, will be cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis." In the statement, the Board informed casinos that the listed policies are the minimum requirements to be followed. At least one might be a challenge to enforce: "Customers cannot congregate in groups inside race and sports books."
When the time comes, Station Casinos will open some properties and not others. In last week's letter to employees announcing the layoffs of most of them, CEO Frank Fertitta also wrote that Texas Station, the two Fiestas, and the Palms wouldn't reopen immediately. It's unclear whether or not Palace, Boulder, Sunset, and Santa Fe Stations, along with Green Valley Ranch and Red Rock, will come back as soon as it's possible, but the former four will not.
It appears that the Neon Museum will reopen on May 22. Tickets are on sale now for the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. Public-health protocols will be imposed: no-touch digital forehead thermometers will be used to screen staff and guests; limited visitation for social distancing; staff in face masks and gloves; high-touch surfaces disinfected frequently.
Sports Illustrated reported yesterday that MGM Resorts has proposed the NBA finish its basketball season in Las Vegas in a "bubble city" on the Strip. Mandalay Bay would serve as the "bubble" before it reopens; athletes' families could stay with them in the quarantined resort and have access to food service. The games would be played at the MBay Events Center, home of the WNBA Aces, where, the proposal suggests, up to 24 temporary basketball courts could be constructed, five to telecast games, the others for practice. Sports Illustrated also reported that a similar offer was extended to the WNBA, NHL, and MLS, which are also struggling to figure out how to finish their seasons. And Bill Hornbuckle, MRI's new CEO, said that the company is "in discussions" about boxing and MMA. Could be interesting.
The visitor count for March has been released and, as expected, Las Vegas got clobbered. The visitor tally was down a whopping 58.6%, with a mere 1.5 million people coming to town and a hotel occupancy rate of 39.8%. After starting strong, year-to-date visitation is now down 18.3% and the April results will be much worse.
With today’s scheduled Kentucky Derby postponed until September, a race bringing together history’s 13 Triple Crown winners will be simulated and aired in its place. The field includes Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), Affirmed (1978), American Pharoah (2015), and Justify (2018). Betting is not allowed, but there are odds. Secretariat is the favorite at 7-2, followed by Citation at 4-1 and Seattle Slew and Affirmed, both at 5-1. The longshots are Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, and Assault (the first three are the “oldest” in the field), all at 20-1. The race will be aired on NBC at 5:45 p.m. EST.
In the first phase of a staggered process, the Lake Mead National Recreation Area reopened this morning to annual-pass holders. The entrances to the park in Nevada and Arizona, along with parking lots, beaches, picnic areas, overlooks, and launch ramps, are now accessible. Services are limited; most fuel stations and all developed campgrounds, plus some areas, such as Nelson Landing, Saddle Cove, Government Wash, and the Visitor Center and park headquarters in Boulder City remain closed, awaiting the next phase.
How bad is it? Sources have told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the hotel presidents of Luxor, Excalibur, New York-New York, and Bellagio have been laid off and that a number of other management-level positions have been cut. The casino company has also laid off 63,000 employees, but according to one analyst, this is "likely A signal that MGM is moving toward a revised leadership strategy, with one president overseeing multiple properties. In the short term, that makes sense, because of the phased opening approach and because of the lower demand that everyone’s expecting,” he said.
The Tex Mex Tequila Bar & Grill has opened in the big old Harley Davidson Cafe building on the corner of the Strip and E. Harmon Avenue. The Cafe closed in October 2016 and has sat vacant ever since; about a year ago, it was announced that it would become a Mexican restaurant. Tough time to open -- there's little to no walk-up traffic on the normally busy corner and Tex Mex is providing to-go and delivery only. Tough time to stay open too: After more than 40 years at the corner of W. Flamingo and Decatur, Ricardo's Mexican Restaurant is throwing in the towel. One of the oldest restaurants in Las Vegas will close the day the shutdown ends. The owner told the Review-Journal, "I’m in a position where I can walk away now, rather than fight over the next two years to get back to ground zero."
Papa John's is holding its second pizza giveaway on Monday. Its first community outreach event, on Monday April 13, was so successful that it's holding a second. The first 200 cars to show up at the 5060 Boulder Highway location will receive a free large cheese pizza and a two-liter Pepsi product. The event starts at 11 a.m. and people are asked not to start lining up until 10. "Our goal is to help Las Vegas area families in need and bring some hope and joy back into their lives," said Papa John's district manager. Another noble effort has been under way over the past couple of weeks: the Sahara and its Bazaar Meat chef and owner José Andrés’ charitable organization World Central Kitchen have teamed up to provide meals for more than 2,000 healthcare workers and 400 first responders as they work on the front lines of the pandemic.
MGM Resorts International is planning for New York-New York and Bellagio to be the first two of its casinos to reopen after the shutdown, a strategic plan to make rooms available to the low and high ends of its customer base. Not all the rooms will reopen at first, while restaurants will serve food, but only "with various pickup options." Entertainment will be phased in more slowly. Hornbuckle said that solo performers, such as Carrot Top at a smaller theater at Luxor, will appear first, while Cirque shows will be more challenging. He doubted that any concerts would be held at the company's arenas through the end of the year, though he did say he was in discussions with leagues to hold pro sporting events without spectators.
Gross gaming revenue in Macau, the gambling capital of the world, plummeted 97% last month to just under $95 million year over year. In April 2019, Macau's gross was just under $3 billion, which itself was a drop of 8.3% from April 2018 ($3.2 billion). The situation for Macau casino operators is getting worse; revenues in March, the first full month after the 15-day shutdown in February, were down 79.6% year over year. Wynn Macau, Sands China, MGM China, Melco Resorts, SJM Holdings, and Galaxy Entertainment are reportedly bleeding between $1.5 million and $4 million a day to keep their properties open. The spread of COVID-19 has been largely stopped in Macau, Hong Kong, and mainland China, but stringent restrictions on travel continue to keep almost all visitors and gamblers away.