Vegas: Welcome to the new normal

Phil Ruffin may have jumped the gun with that May 15 reopening date for Treasure Island. Gov. Steve Sisolak (D), without specifying a quarantine-lifting date, has extended a modified version of the Nevada lockdown into May. “We just have not reached exactly where we want to get in the downward trajectory. Our statistics have plateaued,” said Sisolak on Good Morning America. At present, the Silver State has just shy of 5,000 Coronavirus cases and 248 deaths. On the flip side, hospitalizations and ICU use are declining, according to the governor. He also threw a bone to the retail industry, easing some restrictions on how it can do business. However, there’s little comfort here for the gaming industry, which would probably be wise to follow Wynn Resorts‘ lead and presume that business will return to some (pallid?) sense of normality around Memorial Day. In a surprisingly radical piece, the National Review questions whether it is feasible—or even sane—to reopen even a circumscribed Strip.

Las Vegas Sands has one-upped Wynncore with an 800-step (!) reopening protocol that includes multiple temperature checks (if you flunk the first, you get a second and if that comes back positive you’re referred to medical treatment) and round-the-clock EMT service. “It ensures the hygiene and sanitation practices of our resort and convention center meet or exceed regulatory requirements and the recommendations of the CDC,” Sands said of the new policies. (Chumash Casino Resort in California has its own version of the temperate-taking regimen, using FDA-approved standalone scanners.) Guests will be “welcome”—but not required—to wear masks, provided they do not obscure the entire face. Don’t have a mask? Sands will provide you one at check-in.

If guests are discovered to have Coronavirus after checking in, their suite will be cleaned by a third party and temporarily removed from the inventory until local health guidelines deem otherwise. Staff will be required to wear PPE “based on their role and responsibility,” according to Sheldon Adelson‘s Las Vegas Review-Journal.

There is a “suggested limit” of four guests to elevator and customers are supposed to queue six feet apart. Seating layouts at restaurants and pools have been rejiggered to enforce social distancing. Those all-important gondola rides will be four passengers per cruise and you’ll have to be serenaded “from an appropriate distance.” No more buffets at banquets. (Given the new need to individually plate all food this might actually create some jobs.) Luggage carts and incoming shipments will be decontaminated with ultra-violet light. Only EPA-approved disinfectant products will be employed in the resort. Hand-sanitizing stations are “readily available” by the “hundreds.” “Food safety guidelines and compliance are validated by independent audits.”

Chips will be disinfected on a two-hour basis, slots will be distanced and table-game attendance will be restricted to three players at a time. And if you want to take the initiative, disinfectant cloths are available at 100 stations, so you can wipe down your slot. Cleaning in key back-of-house areas will be stepped up. Staff are being trained to recognize potential cases of Covid-19 and intervene appropriately. Shared tools will be sanitized at each change of shift. Other than concern over the size of the EMT staff (three per shift in on of the Strip’s biggest resorts), we can’t find anything about which to quibble. Sands is doing the responsible thing.

The company, of course, has plenty of experience with a pre- and post-Covid-19 Macao. The question on the mind of many in the industry is how much a reopened American gambling industry will resemble present-day Macao. At least it will not have to deal with border closings, which have practically zeroed out Macanese revenue in April. There is a substantial public-health upside to the drastic actions taken: 50 confirmed cases but zero deaths. It is highly doubtful that a reopened Las Vegas Strip will resemble its Macao equivalent in which “most non-gaming segments, including hotels, restaurants, [convention] facilities and other attractions, remain closed.” However, the new Sands protocols very much resemble what you’d see on a Macanese casino floor, except that masks are mandatory there. Slot aisles will also probably be broken up into triangles and circles.

Macao is also going higher-tech, exploring cashless methods of play, although regulators favor a go-slow approach. “The bank note acceptor is probably the maximum depth of a lot of machines, so you could see machine sizes shrink a little bit, which could contribute to social distancing and a number of machines that could be accommodated on the floor,” said Aristocrat Leisure exec Lloyd Robson. He also suggested the use of personal devices linked to tables and/or slots to enable touchless play. Sociedade de Jogos de Macau counsel Nuno Martins cautioned, “For sure there are some controls that the government wants to impose in order to ensure a safe way and also to have the relevant anti-money laundering rules in place in order to trace where the money comes from.” Nor was he opposed to such caution.

“These are three of the biggest companies operating in Macao, and certainly they see what the experience is there,” gaming boffin David G. Schwartz said of Sands, Wynn and MGM Resorts International. “It will inform procedures not just in Las Vegas but across the U.S.” “We don’t expect a one-size-fits-all approach,” added Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Carlo Santarelli. Indeed, Wynncore will allow four players per baccarat table and six at craps (three per side, but still …). What will reopen? Casinos, absolutely. Buffets, no. Entertainment, no. Hotel rooms, yes in small quantities. Spas, convention centers, nightclubs and pools, no, no, no and no, “or at best,” Santarelli told Global Gaming Business, “sparsely opened.”

If anything, Venelazzo is being restrained compared to some of the measures being discussed by United Kingdom hotelier Dalata Hotel Group. Says CEO Pat McCann, “Confidence will have to be built. You remove all possibility for infection. That includes no elevators (take the stairs, mate) and no hotel bars. McCann’s new normal includes phased reopenings and more online check-ins. Rooms will be deep-cleaned “between every stay.” On the plus side, in-room breakfasts will be promoted—does this mean more-affordable room service? No meetings, no special events. But perhaps more-attractive pricing. McCann’s bottom-line assumption about Coronavirus? “You assume everyone has it.”

* After six years of being recognized as Downtown‘s cleanest hotel, the Downtown Grand has received AAA‘s Inspector’s Best of Housekeeping Award. No other Downtown property was so honored. The casino-hotel is preparing to reopen in a mid-pandemic world with a #GoodCleanFun initiative. “Along with social distancing measures and general reminders on how guests can help play their part, stringent policies and procedures will be implemented in gaming, food/drink service, hotel check-in, common areas, entertainment venues, and rooms,” management explains. Our congratulations to the Downtown Grand, which we can personally ensure readers is spic-n-span.