New rules, green shoots on the Strip; Mixed messages in Michigan

Casinos in Nevada will take a gut punch tomorrow when new state restrictions go into effect. They’ll have to reduce players on the floor to 25% of capacity, and the same holds true for bars and restaurants. Citing “wildfire” levels of Coronavirus in the Silver State, Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) also rolled back meeting levels from 250 people to 50. We don’t know how live entertainment will be affected but Nothing Good seems to be in order. In addition to restrictions already in place on gaming tables and such, dining parties will be constrained to four apiece. The edict will remain in place for three weeks. “As of Friday, November 20, Nevada logged 129,714 cases, an increase of 1,839 new cases since last Thursday. Cases statewide continue to grow at 1,854 new cases per day over the seven days before November 20. The test positivity rate over the last 14 days since November 20 is 15.8 percent,” reported Susan Stapleton. If that doesn’t alarm you, it should.

This setback comes as a green shoot or two was cropping up on the Las Vegas Strip. Room rates for the week of Dec. 13-19 are off only 3% to $100/night. Midweek rates have fallen only 8% and weekend ones up are up 11%. Mind you, mid-December is a slow time for Vegas but we’ll take such good news as we can get. Las Vegas Sands led the pack, jumping 34% midweek and 67% on weekends. Caesars Entertainment, perhaps due to its glut of inventory, lagged the pack with -4% and -7%, respectively, while MGM Resorts International was flat on weekdays and up 10% on weekends. Wynncore spiraled down -54% midweek and underperformed (-4%) on weekends. Placing a vote of confidence in the Strip, Donny Osmond is returning, next August. Presale begins tomorrow (code: CRDONNY) at 7 a.m. Eastern time. Osmond will be planting his flag at Harrah’s Las Vegas, which could use a bonafide headliner and, as he’s one of the hardest-working men in showbiz, Sin City is fortunate to have him back. Well done, Caesars.