Casinos unleash Culinary’s wrath

Perhaps our credit cards are maxed out and perhaps we’re leery of a Las Vegas that one local describes as “overwhelmed and terrified.” Rarely reticent, the Culinary Union‘s Bethany Khan said, “It’s even more troubling that Covid-19 in Nevada is disproportionately impacting communities of color,” especially in the hot-weather months in which epidemiologists and politicians alike told us the virus would abate. Public-health boffin Brian Labus of UNLV thinks Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) is on the right course: “The problem comes down to the fact that people didn’t take the social distancing seriously when we reopened … the mask mandate will have a big dent on cases.” (At least it seems to have finally gotten Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman [I] to stop running her damn fool mouth.) Adds Labus, “You have to remember the kind of people who are coming to Las Vegas right now. It’s the people who are the least concerned about this outbreak right now—least likely to follow the social distancing.”

A study in the New York Times ranked Nevada as the ninth-most-infected place in the world, just ahead of Panama and Brazil for Covid-friendiness (Florida and Arizona led the parade of disgrace). Depending on whether you see the test tube as half-full or half-empty, 77% of Nevada hospital beds are in use as are 40% of ventilators. Complicating matters, some of those beds are going to out-of-state patients. An emergency room doctor who opted to remain nameless put a pox on all officialdom’s houses, saying, “This is uncharted waters and it seems like everyone in Las Vegas has been too lax about the pandemic … People here in Las Vegas don’t see this pandemic as an issue—well, once the hospitals are filled and there is nowhere to go, they will realize they should have been more careful.”

Without exactly calling for a casino shutdown, Khan called for Sisolak and the Lege to “do more” to stem the spread of the pandemic. More testing is hinted at, as it greater stringency in mask wearing. One of the most cavalier of properties, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, gets name-checked. “My mom has been in the hospital for almost a week and is barely able to breathe on her own. She was exposed to someone who had Covid-19 at work,” said the daughter of Cosmo housekeeper Stella Kalaoram. “Now, my dad, my younger teenage brother, and I are all positive for Covid-19 and we are really worried. I’ve watched my mom’s health get worse every day since early July when she got the positive test and it’s hard for my family because we can’t even visit my mom in the hospital right now.”

The union reiterated its “Culinary Clean” agenda, which doesn’t look encouraging in terms of casino compliance. As far as guvmint ‘doing more,’ the union is trying to get the Adolfo Hernandez Bill (named after a deceased Caesars Entertainment worker) into the legislative hopper. In essence, it would enshrine “Culinary Clean” into law. It’s a very good idea, although our hopes for passage are dim. By the way, if you think Las Vegas is bad just try Los Angeles, where even the most stringent anti-Covid measures seem to be failing.

Diana Bennett is out, former casino regulator Mark Lipparelli is in as the new gaming operator at Westgate Las Vegas (which outsources its casino). Bennett, whose Paragon Gaming rescued the Westgate’s operation several years ago, still manages several casinos, from the sublime (Hard Rock Lake Tahoe) to the ridiculous (Oyo Las Vegas). Lipparelli is chairman of Galaxy Gaming and brings some veteran casino talent to Westgate, namely former WMS Industries CFO Scott Schweinfurth and Bruce Rowe, late of Caesars. We have to wonder at Paragon’s ouster, particularly in favor of a relative newbie.

Jottings: August 3 is the magic date when Station Casinos reopens poker rooms at Red Rock Resort, Boulder Station and Santa Fe Station, with restricted tables … Did you know that Caesars is still stuck with a golf course in Macao? It’s one of Gary Loveman‘s strangest legacies. Also, incoming CEO Tom Reeg will only commit to the Atlantic City market for five more years. Doesn’t that inspire confidence? … The Las Vegas Raiders‘ inaugural tilt in Allegiant Stadium, a preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals, may not happen. NFL preseason games are anything but a certainty at this point … This just in: The Caesars takeover by Eldorado Resorts is a done deal. You can read the official propaganda here.