Twin River Holdings just got some bad news. Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) proclaimed a state of emergency, after four citizens contracted coronavirus. “This is real. This is here. We expect more cases,” said Raimondo. 
While governments in the U.S. haven’t gone as far as many European ones, which have been shutting down large-capacity venues (500 people or more), the words ‘state of emergency’ don’t exactly make one want to head on over to the casino. Explained the Boston Globe, “Declaring a state of emergency gives the governor and state officials more leeway in dealing with the outbreak. For example, they can cut red tape to quickly buy necessary supplies or hire workers to help local health officials. And the governor could deploy the National Guard to help with the state’s response, if needed.” (At least Twin River stock price was relatively unruffled.)
To their credit, the feds has provided Raimondo with “access to a stockpile of personal protection equipment such as masks, goggles, and gloves for use by doctors, nurses, and other front-line health care workers.”
While Las Vegas has been relatively virus-free, thank God (two cases to date), that doesn’t mean the disease isn’t having an effect. Susan Stapleton reports that not only has there been a run on local grocery 
stores but restaurants are starting to take a hit. Tilman Fertitta says his 600 restaurants are losing $1 million a day, adding, “Vegas is really starting to slip now.” While Tilman can be an alarmist, anecdotal reports out of Chinatown back him up. Wall Street is leery of off-Strip stocks at the moment and a weak locals economy won’t help.
If you prefer to be in deep denial, Michael Shulman is the man for you, touting a 25-concert series at Wynncore, which has already kicked off with Dwight Yoakam. As Shulman says, “Music’s in the air.” So are germs and this is precisely the kind of event that can easily fall victim to coronavirus-related rescheduling, so we’d be leery about making travel plans around it. We like Diana Ross as much as the next person but Wynn Resorts is leading with its chin by unrolling all these events in the midst of flu season.
You know where coronavirus isn’t (well, hardly)? Taiwan. And this is a country that gets a high volume of Chinese tourists. What’s their secret? Extreme proactivity and strong public education. It’s a literally salubrious contrast to all the happy talk being promulgated by officials in this country. (When we Googled “coronavirus symptoms,” we found the Mayo Clinic site quite helpful but the CDC‘s a bad joke.) The Taiwanese government well remembered the lessons of the SARS epidemic. Did we?
* Given all the recent—and draconian—restrictions on gambling in the United Kingdom, it comes as no surprise that betting revenue is 
expected to decline 17% over the next four years. From a height of $114.3 billion in 2015, operators’ haul is expected to decline to $70.5 billion by a 2024, a steep fall by any measure. Firm caps on betting limits and a ban on the use of credit cards are expected to be major contributors to the plunge. Gaming operators, especially small ones, are anticipated to contract.
* Station Casinos needs to rebrand Kaos. So, rather than employ high-priced consultants, they’re holding a public contest. The prize? A paltry $1,000. (VitalVegas has the photographic proof.) So does this mean that Station is going back into the nightclub business … again? You’d think they’d have learned their expensive lesson by now. Oh, and if you want to submit a new name, March 31 is the deadline.
