Vegas recovery a Mirage; Illinois closes … again

Looking beyond the current, desperate state of affairs, a panel of experts chaired by Dr. David G. Schwartz has sussed out a possible path to economic recovery. This isn’t a rah-rah crowd, so we can take their findings at face value. Such discoveries are premised on a post-vaccine world but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. As Schwartz said, what happens next could shape the history of Las Vegas for decades, not just years. Calling the present situation “a crisis like no other,” the report says, “There has been a collapse in customer demand, particularly midweek, due to the inability of many visitors to access the market, and few ways of stimulating demand. Compounding this problem is that there is no horizon to recovery, which limits future planning.”

On the upside, 64% of consumers surveyed plan to return to within a year. But only 54% are comfortable flying and 52% have confidence that resorts are Covid-safe. Nonsmokers will be encouraged that 59% of respondents think smoking should be banned in casinos forthwith. (Park MGM, get those people’s phone numbers!) That will also be music to the ears of American for Nonsmokers Rights, which recently petitioned Sisolak to impose a smoking ban—a sensibly limited response behind which we could get. “One way to keep the casinos open, in theory, is if you wear the mask 100% of the time, and people can step outside to smoke,” said Cynthia Hallett, association CEO. Works for us. Besides, as Dr. Constantine George points out, “If you’re smoking yourself, or if you’re in touch with secondhand smoke, you’re more likely than not to cough, So if you’re going to be coughing, you’re going to also hear a lot aerosolize these particles as well.” Ewwwww!

Tamares Group‘s Plaza Hotel is trying to get extra credit for introducing artificial intelligence into its surveillance. “The scan, detects firearms, explosives and—given today’s pandemic—it also detects thermal for temperature readings as well as face coverings and masks,” said General Manager Jay Franken. That’s as it should be but the Plaza is merely keeping up with the curve, not getting ahead of it.

So much for those rumors of a Sahara closing. Owner Alex Meruelo is planning a $150 million remodel that will encompass four new eateries. They include a sport bar, Chickie’s & Pete’s, Noodle Bar and two concepts TBA. They’ll go into the northwest corner of the property, late of NASCAR Café and the rollercoaster (pre-Sam Nazarian, of course.)

The day after Illinois recorded 14,612 new Covid-19 cases, Gov. J.B. Pritzker closed all casinos and slot routes in the state. As the governor said, “If you don’t need to do it, don’t.” Even one Rivers Casino patron agreed, philosophizing, “I thought they would be like the last ones, but it makes sense … If that’s what’s going on and that’s what’s needed, so be it,” There are two consolations for the on-the-ropes casinos. One, mobile sports wagering will continue to generate revenue and, two, the hated slot routes are in a worse pickle. (Commercial casinos are also being closed in New Mexico but not tribal ones.) Pritzker’s edict is initially for 14 days and then will presumably be lifted or extended, depending on prevalence rates in two weeks.

Happy 85th birthday, Culinary Union. You’re looking good for your age. We often disagree but you’re a force for good in Nevada, which would be a much less worker-friendly place otherwise.

Jottings: It has been discovered by Public Citizen that supervisors at Tyson Foods were conducting a betting pool on how many of their employees would contract Coronavirus. This is the most perverted form of gambling of which we have ever heard and leaves us speechless (10,000+ Tyson workers have contracted Covid-19, for the record) … Congratulations to Las Vegas Sands for being added to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Our former characterization of Sheldon Adelson as a “fossil fuel-loving fossil” is heartily retracted … You’re not even safe inside a parking garage anymore. A woman who was in the passenger seat of an SUV has died of injuries sustained during a crash in the Paris-Las Vegas parking structure. Our condolences to her family … Del Lago‘s troubles continue. The New York State casino has sacked 50 workers.