{"id":26388,"date":"2020-03-14T09:33:35","date_gmt":"2020-03-14T17:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=26388"},"modified":"2020-03-14T09:33:35","modified_gmt":"2020-03-14T17:33:35","slug":"crisis-mode-hits-las-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/crisis-mode-hits-las-vegas\/","title":{"rendered":"Crisis mode hits Las Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Our country is still trying to grasp <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2020\/03\/06\/coronavirus-testing-failure-123166\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"broken_link\">the ramifications<\/a> of <strong>Coronavirus<\/strong>,\u00a0as <strong>Broadway<\/strong> goes dark, <strong>Disneyland<\/strong> and <strong>Disneyworld<\/strong> are closed, <strong>The Masters<\/strong> and <strong>Boston Marathon<\/strong> are postponed, and cancellations of <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-26389\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Four-Corners-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Four-Corners-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Four-Corners-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Four-Corners-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Four-Corners-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Four-Corners.jpg 2016w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>sporting and cultural events (here and abroad) comprise a list longer than our arm. <strong>Larry &#8220;Airtight&#8221; Kudlow<\/strong> says that Americans are\u00a0panicking but he&#8217;s been wrong about <strong>Covid-19<\/strong> so many times before that now we actually <em>do<\/em> feel the temptation to panic. But it&#8217;s a passing thought. Despite some mitigation efforts observed by <em>S&amp;G<\/em> sources and readers like <strong>Mike Zidik<\/strong> (thanks, all of you), the casino industry has been\u00a0hanging tough. While it has to answer to state authorities in most cases (<strong>Florida<\/strong> being a <!--more-->notorious exception), that sort of government oversight is nowhere near so draconian as in <strong>Macao<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Still, we are the formation of a crisis\u00a0along the <strong>Las Vegas Strip<\/strong>. To wit &#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Wynncore<\/strong> is closing its poker room and (largely idled) sports book, beginning tomorrow. Besides, nothing says &#8220;germs&#8221; like a smoke-filled poker room. Also, <a href=\"https:\/\/vegas.eater.com\/2020\/3\/12\/21177700\/wynn-closes-buffet-nightclubs-to-prevent-the-spread-of-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the buffet is closed<\/a>, along with <strong>XS Nightclub<\/strong> and <strong>Encore Beach Club<\/strong>. Guests are being screened via &#8220;non-invasive thermal camera.&#8221; Those registering a temperature over 100 will &#8220;discreetly&#8221; informed and 86&#8217;d. In a measure adapted from Macao, gaming machines will be moved farther apart.<\/li>\n<li>Following the shutdown of <strong>Wet Republic<\/strong>, closures of pools and nightclubs (<a href=\"https:\/\/vegas.eater.com\/2020\/3\/13\/21178428\/wet-republic-temporarily-closes-health-district-investigates-suspected-coronavirus-case\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">too many to name<\/a>) are spreading like wildfire.<\/li>\n<li>Of much greater concern, multiple employees at <strong>MGM Resorts International<\/strong> have tested &#8220;presumptive positive &#8230; and we expect there will be more in the coming days.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hakkasan<\/strong> has suspended operations temporarily\u00a0after an employee tested presumptive positive.<\/li>\n<li>Occupancy at <strong>MGM Grand<\/strong> is anecdotally reported at 10% or lower. Ditto <strong>Caesars Palace<\/strong>. Casino workers are reportedly telling customers they&#8217;re being sent home for a lack of things to do. Weekend room rates at Caesars are now said to be down to $99.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Nightclub &amp; Bar Show<\/strong> and <strong>International Pizza Expo<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/vegas.eater.com\/2020\/3\/12\/21177141\/nightclub-bar-show-international-pizza-expo-postpones-las-vegas-june-2020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">have been postponed<\/a> to June. The former will return to the <strong>Las Vegas Convention Center<\/strong> June 22-24. A new date for the Pizza Expo has yet to be announced.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> said he is &#8220;considering&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/2020\/03\/14\/nation\/trump-says-hes-considering-new-restrictions-domestic-travel-will-expand-european-travel-ban-uk-ireland\/?s_campaign=breakingnews:newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">domestic travel restrictions<\/a>, adding,\u00a0\u201cIf you don\u2019t have to travel, I wouldn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Business at <strong>Las Vegas<\/strong>&#8216; Asian restaurants <a href=\"https:\/\/vegas.eater.com\/2020\/3\/12\/21176759\/las-vegas-asian-restaurants-decline-business-tourism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">is in a tailspin<\/a>. Tourists\u2014even Asian tourists\u2014are avoiding eateries like <strong>Yi Mei Champion Taiwan Deli<\/strong>. Cruel irony: <strong>Taiwan<\/strong> is one of the countries with the best anti-coronavirus containment regimen.<\/li>\n<li>In case you&#8217;re interested, the <em>New York Time<\/em>s has obtained best- and worst-case scenarios for Covid-19. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailykos.com\/stories\/2020\/3\/13\/1927078\/-The-New-York-Times-has-obtained-CDC-s-worst-case-scenario-estimates?detail=emaildkre\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">They&#8217;re not pretty<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We could go on but here&#8217;s the gist: Shit just got real.<\/p>\n<p>* Finally, we report with great sadness a death in the <em>S&amp;G<\/em> family. Our loyal, 21-year-old, Russian Blue cat <strong>Piglet<\/strong> died this morning, following kidney failure and a stroke that incapacitated her back legs. Piggy was a faithful friend during long <em>S&amp;G<\/em> workdays, sunning herself peacefully just a few feet from my desk. She&#8217;s been a part of our lives for decades and my wife&#8217;s and my sadness cannot be overstated. Thank you for understanding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our country is still trying to grasp the ramifications of Coronavirus,\u00a0as Broadway goes dark, Disneyland and Disneyworld are closed, The Masters and Boston Marathon are postponed, and cancellations of sporting and cultural events (here and abroad) comprise a list longer &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/crisis-mode-hits-las-vegas\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[98,244,274,18,42,4,283,75,62,245,99,9,19,233],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26388"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26388"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26391,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26388\/revisions\/26391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}