{"id":26445,"date":"2020-03-18T08:17:28","date_gmt":"2020-03-18T16:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=26445"},"modified":"2020-03-18T10:31:56","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T18:31:56","slug":"las-vegas-is-closed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/las-vegas-is-closed\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas is closed"},"content":{"rendered":"

America<\/strong>‘s favorite 24-hour town has finally caved to the inevitable and done what neither Sept. 11<\/strong> nor the Great Recession<\/strong> made it do. It has turned out the lights and hung the “Closed for business” sign in the \"\"window. Finally displaying some leadership, Nevada<\/strong> Gov. Steve Sisolak<\/strong> (D) ordered a 30-day closure<\/a> of casinos, resorts, restaurants (take-out excepted) and bars, starting at noon today. “Essential businesses, such as airports, banks, post offices, hospitals, grocery stores, pharmacies, urgent care centers, hardware stores, and gas stations will be allowed to remain open,” reports Susan Stapleton<\/strong>. At present, there are 42 active Coronavirus<\/strong> cases and one death in Southern Nevada. (Northern Nevada is getting off relatively lightly, with 13 reported cases.) In a speedy response, the Sisolak-friendly Culinary Union<\/strong> said the governor’s action “is necessary in protecting Nevadans, workers, and customers in the fight to contain the spread of Covid-19<\/strong>. We appreciate what has been implemented so far by MGM Resorts International<\/strong>, Wynn\/Encore<\/strong>, and the Cosmopolitan<\/strong>\u00a0… The Culinary Union demands every Nevada employer pay all of their employees (including part-time workers) and extend healthcare benefits.” For those out of work, more bad news: The Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation<\/strong> has closed all its Job Connect<\/strong> offices indefinitely.<\/p>\n

\"\"Las Vegas<\/strong> Mayor Carolyn Goodman<\/strong> justified her own inaction by saying,\u00a0\u201cMy hope is that the private industry rises to the top, that they\u2019re allowed to stay open and take care of these families that are paycheck to paycheck. We really here in Las Vegas don\u2019t compare ourselves to [Los Angeles<\/strong>]\u00a0or New York<\/strong> because we are totally tourist-industry dependent.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nevada Gaming Commission<\/strong> has been a disgrace<\/a>, leaving Covid-19 related closures to the discretion of individual casinos, potentially worsening the danger. NGC Chairman Dr. Tony Alamo<\/strong> said he was “following the science” but following the money would be more like it.\u00a0\u201cIf people don\u2019t follow the science, I can\u2019t postulate on what will happen.\u00a0We\u2019ve had pandemics in the past. This one is a little different, obviously, and a more aggressive stance has had to be taken worldwide. That\u2019s what you\u2019re seeing right now,\u201d said Alamo, doing nothing.<\/p>\n

Among the biggest dominos to topple was Venelazzo<\/strong>, which closes tomorrow afternoon<\/a>, tentatively slated to reopen April 1. Las Vegas \"\"Sands<\/strong> CEO Sheldon Adelson<\/strong> is being very george to his work force, vowing no layoffs or furloughs, plus continued pay and benefits. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas shuts down at 6 p.m. today<\/a> and tentatively plans a March 31 reopening. (Does everyone really think Covid-19 is going to blow over in two weeks?) Said the Cosmo,\u00a0\u201cStarting immediately, we will initiate an orderly departure for our in-house guests over the next 48 hours. Our employees have always been our priority, and we will continue to offer pay and benefits to full-time employees through March 31, 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n

A special badge of shame goes to Caesars Entertainment<\/strong>, which didn’t close one measly casino until Gov. Sisolak gave the order. Reservations through April 16 will be canceled. Refunds will be processed “within the \"\"next few days.” (Good for them.) Still, Caesars sailed awfully close to the wind on this one, advertising room specials at a time when Wynncore<\/strong> and MGM Resorts were closing up shop. Not very well thought-through, maybe even exploitative. Other operators who pushed their luck included\u00a0Phil Ruffin<\/strong> at Treasure Island<\/strong> and Golden Entertainment<\/strong> at The Strat<\/strong>. Golden stock fell 29% in early trading.\u00a0With mass unemployment looming in Sin City, Station Casinos<\/strong> shares plunged 50.5% today and Boyd Gaming<\/strong> spiraled 33% downward.<\/p>\n

The Las Vegas Monorail<\/strong>, being more of a train to nowhere for no one than ever, closed\u00a0at noon today. Monorail supremo Ingrid Reisman<\/strong> was wisely vague on resumption of operations, saying,\u00a0\u201cWe are confident our Las Vegas community will get through this together and we look forward to welcoming our riders once more when the time is right.\u201d (If you have a Monorail pass, it’s good for a year we’re told.)<\/p>\n

Locals events have been toppling left and right. Latest is the cancellation of the next two First Friday<\/strong> festivals, a chance for small merchants to hawk their wares.\u00a0\u201cThe economic impact that First Friday has in the arts \"\"district is vital and our stakeholders will need us now more than ever,” said First Friday Foundation<\/strong> President Michael Cornthwaite<\/strong>. Already the cries for a bailout<\/a> of the restaurant industry are arising<\/a>. But if they get it, will it all go to the big, clout-laden chains? Implores one columnist, “Independent operators need a major infusion of cash\u2014cash that\u2019s more readily available from the government than from their stressed-out customers\u2014to make it. They need rent alleviation, eviction protection, and tax deferrals, at a minimum, to live through this body blow. Who knows what they\u2019ll end up getting.” Coronavirus could go through Las Vegas’ once-booming restaurant industry like a dose of salts.<\/p>\n

* The U.S. and Canada<\/strong> agreed to close their borders to “nonessential traffic<\/a>.” The move is somewhat moot for the casino industry in Ontario<\/strong> and British Columbia<\/strong>, which has gone dark.<\/p>\n

* Illinois<\/strong> Gov. J.B. Pritzker<\/strong> (D) struck a blow for democracy-as-usual, refusing to call off<\/a> the state’s primary. Quoth\u00a0the guv, \u201cLet me tell you this: It is exactly in times like these when the constitutional boundaries of our democracy should be respected above all else. And if people want to criticize me for that, well, go ahead.\u201d Said like a man.<\/p>\n

\"\"* While the rest of the country is contemplating The End of Life As We Know It, Steve Wynn<\/strong> is looking to cash out on his Beverly Hills<\/strong> mega-mansion. Bought for $48 million, it’s been marked up to $135 million. And why not? It’s unbelievably lavish<\/a>. Wynn has several other cribs in which to spend his retirement years, although we think he’ll wait out Covid-19 like a Bond villain, lurking aboard his $215 million super-yacht.<\/p>\n

Bonus quote<\/strong>:\u00a0\u201cIt all feels like a bizarre formality given the moment\u2014a pointless subplot with a foregone conclusion, in the midst of an existential threat,\u201d Democratic Party<\/strong> operative Jesse Lehrich<\/strong> on the Bernie Sanders<\/strong> campaign<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

America‘s favorite 24-hour town has finally caved to the inevitable and done what neither Sept. 11 nor the Great Recession made it do. It has turned out the lights and hung the “Closed for business” sign in the window. Finally … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60,244,34,266,66,151,18,51,14,26,97,283,58,241,245,207,119,254,25,57,32,9,19,100,38,233],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26445"}],"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=26445"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26461,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26445\/revisions\/26461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}