{"id":27109,"date":"2020-05-19T10:04:33","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T18:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=27109"},"modified":"2020-10-16T06:56:20","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T14:56:20","slug":"wynn-vs-covid-19-louisiana-casinos-reopen-with-a-bang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wynn-vs-covid-19-louisiana-casinos-reopen-with-a-bang\/","title":{"rendered":"Wynn vs. Covid-19; Louisiana casinos reopen with a bang"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are high-rollers immune to Covid-19<\/strong>? Guess so. They’re the only ones who’ll be allowed to play craps when Wynncore<\/strong> and Encore Boston Harbor<\/strong> reopen. Truth to tell, blowing on dice seems kind of creepy in the \"\"age of Coronavirus<\/strong>, even if you don’t mind rubbing elbows with other shooters. Poker is out altogether. At least for now. “We don\u2019t in any way want to do anything we can\u2019t execute as safely as possible,\u201d explained Encore President Brian Gullbrants<\/strong>. He won’t have to worry about it until June 1 (possibly longer) but it’s good to know that Wynn Resorts<\/strong> has these considerations at the top of mind. Besides, poker being small potatoes from a revenue standpoint, it’s one thing from which casinos abstain without fearing substantial financial damage. What does<\/em> Gullbrants have to worry about? Getting high rollers to play<\/em> at Encore, where expectations of $50 table minimums proved a serious overestimation of the market.<\/p>\n

* Early reports of casino reopenings in Louisiana<\/strong> have players stampeding back to the gambling houses, including some making the traditional commute from Houston<\/strong> to Lake Charles<\/strong>. One player, Shirley Martinez<\/strong>, brought her 85-year-old, slot-jonesing mother\u2014but also had masks and \"\"sanitizer on board. Good thinking. Said American Gaming Association<\/strong> President Bill Miller<\/strong>, \u201cThe experience is going to be different for some period of time, appropriately, but I think that the industry will get its swagger back.\u201d According to the Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a>, “revenues [at L’Auberge Baton Rouge<\/strong>] actually exceeded an average Monday, though it isn\u2019t clear whether that will continue through the week.”<\/p>\n

Still, punters were glad to wait in line outside the casino, as many as 95 a time, for an opportunity to take their chances, even if it means undergoing a temperature check upon entering. Missing out on the fun was Harrah’s New Orleans<\/strong>, which Big Easy Mayor LaToya Cantrell<\/strong> is keeping under lockdown, her spokesman saying, \u201cA casino is considered high-risk in terms of contact intensity, volume, and potential for visitors congregating in large groups and presents significant challenges in mitigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heck, reopening casinos was the best thing that ever happened for most of the ones\u00a0in South Dakota<\/strong>, which drew players from as far away as New York<\/strong> and Florida<\/strong>, desperate for a fiddle. You can pick any slot you \"\"want and then S.D. casino operators will remove\u00a0the adjoining ones from use. Explained Deadwood<\/strong> Mayor David Ruth<\/strong>, \u201cThe last thing an operator wants to do is accidentally take out someone\u2019s favorite machine.\u201d Retail spending having tanked in recent weeks, the big question for casinos is not so much would they retain their appeal but how much Joe Blow has squirreled away for his gaming budget. The early auguries are favorable, to say the least.<\/p>\n

* It was good news\/bad news for Pennsylvania<\/strong> last month. The good news is that Internet-casino play is way, way up (to $43 million). The bad news, of course, is that sports betting took it in the shorts: $46 million in handle compared to an expected $350 million. Even in pandemic-truncated \"\"March, handle managed to reach $131 million. Last month, sports books eked out $3 million in revenue. \u201cThe momentum that brought records month after month for Pennsylvania\u2019s sportsbooks has been reversed almost instantly,\u201d said industry analyst Valerie Cross<\/strong>. \u201cUntil sports leagues figure out a way to reopen, these dreary results will continue.\u201d In terms of handle, FanDuel Sportsbook<\/strong> at Valley Forge Resort Casino<\/strong> continued to lead the state with $19 million, followed by DraftKings<\/strong> at The Meadows<\/strong> ($12.5 million), Rivers Casino Philadelphia<\/strong> ($6 million), Fox Bet<\/strong> at Mount Airy<\/strong> ($4 million), Rivers Casino Pittsburgh<\/strong> ($2.5 million) and Parx Casino<\/strong> ($2 million).<\/p>\n

* In another sign of the times, Summerlin<\/strong>‘s Patriotic Parade<\/strong> will go online-only\u00a0this year. An event which normally draws 400,000 spectators will be streamed in what is described as “an innovative, fun and safe way … the virtual parade will still include the small-town spirit and big-city pageantry of the annual parade, but in a different format. Said The Summerlin Council<\/strong>‘s executive director, Lezlie Barnson-DeNardin<\/strong>, \u201cWe plan to include a number of the same community groups and organizations that participate in the parade, but in a virtual way.\u201d Hey, at least Fourth of July fireworks are best appreciated at a distance.<\/p>\n

Point-counterpoint<\/em><\/strong>:\u00a0\u201cIt just seems like there\u2019s a lot of bureaucrats making decisions that are under no economic stress themselves.”\u2014Retailers Association of Massachusetts<\/strong> President Jon Hurst<\/strong>\/\u201cWhat I hope most of all is that consumer confidence in a group setting can be restored.\u00a0I\u2019d rather this and wait than have gyms reopen unsuccessfully and have to close and then reopen a month later and everyone is scared to go.\u201d\u2014The Handle Bar<\/strong> owner Jeff Fracalossi<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are high-rollers immune to Covid-19? Guess so. They’re the only ones who’ll be allowed to play craps when Wynncore and Encore Boston Harbor reopen. Truth to tell, blowing on dice seems kind of creepy in the age of Coronavirus, even … 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":[249,60,244,277,14,4,278,172,283,37,84,112,69,95,242,182,243,9,233],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27109"}],"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=27109"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28190,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27109\/revisions\/28190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}