{"id":27408,"date":"2020-06-25T08:12:11","date_gmt":"2020-06-25T16:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=27408"},"modified":"2020-06-25T08:12:13","modified_gmt":"2020-06-25T16:12:13","slug":"crackdown-in-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/crackdown-in-vegas\/","title":{"rendered":"Crackdown in Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Perhaps Las Vegas<\/strong> will not be the latest vector of Covid-19<\/strong> after all. Having taken a wait-and-see attitude toward safety protocols during the shutdown, Caesars Entertainment<\/strong> was first out of the gate in cracking down on mask scofflaws. The company has ordered all visitors (and employees) to wear masks from now on. If you’re asked to put a mask on and refuse, you’ll be welcome to find yourself out<\/a> on Las Vegas Boulevard<\/strong>. Said CEO Anthony Rodio<\/strong>, \u201cWe promised that Caesars would continue to evaluate the latest recommendations, directives and medical science regarding the COVID-19 public health emergency and modify our enhanced health and safety protocols accordingly. As a result, we are immediately requiring everyone in our properties to wear masks, because the scientific evidence strongly suggests that wearing masks and practicing social distancing may be the most important deterrents to spreading COVID-19 from person to person.\u201d Previously, Caesars had been rewarding mask-wearing customers with $20 bills. Presumably that largesse will no longer be necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caesars beat Gov. Steve Sisolak<\/strong> (D) to the punch, as a masks-required edict came down from Carson City.<\/strong> Quick to pledge its fealty was MGM Resorts International<\/strong>, whose CEO, Bill Hornbuckle<\/strong>, said \u201cGiven the public health situation and the reports of new cases, we support the Governor\u2019s decision to require masks in public places and will begin to enforce according to his guidelines.” It will also 86 non-compliant customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Sisolak issued a lengthy statement, in which he said (in part), “We are still watching the continued increase in our confirmed and suspected COVID-19 hospitalizations as well. Recently, that number reached 439 cases in Nevada<\/strong>\u2019s hospitals statewide, however, patients requiring ICU beds and ventilators continues to hold steady … To go to Phase 2, our goal was to achieve 14 days of flat or decreasing positive test rate and hospitalizations. Many Nevadans acted responsibly, and after achieving those goals, we reopened much of our economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“At that time, I mandated Nevada businesses and employees who interact with the public wear face coverings and continued to strongly encourage members of the public to wear face coverings as well. Unfortunately, as you can see from the data, we have taken some steps backwards. Clearly for many, the excitement and enthusiasm for escaping our confinement and finally being able to enjoy dinner out with our families, buy new clothes or get a haircut, overshadowed the good judgement we practiced in the previous months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“So I want to put it to you like this: If back in March, before we shut down our economy, I said to you: we can keep our economy open if everyone agrees to wear masks and maintain 6 feet in person-to-person distance. Who would have not accepted that offer? I don\u2019t know why or when protecting our health and our neighbors\u2019 lives became a political, partisan or even philosophical decision. For me it\u2019s none of those. It\u2019s a medical necessity, a human obligation and it\u2019s good for business … We owe it to Nevada\u2019s many businesses to accept that fact.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ergo, as of midnight tonight, face masks will be mandatory<\/a> in Nevada public spaces. (The Caesars fatwa<\/em> has already gone into effect.) People with respiratory difficulties, some disabilities and between the ages of two and nine are exempted, as are jailbirds, who will have to take their chances. “Businesses that fail to meet requirements in this directive will face violations from licensing agencies and regulatory authorities, in addition to Nevada OSHA<\/strong>.” Reminding his readers that the pandemic has not ended (as many seem to believe) and that we are still in the first wave of Covid-19, Sisolak put Phase Three of the Nevada reopening on hold. (Bad news for brothels.) He even threatened to regress to still-stronger restrictions if infection numbers continue to go in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for those who feel the need to thumb their nose at authority (and the rest of us) by not wearing masks, Sisolak told the Nevada Independent<\/em>, \u201cWe\u2019re hoping that they will understand the severity of the situation and voluntarily wear masks. I mean, every responsible medical professional will tell you a mask helps reduce the spread of an infectious disease. Anyone who\u2019s denying that is just denying reality.\u201d Seems like we’ve got a pandemic of denial on our hands these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jottings<\/em><\/strong>: A coalition of local faith leaders is calling up Foundation Room<\/strong> nightclub at Mandalay Bay<\/strong> to remove its statues of Hindu<\/strong> and Jain<\/strong> gods, saying their display is “highly inappropriate.” We have only one question: What took them so long? … Longtime Justice Department<\/strong> official John W. Elias<\/strong> says that Attorney General William Barr<\/strong> is ordering investigations of the legal marijuana industry because \u201cdid not like the nature of their underlying business.” Elias testified to Congress<\/a> that \u201cpersonal dislike of the industry is not a valid basis upon which to ground an antitrust investigation\u201d … Two El Cortez<\/strong> employees have tested positive for Coronavirus. Neither was in a customer-facing role … A poker player’s recall petition to get rid of Mayor Carolyn Goodman<\/strong> (I) hasn’t garnered a single John Hancock, according to the city clerk. Perhaps the prospect of a gun-wielding Mayor Michele Fiore<\/strong> (R) is scarier yet … Wet Republic<\/strong> and Liquid Pool Lounge<\/strong> are still set to reopen next month. Reservations will be required.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perhaps Las Vegas will not be the latest vector of Covid-19 after all. Having taken a wait-and-see attitude toward safety protocols during the shutdown, Caesars Entertainment was first out of the gate in cracking down on mask scofflaws. The company … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[244,51,270,4,283,224,245,207,25],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27408"}],"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=27408"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27409,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27408\/revisions\/27409"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}