Casinos Lay Out Reopening Plans Despite Uncertainties

casinos reopening coronavirus

When Las Vegas casinos reopen, guests will find chocolates in amenity bags have been replaced with hand sanitizer.

Even as a firm reopening timeline undetermined, the nation’s nearly 500 commercial casinos are preparing to open their doors with unprecedented sanitation measures and structural reorganizations. Thermal monitors, plexiglass slot dividers and a seemingly ubiquitous supply of hand sanitizer could be the new reality for the multi-billion dollar casino industry for many months to come.

Some Las Vegas casinos are hoping for at least a partial reopening as early as next month. But, like nearly every aspect of the industry since the COVID-19 outbreak, that timeline remains undetermined.

“This type of uncertainty is unprecedented,” said Bobby Soper, President of Sun Gaming + Hospitality, in a teleconference presentation Thursday. “It’s all a guess at this point.”

All that is certain is resort destinations in Las Vegas, and the hundreds of other casinos spread across the country, will operate like never before.

Casino Reopening Plans Take Shape

More than a month after the coronavirus essentially halted the retail casino industry, the nation’s leading stakeholders are introducing plans for safe opening in the time of COVID-19.

Wynn Resorts unveiled a 23-page health and safety plan earlier this week that calls for a reopening of the Las Vegas Strip as early as mid-to-late May. This would only take place if the city’s hospitalizations and deaths do not exceed the national average for a sustained period and a sufficient number of hospital beds remain available in case of a spike. Daily monitoring would continue, preparing casinos to step back if necessary.

In that scenario, Wynn’s eponymous casino resort, as well as the Encore Las Vegas, will give patrons masks and hand sanitizer upon entry. Once in the casino, they’ll be asked to space six feet apart at all times.

Wynn also will turn off or realign its slot machines to maximize distance between guests. Half the seated table game such as blackjack will be removed from the gaming floor, and those that remain will have three seats maximum. No more than four chairs will be permitted at baccarat tables, and dice games won’t be permitted to seat more than three players per side.

The Wynn plan also calls for extensive cleaning measures for every game and strict sanitation guidelines for employees. Larger casino amenities such as spas, restaurants and convention halls will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and will adhere to social distancing measures.

Drastic Steps Taken Already

The casino will also check the temperatures of everyone entering the facility. Entrants with a temperate higher than 100 degrees would undergo a secondary screening and would not be able to proceed if a fever is detected.

Thermal scanners are already in place at Wynn properties said Executive Vice President Ellen Whittemore during Thursday’s teleconference of industry stakeholders, which was organized by the Innovation Group, a U.K.-based gaming consulting firm. She said its part of a larger plan to prepare the casinos ahead of time for when the government permits them to reopen. She said it’s part of a larger framework of preparation for any scenario that comes after.

“We have to take baby steps,” Whittemore said. “We have to see how each of these businesses do with social distancing. We also have to be willing to stop. If we can’t operate a certain way, we have to be able to pull back.”

Other States Face Different Challenges

The Wynn plan announced by CEO Matt Maddox is one of the most specific reopening outlines reveled publicly so far, and Wynn’s rivals along Las Vegas Boulevard will likely follow with similar plans. But this may be far more difficult for smaller properties outside Las Vegas.

Sun Gaming’s Soper said Thursday that the close proximity of players in poker rooms may make them next to impossible to operate in these conditions for other localities. Casinos may also have to take on more extreme logistical and financial measures such rearranging or even installing dividers between slot machines, typically a gaming facility’s largest revenue generator.

Additionally, some states and cities have more stringent bans on face coverings, which would require regulatory approval in those jurisdictions.

“Social distancing will clearly be a challenge,” Soper said.

Casino Reopening Timeline Still Unknown

These plans come as officials acknowledge even the best-laid strategies could be altered or thwarted entirely by the uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus outbreak.

Wynn’s late May reopening seems audacious given Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, who ordered all casinos to close last month, has not yet given a reopening timeline. Casino officials acknowledge they are working within the parameters laid down by the state government, despite the more aggressive, and controversial, policies supported by figures such as Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman.

“This is what we plan on doing today,” Whittemore said Thursday. “By the time we’re given permission to open, which we still believe will be in the later portion of May, the plan may be different.”

No matter what happens in Nevada, that plan will look different in the more than 40 additional states with some form of casino gaming. For example, Whittemore said the coronavirus challenges in Massachusetts make reopening the company’s Encore Boston property next month unlikely.

Hundreds of other properties face challenges that are different in their machinations but similar in their uncertainties. Casinos will undoubtedly undergo unprecedented social distancing and sanitation measures once their doors reopen, but patron levels – and a timeline for doing so – remain impossible to determine.

“No one exactly knows when we’ll be reopening,” Soper said. “That makes planning that much more difficult.”

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