Gaming Commission Approves Nevada Casino Reopening Plan

Nevada casinos began the post-COVID reopening process in May 2020 after officials approved sweeping guidelines for sanitation protocols, distancing measures, and capacity reduction.

The Nevada Gaming Commission voted 4-0 in a meeting to approve policies requiring all state gaming facilities to reduce capacity by at least 50%, enact strict sanitation measures, and ensure large crowds don’t gather on their properties. Casinos must meet these requirements in addition to federal, state and local COVID-19 prevention measures.

Each facility had to submit its full plan a week before its intended reopening and receive Nevada Gaming Control Board approval.

“These are unprecedented times that are requiring unprecedented measures,” said NGCB Chair Sandra Douglass Morgan Thursday. “Businesses and gaming properties all around the world are confronting these same questions. We’re confident these policies are sound for our liquescences, our employees and our guests.”

At the meeting, held remotely via video conference, commission members offered no formal timeline for when the first Nevada casinos could reopen, though several larger resort properties had already begun taking reservations for later in the month.

Members stressed the guidelines are minimum requirements, and that properties are able, and encouraged, to go beyond these stipulations. The commission also reiterated the measures were preliminary and could become more or less restrictive as the coronavirus pandemic progresses.

“I am relatively sure that these are going to change,” said Commission Member Steven Cohen. “I don’t know whether it will be more restrictive or less restrictive, but these guidelines will change as a result of additional directives and as additional information flows into the state.”

Regulation Overview

Casinos that reopened greeted guests in a dramatically curtailed environment.

All gaming facilities, from resort casinos on the Las Vegas strip to convenience stores in the rural northern part of the state, had to reduce capacity by half. Especially for the larger casinos with thousands of square feet of gaming space, games had to be reduced or reconfigured. Slot machines had to be spaced to adhere to social distancing guidelines, and all table games had their capacities reduced.

Popular table games faced significant restrictions: three players per blackjack table, six for craps, four for roulette and four for poker. All other games have similar restrictions.

Employees also underwent extensive sanitation and safety training, and nearly every aspect of a casino, including front and back-of-house, areas must undergo extensive cleaning daily, if not more frequently. Specific employees must also be designated to work with local authorities to help with contact tracing and data sharing.

The larger casinos, which generate about two-thirds of their total revenues from non-gaming activities, had to close any venue that seats more than 250 people. Nightclubs and dayclubs remained closed, and pools and other social areas must be regulated to assure social distancing. Operators were further instructed to designate employees specifically to break up large crowds from gathering.

Some casinos that reopened in the subsequent weeks and months handed out masks to patrons upon entry and required they be worn while on the premises. The policies approved Thursday did not necessitate masks for patrons, but Morgan told commission members existing regulations don’t preclude casinos from enforcing policies requiring masks, regulations that seemed unthinkable for Nevada casinos previously.

Sanitation Requirements

Each gaming facility was ordered to clean and disinfect “all of its hard and soft surfaces” before reopening and follow strict sanitation requirements going forward.

All dining tables, bar tops, stools, chairs, and point-of-sale terminals must be disinfected after every use. All employee host podiums, service stations, service carts, beverage stations, and trays must be disinfected after each shift, along with counters and handrails.

Meanwhile, employees underwent training on “proper cleaning and disinfecting procedures” set forth by the guidelines. They were further trained on best practices for social distancing, hand washing, and germ spread mitigation. NGCB guidelines say employees should be instructed to stay home if they feel ill.

Additionally, all casino re-opening plans required certain personnel to “serve as a liaison” to local health authorities for contact tracing and data sharing.

Challenges Abound for the Gaming Industry

The vote was a critical first step toward casinos reopening, but significant logistical and practical challenges remain.

In a letter to commission members, former NGC Chair John F. O’Reilly worried the policies were simultaneously overly burdensome and not rigorous enough. He said the 50% capacity reduction would make it cost-prohibitive for some casinos, particularly smaller facilities, to reopen. He was also concerned the extra cleaning and social distancing restrictions would require expensive personnel and equipment costs casinos, already facing extreme financial hardships, wouldn’t be able to bear.

He also asked commission members to consider if the new policies would protect reopening casinos from lawsuits, both tort cases should patrons become ill while on their properties, as well as larger suits against the government organizations behind these policies.

Even with these regulations designed to protect employee and guest safety, reopening was difficult. Most gaming operators laid off or furloughed their employees, impacting thousands of gaming industry jobs. Not only did gaming companies have to bring back the employees, they will also had to train them about working in the industry during the midst of a viral outbreak.

Employees Express Concerns

The affected employees were also concerned about returning to work. The Culinary Workers Union, which represents more than 60,000 Nevadans employed in the hospital industry, asked that all 60,000 of its members be tested before returning to work as part of demands that go beyond the specifics in the NGC’s guidelines.

“It is imperative that Nevada has the most robust protections for workers and guests in place when casinos are open,” wrote Geoconda Argüello-Kline, Culinary secretary-treasurer, in a letter to the NGC. “We have to reassure guests that we are ready for them, that they will be safe when they come back. If we don’t get it right when we reopen, the long-term consequences for our industry will be devastating.

“There can be no shortcuts in how we prepare to meet guidelines.”

More than 30 million Americans filed for unemployment in early 2020 as thousands of new COVID-19 were still being diagnosed every day. Gaming analysts noted that even after casinos reopened, it could be months or years until patronage levels return to pre-coronavirus levels.

But before that can happen, the casinos have to reopen, and commission members believed this was the right first step in an unprecedented and fluid situation.

“Our reopening will be a slow and strategic effort as we need the industry’s patience and support as we strive to protect both employees and patrons,” said Commission Member Deborah Fuetsch before Thursday’s vote on the health regulations. “With that said, I am confident that the policies presented today lay the health and safety foundation necessary for licensees to build upon and develop their own reopening plans.”