Las Vegas Not Near Normal As Casinos Curtail Offerings

In a sign that the Las Vegas Strip is not near its usual level of operations, Wynn Resorts Ltd. is positioned to put staffers on leave and close select operations on non-weekend days. Footfall in the city is said to be declining following the first wave of casino reopenings last month, with coronavirus cases on the rise, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Marilyn Spiegel, the president of Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, said that commerce has been “very slow” at the destinations, particularly on days that are not weekends.

“We are trying our very best to encourage our guests to come back and visit, their concerns for their health and safety are overriding their desire to travel,” she said, according to the report.

The main valets of Encore and Wynn will also fully shutter, but valet services will stay in operation at Encore Tower Suites and Wynn Tower Suites to some individuals. Wynn is not alone in scaling back its operations: Las Vegas Sands Corp. said earlier in July that it would not take Palazzo hotel tower accommodation bookings midweek.

Just after midnight on June 4, resorts and gambling halls throughout Nevada opened again. At the time, it was noted that the state had restricted capacity to half while shows and buffets stayed shuttered. Properties that reopened also had to adhere to a stringent set of safety and health procedures. Casino owners put social distancing reminders and plexiglass into place, while making masks available.

Tourism fuels the economy in Clark County, which is an area that includes the famous Las Vegas Strip. One study cited by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which was held for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, noted that visitors spend more than $30 billion annually in the southern part of the state.

The hospitality industry in Nevada was severely impacted; more than 122,200 hospitality and leisure employees lost their employment in April.

In June, IHS Markit’s Troy Walters told WSJ that the city could be facing a long road to recovery, with joblessness potentially remaining in the 20 percent range by the conclusion of the first quarter of 2021.

“We think that consumers are still going to be pretty reluctant to travel very far, stay in hotels [or] take part in gaming” until there is a vaccine, he said at the time, according to WSJ.