Vegas News May 10, 2020
Reopening Las Vegas
Before we get to talking about the reopening of Las Vegas…… On Saturday I woke up crankier than usual since it was 3:30 am. After listening to a couple of podcasts I grabbed a cup of chamomile tea and plopped down on the couch to see what was on TV. It was with great surprise that reruns of the old NBC show “Las Vegas” were airing on E!
It was so great to see Sam Marquez getting her Palm Pilot hacked by the host at Green Valley Ranch and Jon Lovitz go from a guy who wanted to jump off the roof of the casino to a millionaire.
“Las Vegas” was only on TV for five seasons beginning in 2003. This wasn’t a brilliant TV show. It was a campy look at Las Vegas glitz and glamour with some off the wall storylines like Jean Claude Van Dam dying from a failed stunt off the roof of the Montecito. The casino was sometimes located where Harrah’s is located. Other times it was where Mandalay Bay is located. Ahhhh…the memories.
It’s been about two months since I’ve been inside of a casino and I honestly didn’t miss it until watching Brooks and Dunn on a 24-hour heater at the craps table. I’m not sure I’ll be rolling bones when casinos reopen but I’m currently in the mood to play craps.
Las Vegas Slowly Reopening
Las Vegas is starting Phase One of reopening this weekend. This is a slow phased opening process that’s beginning with most local businesses opening at 50% capacity. Casinos (and massage parlors) are still closed.
Governor Steve Sisolak says Nevada Gaming Control will share information about casinos reopening. In the meantime, casinos are prepping as though this will happen soon. El Cortez is ready to test plexiglass partitions in the casino while Wynn is setting up thermal cameras.
The slow reopening makes sense for this and all cities. I’m told that slow and steady wins the race. Onward and upward! I think we’ll hear news about casinos reopening next week but that’s just a hunch.
Casino Reopenings
Las Vegas as a city is already reopening. The Las Vegas we know from the TV show and movies isn’t opening yet and probably won’t for a while. We looked at some casino reopening plans last week so I won’t rehash too much. However, the health and safety plan agenda we discussed last week was approved.
Wiggle Room
There’s a lot of wiggle room for casinos but the bottom line is that they’ll also reopen with 50% capacity. Blackjack games will have only three players while craps will have only six players. My favorite time in casinos is early in the day before they get too crowded. It feels like casinos will reopen and be somewhat perfect for me.
That said, besides running through casinos to grab pictures and videos I won’t be spending time eating, drinking, or gambling right away. I’ll wait and see how things roll out. TravelZork took an unscientific poll this week and about half of the people won’t be returning to casinos right away either.
It’s safe to assume that many of the TravelZork respondents are fans of casinos and the results aren’t surprising. While a third will get to Vegas casinos ASAP, more will wait and let other people be guinea pigs.
We can let those pent-up excitement do the recon for us when it comes to spending time gambling, drinking, and eating at a casino or restaurant.
Personally, the businesses (casinos and otherwise) will have to show some kind of constant cleanliness for me to return. I understand if people want to go buck wild as businesses open but I’m typically a little slow with new things. I’ll get back eventually.
You can read more about the approved casino policies here.
Quick Hits
I missed a few news bites last week so I’ll share them in Quick Hits this week. Here’s your favorite weekly Las Vegas roundup. Unfortunately we have to start with some sad news.
- Roy Horn of Sigfried and Roy passed away on Friday. Read more here. My only memory of the duo is a strange one. I landed in Las Vegas the day they were attacked by tigers on stage in 2003.
- You probably know this already but Wynn will open with reduced capacity. Sharing because that’s caring too. Read more here.
- As previously mentioned, dayclubs and nightclubs will not open alongside casinos. Read more here.
- The Westgate plans on opening on June 18. Read more here. On a related note, the Westgate SuperBook app was turned on this week so anyone in Nevada can get down on Korean Baseball at another sportsbook.
- While we’re discussing sports betting Circa Sports has curbside account and contest signups and app funding at the Golden Gate valet. Read the press release here.
- Related, I did a roundup of sportsbook apps that just turned on and casinos offering curbside services here.
- MGM 2020 is continuing and so are the layoffs. You’ve known about this for almost a year. Read more here.
- Treasure Island keeps pushing back its opening because Phil Ruffin has no say in the matter. Read more here if you have 30 seconds to waste.
- Live boxing coming to Vegas in June! Read more here.
- This isn’t surprising but Psycho 2020 is canceled and will return to Mandalay Bay in 2021. Read more here.
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