As November started to draw to a close, there was a small glimmer of hope that capacity restrictions at state casinos would be lifted. However, the exact opposite happened and properties were ordered to limit their traffic flows to just 25% of their normal capacity. If there was hope of December bringing a little holiday spirit to the gambling scene in the state, that has now been dashed by Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak. The 25% capacity is going to remain in place until the middle of January.
Sisolak announced yesterday that the COVID-19 pandemic is still taking its toll on the state, and that casinos and other public facilities will need to continue with the current restrictions. This means that many public facilities will be forced to keep traffic to below 50 people or a quarter of their normal capacities, whichever figure is the lowest. The renewed order will stay in place until January 15, at which time Sisolak plans on evaluating the situation once again to determine what actions need to be taken.
The governor may view the restrictions as a gift to the casino industry. He hints at choosing them over a complete lockdown because of the economic losses that would be seen by the operators, as well as the state, but stops short of showing significant empathy for the operators’ bottom lines. He asserted that a complete shutdown would cost Nevada $52 million in gaming revenue in just one month, adding that he’s not too concerned about how the restrictions impact company stock prices. A shutdown, he added, would be devastating to the “hundreds of thousands” of casino employees that could be affected and he is trying to find a happy medium to protect the state from COVID-19 while not placing a massive burden on those workers.
Since COVID-19 first appeared in Nevada, 186,833 cases have been identified. There is finally a vaccine that is starting to see its way into health centers around the world, and Nevada is waiting for its first shipment. The state is expected to start receiving batches of the vaccine sometime this week, with more following in the first two quarters of next year. However, the effectiveness of the COVID-19-stopping drug will take a while to be realized, and Nevada could continue to suffer in the meantime.
According to Anthony Cabot of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Boyd School of Law, no one should expect any Christmas miracles, but the overall impact won’t be too great. The Distinguished Fellow of Gaming Law told casino.org, “The Las Vegas Strip will not make a strong comeback until the vaccine is readily available and air travel resumes,” adding that Sisolak’s decision to renew the restrictions “will have some impact on weekend business,” but that he doesn’t think “it will be substantial otherwise.”
