Las Vegas reopens casinos with safety rules
With new safety rules, Las Vegas comes back to life after more than two months as casinos reopen.
US.- Las Vegas is seeing mosts of its casinos reopen after two months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. New hygiene and distancing measures are being strictly observed.
Casinos are reopening despite the wave of protests this week related to the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police. In Las Vegas, the disturbances led to two shootings late Monday night and early Tuesday.
Venues began to reopen their doors on June 4 and reservations grew at all resorts. Caesars Entertainment announced it would reopen not only Caesars Palace and Flamingo but also Harrah’s Las Vegas due to the high demand for rooms.
MGM Resorts has announced it expects to reopen Excalibur on June 11.
Wynn-Encore is the only casino to announce the reopening of all restaurants and bars.
New safety rules throughout Las Vegas will be enforced by agents from the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
The sanitary measures do not require resort guests to wear face masks, but they are strongly encouraged to do so. Employees are required to wear masks and workers must frequently disinfect craps tables and slot machines, elevator buttons and menus.
Guests also will find dispensers stocked with masks, gloves and hand sanitiser. Touchless hand washing stations have been placed in all casinos at Bellagio, MGM Grand and New York-New York.
At the High Roller Ferris wheel at the Linq Promenade, capacity will be reduced from 40 to ten passengers per cabin.
Governor Steve Sisolak said last week to local media: “[The] Gaming Control Board is going to be very aggressive in terms of being on the properties, visiting the properties and making sure that the guests, the visitors, are complying with the regulations and that the companies are doing their part as well.”
Shows and performances will not yet resume. The future of Cirque du Soleil, which stages six shows per year, remains uncertain after the company declared bankruptcy.
Sports will also have to wait too. The NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders will play their first pre-season home game on August 27 against the Arizona Cardinals, but most likely behind closed doors.
