Science to dictate when Las Vegas casinos reopen, gaming official says

But MGM Resorts International properties and the Venetian will stay closed through the end of April, falling in line with federal social distancing guidelines that have been extended to April 30.

All major casino companies are awaiting guidance from the office of Gov. Steve Sisolak, who in announcing the unprecedented order March 17 said he would consult with medical experts, federal officials and business leaders in determining when to lift the shutdown. Sisolak said last week that he would make his decision to reopen on science, not politics.

But that was before President Donald Trump on Sunday extended the federal social distancing guideline until the end of this month. Sisolak’s office wouldn’t comment on the record for this story.

Tony Alamo, the chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, said it’s too early to predict when Las Vegas casinos might be allowed to reopen. “The science will dictate when that can happen,” said Alamo, who is a practicing medical doctor. “I can’t answer for the governor, but the decision will become clear in the next two weeks based on what happens with the virus and the science.”

Officials from Caesars and Wynn said anyone placing reservations would get their money back if the properties wind up remaining closed until at least May.

“Our operating decisions in Nevada will be predicated on Gov. Sisolak’s orders,” Richard Broome, a Caesars spokesman, wrote in an email. A Wynn spokesman said it now appeared “likely” that the company would push back its reservation startup date.

MGM Resorts International, which had previously been taking reservations for an April 17 opening, is no longer booking for dates before May 1 at its Las Vegas properties. Las Vegas Sands said it plans to keep the Venetian closed through at least April 30. It’s unknown whether Sands’ other Las Vegas property, the Palazzo, will also remain closed until then.

The Sands’ decision was made to be “in line with federal nationwide social distancing guidelines,” the company said in a statement.

Among the concerns are visitors from other areas bringing the virus to town and infecting residents and those working on the Strip. That’s why Sisolak on Tuesday issued a coronavirus travel advisory, urging visitors to Nevada and residents returning from out of state to self-quarantine for 14 days to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.

“If at the end of the 30 days the situation has gotten much, much worse, then obviously we’ll have to extend it,” said Dr. Brian Labus of the UNLV School of Public Health. “If we get closer to 30 days and everything is better, we’ll look at how to modify it. It’s a place to start, but obviously because we don’t know how this will play out, it’s hard to say exactly how many days it will be and whether or not it will be enough.”

Labus, who served as Southern Nevada Health District’s senior epidemiologist for 15 years, compared suppressing coronavirus to suppressing a fire — if you don’t completely put it out, it will inevitably flare back up.

“If Vegas manages to get everything under control, but one of the states around us doesn’t, it could easily restart an outbreak here,” he said. “We have to look nationally and worldwide to decide how best to keep this from flaring back up.”

Alamo, who doesn’t expect to be involved in any decision made by Sisolak’s office, said he trusted the gaming industry to do what was right.

“Putting my doctor hat on, we’re expecting and preparing for us to peak in the next 10-14 days,” Alamo said. “This is about what the right thing is to do. The industry will always do the right thing. If this shows itself to be peaking in two weeks, the industry won’t open.”

More than 180,000 cases have been confirmed in the United States as of Tuesday. The White House now believes it’s possible that upwards of 100,000 Americans could die from the disease. Coronavirus deaths in Nevada have almost doubled during the past three days, sitting at 26 as of Tuesday, with more than 1,100 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.