[SLT Harrvey's and Harrahs are owned by Caesars Entertainment Corp.]
Videos of go-go dancers wearing face-shields and unmasked crowds of people intermingling between slot machines quickly made rounds on social media last weekend as casinos opened their doors after almost three months shuttered. Cliche lovers everywhere proclaimed: “Vegas is back!”
But there is still a long way to go.
According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, 90.2 percent of licensees statewide reopened on June 4 — the first day they could.
But, on the Las Vegas Strip, which generates the biggest chunk of gaming and tourism revenue for the state, only 59.6 percent of licensees did.
Casino giants MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment Corp. both took a phased-in approach, opting to reopen only some of their multiple properties on day one. A second batch of properties are set to open in the next week. Most seem prepared for reopening by July 4, according to gaming control board staff, though the situation is “fluid.”
Only two licensees have permanently closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic — Lakeside Inn and Casino in South Lake Tahoe and Colorado Belle in Laughlin.