New York (CNN Business) – The Las Vegas mayor wants Sin City to reopen, but gaming industry workers, casino executives and the Nevada governor think differently.
So players are unlikely to hit casinos on the dazzling Las Vegas Strip anytime soon.
In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman repeatedly called for business to return to normal.
“I would love everything open because we have had viruses for years that have been here,” he said at one point.
Nevada Governor and Casinos Not Ready to Reopen the Strip
Goodman also criticized Cooper for displaying a graph by Chinese researchers that showed how easily the coronavirus It can be spread in public.
“This is not China. This is Las Vegas, Nevada, “Goodman said, prompting a shocked Cooper to reply,” Wow. OK, that’s really ignorant. “
Goodman acknowledged that he does not have the authority to reopen casinos or other businesses in the city. That call will come from Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak.
And Sisolak is in no rush to return to business as usual.
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In an interview with Cooper after Goodman’s comments Wednesday, Sisolak said Nevada “is clearly not ready to reopen” and that it will not use Nevada as a “control group” for the rest of the country.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board issued strict guidelines earlier this week detailing the many steps casinos will need to take before reopening.
And casino employees have also opposed the idea of going back to work.
“The mayor’s statements are outrageous considering that frontline essential workers have been dealing with the consequences of this crisis first hand,” said Geoconda Argüello-Kline, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Workers Union, Local 226 in a release.
“Health and safety are our priority. Workers and guests must be safe, “he added.
American gaming companies that are struggling
Casino stocks have naturally been hit hard due to the Las Vegas shutdown. Shares of Caesars Entertainment have plummeted 40% this year, while Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts have plummeted 45% and 60% respectively.
Las Vegas Sands, which owns the Venetian and Palazzo casinos on the Strip, as well as the Sands Expo & Convention Center, has also suffered. Shares have fallen approximately 35% so far in 2020.
The company, which also has casinos in Macau, was the first of the top gaming firms to report first-quarter results, and said Wednesday that its global revenue fell more than 50% from a year ago.
However, the numbers were not as bad as feared. Las Vegas Sands increased nearly 10%.
The other big US casino companies. USA They’ll probably also discuss what’s happening in Las Vegas when they report their latest earnings in the coming weeks.
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During a conference call with analysts, Las Vegas Sands President and Chief Operating Officer Robert Glen Goldstein said he was optimistic that the players would flock to Macao once the casinos reopen there. But he was less excited about the possibility of a quick rebound in Las Vegas.
“I think from the bottom of my heart, the recovery in Asia is going to happen pretty quickly. I’m not that comfortable in Las Vegas, “said Goldstein.
Goldstein said there are important questions about when people will be willing to fly to Las Vegas and whether consumers will want to take vacations anytime soon, given the severity of the pandemic in the economy.
There is also the question of whether Americans will get used to the stricter guidelines of social distancing that will be required in United States once the casinos finally reopen.
In Asia, many health and safety measures were already more common before the covid-19 outbreak.
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But Goldstein said it is unclear how comfortable Americans will feel about the possible need to control their temperature and wear masks and gloves before entering a casino.
“Is different. And I think it will be a little difficult here, ”Goldstein said.
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