MGM, Station, Caesars Casinos in Las Vegas at 100 percent gaming capacity
Publication date: May 12, 2021, 04: 02 h.
Last updated: May 12, 2021, 06: 19 h.
Nine MGM Resorts hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip have joined the growing list of properties approved to operate their gaming rooms at full capacity. Station Casinos properties and Caesars Entertainment resorts in Las Vegas have also joined the list.
MGM Resorts announced Wednesday that the Nevada Gaming Control Board has granted the company permission to operate its casinos on the Strip at 100 percent capacity with no social distance.
Casinos include MGM Grand on the east side of the Strip and on the west side, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, Aria, New York-New York, Park MGM, Bellagio and Mirage.
Also on Wednesday, Station Casinos announced that management has allowed the company to operate its gaming rooms at 100 percent capacity These resorts, which are located throughout the Las Vegas Valley, include Red Rock, Palace Station, Green Valley Ranch, Boulder Station, Sunset Station and Santa Fe Station.
Caesars Entertainment has also received approval to operate its Las Vegas casinos at full capacity. These include Caesars Palace on the west side of the Strip, and Flamingo, Cromwell, Bally's, Paris Las Vegas, Harrah's, the Linq, Planet Hollywood and Rio on the east side.
Also this month, the board is allowing other properties in the area to operate their gaming zones at 100 percent Capacity. These include the Strat Hotel, Casino and SkyPod and two Wynn Resorts, Wynn Las Vegas and neighboring Encore.
The board allows casinos to operate with a full complement of players if management can verify it 80 percent or more of employees are vaccinated against COVID - 19. Masks are still required for employees and customers.
Establishments meeting this mandate may operate at full capacity and remove plastic barriers at table games and slot machines. These rules do not apply to non-gaming areas, such as restaurants, where 80 percent occupancy and distance is still required.
" The importance of vaccination "
In early May, the Gaming Control Board was given authority to determine casino capacity based on casinos' "measurable" efforts to inoculate their workforce.
MGM Resorts General Manager Bill Hornbuckle said the lifting of COVID - 19 restrictions are "a testament to the importance of vaccination in our quest to fully reopen our community."
"We will work to inoculate as many people as possible and remain vigilant using the health and safety protocols developed to protect our employees, visitors and the community," Hornbuckle said.
Positive tourism numbers
At o Following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, Governor Steve Sisolak (DE) demanded the closure of casinos and other lesser businesses. The lockdown lasted 78 days. It ended on June 4. Some resorts opened immediately. Others began operating again over time.
Even after the casinos opened, the city was slow to recover. In 2020, Las Vegas saw its lowest number of visitors since 1989. Last year, 19.03 million people visited Las Vegas, down 55. 2 percent from 2019.
At McCarran International Airport, passenger arrivals and departures dropped by more than 30 million during the pandemic. The airport is located on the southeast end of the Strip, near the Tropicana, MGM Grand and other hotel casinos.
With the introduction of vaccines and control incentives in the country, the number of visitors to the Las Vegas Valley has increased.
More than 2.2 million visitors came to the Las Vegas Valley in March, an increase of nearly 46 percent over the 1.5 million visitors in February. Also in March, the number of passengers arriving and departing at the airport increased 25 percent from the previous month.
