On Tuesday night, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak announced that casinos throughout the Silver State will be able reopen on June 4. Phase 2 of Nevada United: Roadmap to Recovery plan begins on Friday, May 29.
Gyms, spas, bars, and other businesses will be able to open this Friday. Nevada casinos are on target to open next week. This comes more than two months after ordering casinos and non-essential businesses to close throughout the state.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) held a public workshop online with updates from health experts for when casinos reopen. The workshop discussed a variety of reopening information such as frontline employees being tested for COVID-19, temperature screenings for incoming guests, housing guests that need to be quarantined, and more.
A good portion of the workshop looked at some of the health and safety policies that have already been released. NGCB will continue updating its policies for casinos as reopening looms closer. Casino operators aren’t required to share their plans but many have already.
Las Vegas casino openings
Nevada casinos are now taking reservations beginning June 4. However, not all casinos will open right away. Earlier this month, some of the large Las Vegas casino corporations with multiple properties revealed plans to reopen in phases.
Caesars Entertainment
Opening immediately: Caesars Palace, Flamingo
Closed: Planet Hollywood, Paris Las Vegas, Bally’s, The Cromwell, The Linq, Harrah’s, Rio
Opening next: The Linq, Harrah’s
MGM Resorts
Opening immediately: Bellagio, New York-New York, MGM Grand
Closed: Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, Park MGM, Aria, MGM Grand, The Mirage
Station Casinos
Opening immediately: Red Rock, Green Valley Ranch, Palace Station, Santa Fe Station, Boulder Station, Sunset Station
Closed: Palms, Texas Station, Fiesta Henderson, Fiesta Rancho
Boyd Gaming
Opening immediately: The Orleans, Gold Coast, Aliante, Sam’s Town, Suncoast, Cannery, Eastside Cannery
Closed: The California, Fremont, Main Street Station
Individually operated casinos will be allowed to reopen as beginning June 4. Some casinos, such as Wynn and Red Rock, are opening restaurants in advance of the rest of the property.
Casino health and safety plans
Nevada casino companies have spent the past month preparing new health and safety plans. Each property will have its own plan that meets the requirements set for by the Nevada Gaming Control Board health and safety policy requirements for reopening.
The health and safety plans include everything from capacity limits upon reopening to cleaning plans and social distancing. There will be two noticeable changes when casinos reopen.
- The casino and every venue will be limited to 50% of capacity. Seating in bars, restaurants, and pools will be spaced to allow six feet of distance.
- Video poker, slots, and other machine games will only allow guests to play every other seat. Table games will only allow the following number of players at most:
- Blackjack: Three players per table
- Craps: Six players per table
- Roulette: Four players per table
- Poker: Four players per table
The casinos will use different tactics to try to ensure a clean and healthy gambling environment. Chips, cards, machines, tables, seats, and so on will be cleaned more than ever. Here’s a look at the various casino health and safety plans.
- Boyd Clean
- Caesars Entertainment
- Golden Entertainment (The Strat)
- Hard Rock Lake Tahoe
- MGM Resorts
- Sahara Cares
- Station Casinos
- Treasure Island
- Venetian Clean
- Wynn Health & Disinfection Plan
Each company has a plan that is specifically tailored for its guest. These are great references for anyone that already has a hotel reservation or someone just planning to visit one of these casinos.
What to expect when visiting casinos
Visiting a casino in Nevada will be different depending on where you go and when you go. Anyone looking for the traditional vacation might want to wait awhile while, since more venues inside the casinos will be open and more people will be allowed to visit.
Casinos on the Vegas Strip should be much more somber than usual when they first open. Fewer tourists flying to Las Vegas and limited capacity will make the casino experience feel more like 6 a.m. than the typical party atmosphere. This should change over time as capacity becomes larger and tourists return to casinos.
Locals casinos throughout Nevada could see pent-up excitement and large crowds from residents just happy to leave their house. At first, these casinos may have an atmosphere usually found on the Vegas Strip. Regional and locals casinos outside of Nevada have seen big crowds upon opening. There have been lines to get in. Limited seating for table games and machines have been as busy as the states allow.
One thing to expect before stepping foot into a casino is free parking. Caesars Entertainment, the Cosmopolitan, and MGM Resorts will all open without parking fees.
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