June casino restart eyed School quandary
Tuesday event heralds shift to next phase
CARSON CITY — Nevada’s gaming industry, shuttered since mid-march, could reopen June 4, and the next phase of relaxed restrictions in the state’s rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic could come even sooner, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Friday.
The governor plans a Tuesday news conference to give details and potentially announce a date for moving to the second
The governor said CCSD has too many students to make social distancing in its classes feasible
phase of reopenings, if data through the holiday weekend on infection rates, hospital usage and other metrics continues to “reflect positive or consistent trends,” according to a statement released by his office Friday afternoon.
The news comes as the state has faced an increasing amount of pressure to reopen. Nevada’s unemployment rate hit record highs in April, and casinos in 12 other states have opened their doors ahead of those in Sin City.
“It’s an important first step in pushing our economy forward, getting our economy back to where it was previously,” said economist Jeremy Aguero of Applied Analysis. “There’s a great deal of uncertainty, but we’re taking steps to open all facets of our economy, and that’s exactly what needs to be done.”
The state Gaming Control Board will convene a workshop Tuesday at which state and local health and safety officers will give an update regarding COVID-19 response measures at resort hotels.
The board may then take up “any action necessary with regard to reopening plans,” according to the governor’s statement. Gaming establishments are required to submit reopening plans for approval seven
days before reopening.
“Obviously, contingent upon what happens at Tuesday’s workshop with the Gaming Control Board, we finally have clarity as to when the state’s
No. 1 industry will help guide us out of the Great Shutdown,” said Brendan Bussmann, director of government affairs for Las Vegas-based Global Market Advisors LLC.
PREPARATIONS underway
Casinos have been preparing for weeks for this day, publishing updated health and safety guidelines and setting tentative booking dates online to make sure they’d have guests ready to fill rooms once they were made available.
“It’s been a long two months for us. It’s been a long two months for everyone in the state, but we’re ready to go back to business in Nevada,” said Boyd Gaming Corp. spokesman David Strow.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. spokesman Michael Weaver said the company looks forward to working with regulators as it moves toward reopening.
“We applaud Governor Sisolak for his decision to target June 4 for opening resorts,” he said via email. “Because of his careful, science-based approach to containing the virus, Nevada is now ready to open its economy and get people working again.”
While the reopening could allow thousands of Nevadans to return to work, Stephen Miller, director of
UNLV’S Center for Business and Economic Research, said it’ll have to be “done successfully” to avoid a second wave of the virus.
“The governor is in a tough position,” he said. “(You’re facing) two issues: one is a public health issue, the other is an economic issue. If you try to solve one issue, you could make the other potentially worse.”
But Aguero said the reopening date is an “excellent sign” that there is continued progress in the fight against COVID-19.
TWO WEEKS OF PHASE ONE
The news gives frayed Nevadans potentially something to look forward to over a long, socially distanced Memorial Day weekend. Saturday marks two weeks since Phase One of the state’s reopening process began.
The governor began issuing directives on social distancing and business closures in mid-march, when COVID-19 infections in the state numbered less than 70. As of Friday, the official state count was 7,401 cases and 387 deaths.
Broadly, the criteria for relaxing restrictions, based on federal guidance, have been increased testing capacity, declining rates of infection and sustainable hospital capacity. Based on positive trends in those three categories, Sisolak eased restrictions and announced the state’s Phase One reopening starting May 9.
“If Nevada’s COVID-19 data con
tinues to reflect positive or consistent trends through the Memorial
Day Weekend, the governor will announce a Phase Two reopening date at the Tuesday press conference, along with business reopening and statewide continuing operation guidelines,” Sisolak’s statement reads.
Speaking at a teleconference Friday hosted by the Metro Chamber of Commerce, Sisolak told more than 1,000 participants on the call that the state’s top priorities are saving lives, ensuring health care system capacity and making potential tourists and other visitors feel at ease about returning.
“It’s important that when visitors come here, when they start coming back to Las Vegas, to Nevada, they know that this is the safest place in the world to come on vacation,” Sisolak said. “And to make sure that there is a tracing effort in place, there’s testing in place, that they feel that they’ll be able to come here, enjoy themselves and not take the virus back home.”
Contact Capital Bureau reporter Bill Dentzer at bdentzer @reviewjournal.com. Follow @Dentzernews on Twitter.
Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz @reviewjournal.com or 702-3830233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter. Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @Rickvelotta on Twitter.