Silver State’s silver screens to stay dark longer than planned

Cinema chains delay opening amid outbreak

The summer movie season is creeping toward the fall.

As big-ticket movies continue to be delayed as a result of uncertainties over the coronavirus pandemic and increases in the number of COVID-19 cases, AMC became the nation’s first theater chain to push back its reopening efforts. Cinemark, which operates locally under the Century brand, quickly followed suit.

Originally scheduled to have most of its theaters open for business on July 15, AMC, the largest theater chain in America, announced Monday that it was now targeting July 30 for resumption at 450 of its more than 600 multiplexes.

Locally, AMC operates the theaters at Town Square and Rainbow Promenade.

Cinemark had announced

and the Strip is down 44.8 percent. As far as May’s gaming win compared to April, it is my understanding that due to the addition of events to this month’s sports betting options (NASCAR and UFC) the month of May was a bit stronger.”

Analysts knew the May numbers would be grim since it was the second full month of the state’s 78-day casino closures that began May 18. They reopened June 4, so June figures should be a little brighter.

But the May numbers also provide a reminder of the return to financial turmoil if Gov. Steve Sisolak orders properties re-closed, an order he doesn’t want to issue.

As terrible as the May numbers were, they weren’t as bad as April’s. In April, state casinos won $3.6 million, down 99.6 percent, the lowest win total since records began being kept in 1983.

The two months of closures, the 14 days in May and the three days in June have made a mess of the 2019-20 fiscal year.

Statewide, gaming win is down

19.4 percent to $8.761 billion. Strip win is off 19.5 percent to $4.771 billion and downtown Las Vegas is down

17.2 percent to $508 million.

For the 11 months of tax collections based on percentage of win through Monday, the state has received

$598.2 million, down 15.6 percent from the previous year.

Visitation numbers also unraveled in May, with most categories down by close to 100 percent.

Citywide occupancy fell 88 percentage points to 2.8 percent for the month and the average daily room rate was off 56.8 percent to $60.70 a night.

Average daily traffic counts on the major highways leading into Las

Vegas were at 30.3 percent of normal at 86,884 vehicles. The Nevada Department of Transportation, which monitors highway traffic, notes that not all traffic on Interstate 15 and U.S. Highway 95 into Las Vegas are tourists and that residents are included in their statistics.