NBA star in LV before virus diagnosis
EXACTLY one month before announcing he’d tested positive for COVID-19, Russell Westbrook was hanging poolside at Encore Beach Club at
Wynn Las Vegas.
Westbrook was with a group of friends, including former NFL running back Reggie Bush, fashion jeweler Greg Yuna, bodybuilders and trainers Mike Rashid and Valeriu Guto and Wynn club host Jai Shaun White at the outdoor dayclub on June 13.
The group posed for a photo at one of the party space’s VIP bungalows.
Westbrook, a superstar guard with the Houston Rockets, was due to join the team in Orlando when he posted Monday about his positive test. He wrote:
“I’m currently feeling well, quarantined, and looking forward to rejoining my teammates when I am cleared. Thank you all for the well wishes and continued support. Please take this virus seriously. Be safe. Mask up! #whynot.”
No other member of Westbrook’s party at Wynn has posted or announced whether they have tested positive for COVID. Their arrival at Wynn was during the time when wearing face coverings was encouraged but not mandatory.
Responding to a question about whether Westbrook had contracted the virus at the hotel, Wynn Las Vegas referred to company policy stating that it does not disclose personal information about guests. Generally, the statement reads:
“Any guest diagnosed with COVID-19 while visiting the resort is reported to the Southern Nevada Health District, which conducts community contact tracing. Our internal contact tracing determines who in the resort the guest has had contact with and what areas they visited; relevant contacts are informed for testing and the areas visited are thoroughly sanitized.
“The guest is asked to leave the resort to receive medical care; Clark County has designated quarantine accommodations if the guest requires them. For hotel guests, the guest room is sanitized by a professional cleaning company. As a preventative measure, all guests are temperature screened upon entering the resort, offered hand sanitizer and, by order of the governor on June 24th, required to wear a face covering.”
The 2019-20 NBA season is set to restart July 31 at
Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, with players quarantined in a “bubble” for safety reasons. The season was suspended on March 11.
Westbrook, fellow superstar James Harden and new Rockets acquisition Luc
Mbah a Moute are among the players who have yet to arrive in Orlando. Harden’s absence is not explained, though head coach Mike D’antoni said the players have been working out on their own.
As part of the NBA’S “bubble” COVID-19 protocol, all players are required to quarantine in their rooms for 48 hours after their arrival before practicing with teammates.
Saint Nicks sidelined
It’s never too hot to have a line to Santa Claus, who has reported that he is not chancing COVID-19 this Christmastime.
The annual Opportunity Village Las Vegas Great Santa Run is going virtual for its 16th installment this December. You will not see the famous sea of Santas on Fremont Street, but the event remains the O.V.’S largest single-day fundraising event of the year. Rather than a costumed run and walk around downtown, the event will offer participants the chance to donate $30 at www.lvsantarun.com and complete a 5K or 1-mile course of their choosing between Dec. 5 and Dec. 26.
The health risk of a mass gathering in Las Vegas in December proved too great for O.V. officials to stay with the traditional format.
“We don’t want to chance it. We don’t want to risk people getting sick,” Opportunity Village President and CEO Bob Brown said Monday. “That’s not what we’re about. We’re now laser-focused on this process.”
The organization is staying with plans for its annual Magical Forest holiday display and walking tour and also its Halloveen attraction in October.
“We are watching the Magical Forest plans very closely,” Brown said. “If that and Halloveen, are not safe, we will have to look at making the decisions to shut them down, too.”
The virtual Great Santa Run will have a grand marshal, to be announced. Costumes, swag, a running bib and a medal are available on the site. Registrants can sign up now and pick up the items beginning Nov. 30.
A total of 6,644 costumed walkers and runners from six countries and 43 states descended on Fremont Street last December. There is no long-term plan to move the event to a virtual format.
“There is nothing as good as a live event, the magic of that,” Brown said. “But we are excited about putting this on, making it an event that people can enjoy and use to support Opportunity Village.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His Podkats! podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/ podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal. com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @Johnnykats1 on Instagram.
As of 9 p.m. Monday:
1. Las Vegas economy, rocked by pandemic, faces end of federal benefits
The $600 payments are scheduled to expire at the end of this month unless renewed by Congress.
2. Illuminating of roof signs signals end of Allegiant Stadium branding
With the expected completion date for Allegiant Stadium drawing near, the company tasked with installing the majority of signs is capping off its work with a trio of the largest signs on the site.
3. Russell Westbrook partied at Wynn before COVID diagnosis
Exactly one month before announcing he’s tested positive for COVID-19, Russell Westbrook was hanging poolside at Encore Beach Club at Wynn Las Vegas.
4. Clark County adds 755 new COVID-19 cases as Nevada tallies 832
Clark County recorded 755 new COVID-19 cases and no additional deaths over the preceding day, according to data posted Monday.
5. Impairment, speed apparent factors in fatal crash near Summerlin
One person died in a two-vehicle crash that left one car cut in half in the northwest valley Sunday night, leaving a 1-year-old dead, police said.
As of 9 p.m. Monday:
1. Las Vegas bar workers frustrated, angry as restrictions return
In Southern Highlands, the Italian restaurant Spaghetty Western, while remaining open, had to shut down its bar. Bartender Scarlett Brock, who is still waiting to receive unemployment payments from the initial shutdown, calls the financial impact of being out of work again “a knock in the face.”
2. With less than a month to go, Allegiant Stadium is 98 percent complete
With time ticking away in the “fourth quarter” of Allegiant Stadium’s construction process, major signage installation in and around the stadium is wrapping up.
3. Unemployed tour guide moving into her trailer
Susy Marsian-bolduc, who is not working because of the coronavirus pandemic, said she can no longer afford to pay her rent, and will be moving into her trailer.