Vegas casinos reopen, expect earnings’ surge

Gambling giants MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment said on Wednesday were opening their Las Vegas Strip gambling floors at 100-percent capacity with no person-to-person distancing requirement, after state regulatory approval.

Most of the resort corridor’s biggest properties were affected by the Nevada Gaming Control Board decision based on workforce vaccination rates.

For Caesars, it applied to Bally’s, Caesars Palace, Cromwell, Flamingo, Harrah’s, LINQ, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood and the Rio. At MGM Resorts, it involved Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Mirage, New York-New York, Luxor, Excalibur and Park MGM.

Three-foot (0.9-meter) distancing and 80-percent occupancy restrictions remain at restaurants, swimming pools and other non-gambling areas, MGM Resorts officials said. Masks are still required.

Station Casinos also gained approval for full casino occupancy at six of its sites, including its Red Rock, Green Valley Ranch and Palace, Boulder, Sunset and Santa Fe station properties.

Clark County lawmakers with jurisdiction over Las Vegas-area businesses have approved plans to allow 100-percent occupancy at non-casino places once 60 percent of eligible county residents get a vaccine shot. As of Wednesday, the figure was 47 percent.

Other Las Vegas casinos open at 100 percent include Wynn Las Vegas, Encore, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and the resort now known as the Strat.