Wynn Resorts to Temporarily Close Wynn Las Vegas, Encore as Coronavirus Spreads

Posted on: March 15, 2020, 06:12h. 

Last updated on: March 16, 2020, 08:58h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

The Wynn Las Vegas and Encore will be closed for two weeks starting on Tuesday evening in an effort to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, Wynn Resorts announced late Sunday.

The Wynn Las Vegas and Encore will be closed for at least two weeks starting Tuesday because of the coronavirus outbreak. (Image: USA Today)

The shuttering will start 6 p.m. Tuesday and is expected to continue for at least two weeks. Then, Wynn Resorts will evaluate whether to reopen the well-known gaming properties.

Wynn Resorts will pay full-time Wynn and Encore employees during the closure. Some employees and management staff will remain at work to secure and maintain the venues during the two weeks.

The announcement follows earlier word that Wynn Las Vegas was closing buffets, nightclubs, the poker room, racebook, salons, spas, the sportsbook, and theater shows.

On Friday night, Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox pledged in a video message to continue to pay workers and avoid layoffs.

Maddox also revealed the property was likely to see a low occupancy rate in the “low teens.” He advised there will be “rolling closures in various outlets.”

“Our business volumes are going to be basically empty over the next few weeks,” Maddox admitted to the workers on Friday.

On Saturday, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission ordered the closure of the Wynn-owned Encore Boston Harbor. The state’s two other commercial casinos and the Encore will be closed for two weeks.

The Wynn closings follow limited similar moves elsewhere in the US casino sector. It also could be a signal that other Las Vegas properties will consider temporary closings.

Already, a woman who was a guest at The Mirage in Las Vegas tested positive for COVID-19. The guest at the MGM Resorts-owned hotel appeared to be the first person who stayed at any Las Vegas property who contracted the illness.

“Several” MGM Resorts International workers have tested positive for COVID-19. One worked at the Luxor Hotel & Casino.

Casinos Closings Nationwide

Also, MGM Resorts International’s Empire City Casino in Yonkers, New York was closed Saturday for up to two weeks. Neighboring Yonkers Raceway was shuttered earlier after a man who had an office in the paddock building died after contracting coronavirus.

In Alabama, Wind Creek’s three casinos were closed at 6 a.m. Sunday for 24 hours after a visitor to its Wetumpka property tested positive for coronavirus. The casinos will be deep cleaned.

Derby City Gaming, a Churchill Downs-operated historical horse racing parlor in Louisville, Kentucky will close for two weeks because of the coronavirus. The simulcasting operation at Churchill Downs will also close.

In New Mexico, the Pueblo of Pojoaque are to close their casinos for two weeks, starting on Monday. These include Buffalo Thunder Resort Casino, Cities of Gold Casino, and Jake’s Casino.

In Montana, Glacier Peaks Casino and Lil Peaks Casino will close for two weeks starting on Sunday. The casinos will undergo a deep cleaning.

Michigan’s Gun Lake Casino will be closed on Monday through March 30. News also that someone visited Ferndale, Washington’s Silver Reef Casino Buffet last Tuesday between 11:30 a.m and 1 p.m. and has since tested positive for the coronavirus.

In Las Vegas, a single employee at the Hakkasan Group tested positive for the virus. The employee worked at Wet Republic day club at the MGM Grand.

It led the Hakkasan Group to temporarily suspend all Las Vegas operations until further notice. The corporate office is also shuttering temporarily.

Entertainment Canceled, Postponed

Well-known entertainment acts are increasingly canceling shows. For instance, the Jonas Brothers have canceled their planned April Las Vegas residency at the Park MGM, Billboard reported.

Postponed until September were the 55th yearly Academy of Country Music Awards. They were to take place on April 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Singer Kelly Clarkson has postponed until July a residency at the Zappos Theater in Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.