Some Nevada Casinos Still Closed One Year After First COVID-19 Cases
Posted on: March 15, 2021, 04:56h.
Last updated on: March 15, 2021, 05:22h.
Larry Henry
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Expertise:
Commercial Gaming, Gaming Business, Legislation, Politics, Regulation.
Across Nevada, 13 casinos have remained closed one year after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
In Las Vegas, two Boyd Gaming Corp. properties, Main Street Station and Eastside Cannery, will stay closed until consumer demand picks up, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
As COVID-19 cases began to spike last March, Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) ordered casinos and other business to close statewide. The first known COVID-19 case in Nevada, 55-year-old Marine Corps veteran Ronald Pipkins, was diagnosed a year ago this month. He was treated at the VA Medical Center in North Las Vegas.?
Sisolak allowed casinos to reopen on June 4, following a 78-day shutdown. Some opened right way. Others began operating again over time.
Boyd Gaming executives said last fall that Main Street Station will open in 2021. It is located downtown near the Plaza Hotel Casino and Circa Resort.
Eastside Cannery is near Sam’s Town on the Boulder Highway.
David Strow, a Boyd Gaming spokesman, told the newspaper that consumer demand will determine when the properties reopen.
Main Street Station will depend on how quickly tourism to the Strip and downtown recovers, especially from Hawaiian guests,” he said. “While we’re pleased with how Sam’s Town is performing, we don’t see enough demand on the Boulder Strip today to justify reopening (Eastside Cannery) in the next several months.”
Several other resorts in the Las Vegas area remain shuttered. These include four Red Rock Resorts properties. They are Fiesta Rancho, Fiesta Henderson, Texas Station, and Palms.?
Also in Southern Nevada, Eldorado Casino in Henderson has not reopened. It is scheduled to begin operating again April 1 under the name The Pass Casino, according to the Review-Journal.
Northeast of downtown Las Vegas, the casino at the Siegel Slots and Suites apartments near Nellis Air Force base has not reopened.
In Clark County south of Las Vegas, the casino at the Cal-Neva-Ari is closed. However, the post office in the building is open from 8 am to 4 pm. Also in Southern Nevada, the Colorado Belle in Laughlin remains closed, with no plans to reopen soon, the newspaper reported.
Reno Recovery?
In Northern Nevada, two casinos have closed permanently, Harrah’s Reno and the Lakeside Inn and Casino.
Harrah’s had been in operation on Virginia Street in Reno for 83 years before closing permanently March 17.?
The Lakeside Inn and Casino is on the Nevada-California border at?Lake Tahoe’s south shore. After being open for 35 years, it closed for good during the pandemic.
The Say When Casino in McDermitt, which first opened in 1973, announced on its Facebook page it is closed until further notice because of the pandemic. McDermott is on the Oregon border north of Winnemucca.?
The economy in the Reno area has recovered more quickly during the pandemic than in Southern Nevada. Experts say Reno’s diversified economy is less dependent upon the casino industry. Also, Reno is closer to major metropolitan areas than Las Vegas, and not as reliant on air travel in attracting tourists.
Renewed Confidence?
While the pandemic has led to a tourism slump, especially in Southern Nevada, some in the casino industry are hopeful that vaccinations will give tourists renewed confidence in traveling.
Already this year, a half dozen hotel-casinos on the Strip have reopened their hotel rooms every day of the week after being closed because of low consumer demand.
These properties include the Palazzo at the Venetian Resort, located on the Strip where the Sands once stood.
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EAST SIDE CANNERY...SHOULD BE OPEN NOW!!!!!!!!!!WERE SICK OF SAM'S TOWN BORING... YOU HAVE JOKERS WILD OPEN?????AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE OUR CANNERY TO BE OPENED BACK UP..WE SHOULD HAVE CHOICES AS LOCALS WHO SUPPORTED THE DAMN CASINO... GET IT OPEN AND STOP GIVING EXCUSES.. AND PUT THE CANNERY BACK THE WAY IT USE TO BE WITH THE LIVE MUSIC THE BUFFET AND THE STEAK HOUSE.!!!! AFTER ALL THE PROFITS STILL GO TO LINE BOYD'S PROPERTY POCKETS.... LET THE LOCAL PEOPLE HAVE A CHOICE. YOUR WASTING A BEAUTIFUL PROPERTY... UNBELIEVABLE...
A lot of rumors out there that MSS will never open back up. Of course giving customers occasional updates would deter such rumors. This is something that Boyd had done extremely poorly. MMS is my favorite property, and trying to book a room over the past year is heartbreaking, as the I hear all sorts of different stories from the reservation hosts. My favorite is that they just put in new gaming floor carpeting, and getting ready for the September re-opening. We always been a huge Boyd fans and loyalists, not so much anymore with the mixed signals in regards to MMS. We had a blast at the El Cortez in Oct & Jan.....just a note with no MMS us regulars will certainly find other home bases. Here is a idea,,, compromise for everyone's benefit,,,,,open the brew pub & the casino floor, and hold back the rooms until you feel comfortable. I can live with that. How could they not think they wont get visitors from the the new mega complex next door?
I love the Main Street Station. My wife and I would stay there 3 times a year. Friendly employees who remember your name, despite us being from out of state (Wisconsin). I miss the Boar Head's Bar and the Triple 7. Excellent VP and BJ. We have decided not to go back to LV until the mask mandate is removed and Main Street Station is reopened. Until then, the free states of Florida and Texas will get our business ($$$).
I'm waiting for Main street station Hotel to open . Hopefully soon, I've stayed there for over 15 years when I'm in vegas. The staff at Mainstreet are fantastic, friendly, helpful, know their jobs well and perform their services to the top. I love the open high ceiling there and find it perfect condition for what we are going through now. Please have the boyd people know how many in Hawaii are waiting for Mainstreet to open so they can return to vegas
As a frequent visitor to the Las Vegas area, I certainly hope the city rebounds from the virus in a healthier fashion than it was pre-COVID. By "healthier" I mean medically and economically healthier. I mean smokefree. The allure of being naughty in Las Vegas has worn off on most frequent visitors and we now want an exciting, but safe experience. Smokefree casinos are popping up all over America. I say "Ban the Butt" and rebrand your city as a new, healthy, modern resort facility that EVERYONE can enjoy. (I know, I hear the laughter between the coughing and gasps for clean air!)