It goes without saying that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has dealt a huge blow to the world’s economy. The retail sector of the gambling industry has been one of the ones that have been impacted most by the pandemic. In renowned gambling hubs such as Las Vegas, Nevada, the industry has lost billions of dollars and this is set to continue for quite some time.
Now, casino executives from rival companies in the state have recently held informal talks regarding the potential reopening of business. The goal was to try and forecast and plan for how the gaming hub will look like when things begin getting back to the way they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of the things that the casino executives reportedly deliberated on included a plan that would see smaller businesses in the Las Vegas Strip go live first. This would give the locals the opportunity to go back to their jobs.
The Safety Measures
Obviously, the coronavirus outbreak cannot be taken lightly and thus the reopening of casino businesses raises a ton of questions regarding the safety measures that would be put in place to ensure no further infections. Fortunately, this is another thing that the Las Vegas casino executives discussed and they considered a decent number of ways that would help them in achieving their goals while at the same time protecting their workers and their workers.
One of the measures that they discussed was the possibility of conducting extensive testing for both the casino workers and even the tourists. This would be a great way of isolating any cases of infections before it’s too late.
Furthermore, the Las Vegas casinos would only reopen with only a small fraction of their rooms available to their visitors. Entrances to all of these premises would be limited to make it easier for the visitors to be tested using noninvasive methods such as temperature measurements.
At the gaming tables, the players would be required to observe social distancing measures by sitting apart from each other. The casino employees would also be required to observe strict safety rules by wearing masks and gloves while attending to the guests.
How Soon Can This Happen?
The closure of casino business came into effect in mid-March and was recently extended to April 30 but given the ongoing situation, the state’s governor believes that it might be extended even further.
“This is not going to be a political decision for me, as for when to open. I don’t have an exact number. I’ll take a lot of advice from our medical folks and determine what’s in the best interest of keeping all Nevadans safe.”
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak
As state by the governor, the safety of the state’s residents is the top priority and therefore even if the reopening of the casinos is possible, a lot has to be done to ensure that no new infections result from that. A lot more consultation will be needed before any of those plans are actualized.
