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fountain and reopenings of several resorts on
the Las Vegas Strip.
Wynn Resorts pushed back its planned opening
to daylight hours in a nod to ongoing nighttime
protests over George Floyd’s death in Minnesota.
Floyd, a black man, died after a white officer
pressed his knee into his neck.
There are big hopes for recovery from an
unprecedented and expensive shutdown
prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.
“There’s a tremendous amount on the line,
not only for casinos, but for the community
and the state,” said Alan Feldman, a longtime
casino executive who is now a fellow at the
International Gaming Institute at the University
of Nevada, Las Vegas. “This is an extremely
important moment.”
Casino resorts that had been famously always
open were shuttered March 17 after Gov. Steve
Sisolak’s emergency order closed nonessential
businesses to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Property owners, state regulators and Sisolak,
a Democrat who has been criticized for the
closure, balanced health concerns against the
loss of billions of dollars a month in gambling
revenue and unemployment that topped 28%
during an idled April.
They’re betting that safety measures —
disinfected dice; hand sanitizer and face
masks; limited numbers of players at tables;
temperature checks at entrances to some
resorts; touchless cellphone check-ins — will
lure tourists back.
“I’m optimistic that customers will see that
gaming properties invested time and effort to
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