Las Vegas Strip Shut Down Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
The bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip are shutting down for a minimum of 30 days by order of the state of Nevada. It's most definitely an unnerving moment in history for the world's most iconic gambling destination. At the Grant Sawyer State Office Building in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak late Tuesday night ordered all non-essential businesses, including casinos, bars, and restaurants, to close for 30 days to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Sisolak ordered all gaming devices, including slot machines and table games, turned off by midnight Tuesday. The unprecedented closing of the hospitality industry in Las Vegas demands that casinos must all close their doors by noon today. To say the pandemic is hitting the gaming industry hard is an understatement of monumental proportions.
An estimated 296,900 people work in the leisure and hospitality industries in March 2020 in Las Vegas, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. "Lives are at stake. This pandemic is growing. Stay home for Nevada. Our first responders are on the front lines every day. Stay home for them," Sisolak said. "That requires aggressive strategies aimed at mitigating community spread of the coronavirus. Medical professionals have made it abundantly clear that there is no treatment. While a vaccine is being developed, we don't have time to waste. At this time, we must act aggressively and decisively to protect ourselves, our families, and our community."
MGM Resorts, the Wynn, Venetian, and Cosmopolitan were among the casinos that had already announced temporary closures on their own, before Sisolak's order. Now, the rest of Nevada's gaming establishments, which were stubbornly staying open out of greed and putting the community at risk, are being forced to close due to the governor's order.
Caesars Entertainment, which had remained open while surrounding strip properties went dark, announced Tuesday that it would also be temporarily shutting down all its properties in North America.
Stations Casinos, which operates 20 Las Vegas properties, had many residents feeling they were putting its more than 14,000 employees and the local community at risk. They were one of the last remaining casinos to stay open, but especially by refusing to suspend its buffet operations.
"This is not the time for casinos to remain open," Sisolak said. "If your business brings groups of people together, it should not be open."
MORE FROM SI
Fantasy Football Impact of Tom Brady Signing With Bucs
Who Will Be Patriots' Starting QB in 2020?
Who Will Start Season as Bears' Quarterback?
Who Will Start Season as Chargers' Quarterback?
Fantasy Football Impact of DeAndre Hopkins Trade to Cardinals
