MGM Resorts International closes all of its Las Vegas hotels and casinos

MGM Resorts International announced on Sunday that it will be halting the operations of all of its Las Vegas hotels and casinos as the coronavirus continues its spread in Nevada.

It means some of the most well-known hotels, casinos and mega resorts in the city that employ tens of thousands of workers, such as The Bellagio, the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay, will close their doors.

The company said they will cease casino operations on Monday followed by the hotel operations on Tuesday.

The Mirage, Luxor, New York-New York, Excalibur and Park MG will also shut, MGM confirmed. 

Wynn Resorts also said in a statement on the same day that Wynn Las Vegas and Encore would close for two weeks.

The virtual shutdown of the multi-billion-dollar industry is a hammer blow for the city’s tourism and entertainment sectors. 

According to Wynn Resorts’ official figures on its website, the company’s operating revenues over three months up to last September were $1.65 billion.

MGM Grand posted net revenues of $3.2 billion over three months up to the end of 2019, the firm’s accounts state.

Several employees at MGM Resorts International hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, including at least one at Luxor, tested positive in a presumptive test for COVID-19 over the weekend. 

In a statement, MGM said they will not be taking any reservations prior to May 1. 

The announcement came shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised against holding large gatherings of more than 50 people for at least eight weeks to fight coronavirus. 

MGM Chairman and CEO, Jim Murren, said in a statement to the Las Vegas Review Journal that the temporary closures are for ‘the good of our employees, guests and communities’.

‘It is now apparent that this is a public health crisis that requires major collective action if we are to slow its progression,’ Murren said. 

‘We will plan to reopen our resorts as soon as it (is) safe to do so and we will continue to support our employees, guests and communities in every way that we can during this period of closure.’

The company also said that full-time employees who are being furloughed or laid off will be paid two weeks from their last day of work.

All employees on the company’s health plan will maintain benefits through June 30, according to the Review Journal.   

As of Saturday, health officials have announced 21 cases of coronavirus in Nevada.

The progression of the virus prompted MGM to amp up their efforts after last week’s actions to close buffets at all of its properties on the Strip.

The company announced Tuesday that it was shuttering the all-you-can-eat restaurants, which started Sunday.

Buffets, where diners pay a flat fee and often serve themselves at various food stands with unlimited proportions, are a signature staple of most casinos in the gambling destination.

Sunday’s announcement came the same day Wynn Resorts said in a statement that the two-week closure of the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore would start March 17 at 6pm.

After the temporary closure, Wynn ‘will evaluate the situation’, according to a Sunday statement from the company.

Wynn had already planned to close its poker room as well as its race and sportsbook earlier this week, as the company began temporarily cancelling all large entertainment gatherings.

However The Las Vegas Sands announced on Sunday it will remain open.

In a statement, spokesman Ron Reese said: ‘Our property remains open and we will continue taking the recommended precautions necessary to keep our team members and guests safe. 

‘We will also be working with our team members impacted by the school closings in our community.’

Nevada Gov Steve Sisolak also announced on Sunday that all public, private and charter K-12 schools in the state will be closed Monday until at least April 6 in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Sisolak said properties are making individual decisions about whether to close.

Any establishments that choose to stay open are expected to comply with restrictions, Sisolak said, such as having no more than three chairs at table games, and cleaning and sanitizing all gaming machines at least every two hours.

In the Clark County School District, which is the fifth largest in the nation, students were expected to be on spring break from April 3-10. 

In the second most populous district, Washoe County, students began their two-week break on Friday.

Clark County School District Superintendent Dr Jesus Jara said the closure is a proactive step to combat coronavirus in schools. 

Sisolak said local school districts will announce exact times and locations for meal services, saying children who rely on free and reduced lunch programs will not go hungry.

As of Saturday, health officials have announced 21 cases of coronavirus in Nevada with 16 cases in Clark County, four in Washoe County and one in Carson City. 

Sisolak also said the state has not been provided with a sufficient number of testing kits, and that officials are working with the federal government to get more. 

Any Nevada residents who can should work from home, he said.

Sisolak said he’s directing officials to close state offices to the public as soon as possible, and telling leadership for essential services such as Medicaid to wipe down in-person public surfaces and transition as much as possible to online. 

He also said the state is initiating a hiring freeze, encouraging state agencies to limit spending to essential emergency purchases and asking local governments to enforce 50 per cent or less capacity of any public gathering space.

Meanwhile, Las Vegas has been hit hard by convention cancellations, a decline in visitation and layoffs at Strip resorts and related industries.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that many shoppers continue to stock up on food and some household supplies at supermarkets and big-box retailers.

Clark County and Las Vegas business leaders tried Sunday to calm the public’s fears as some residents keep panic shopping in the city over concerns of the coronavirus.

At a news conference Sunday, the vice president of risk management for a local trucking company said companies are pushing out more products to meet the sharp increase in demand.

County Commission Chair Marilyn Kirkpatrick said people should buy up to two weeks of supplies, but not stock up for a month.

‘We have many people within our community that are on a fixed income or they don’t have the ability to stock up,’ Kirkpatrick said. 

‘So we need to ensure that when they can go to the grocery store that there is product available for them.’

On Saturday, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department urged citizens not to go to supermarkets and other such stores and hoard supplies like toilet paper. 

In the United States, there are more than 3,700 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and more than 60 deaths. 

Globally, there are more than 169,000 confirmed cases and more than 6,500 deaths.