Nevada Gaming Commission's onerous rules not the only obstacle to some casinos reopening

https://www.reviewjournal.com/busine...nough-2021517/

I was going to bring this up on my call-in to radio this past weekend, (about the 3:02:00 mark) but at that time I had only heard rumors and didn't have any hard evidence to back them up. Now, I do.

For those not familiar, the Culinary Workers Union represents something like of 90% of the rank-and-file employees at the Strip casinos, as well as some others downtown and elsewhere in Nevada. (They have a pretty heavy presence in Laughlin as well. Not sure about Reno.) It is probably the most powerful single labor union in the country when it comes to influencing local and state government policy, and rest assured it will have an outsized influence on how all this winds up going down.

I had heard that it was more or less the union's intent to keep the casinos closed as long as possible. I thought that was odd at first but the more I thought about it, the more it makes sense. Per the terms of the contract, the workers' employment is guaranteed for a substantial amount of time at full pay and benefits in a situation like this. I'm not sure what the exact time horizons are, but it's at least 90 days for the pay, and MUCH longer for the benefits.

If the casinos are still shut when the pay horizon runs out, the employees simply go on the government dole while still collecting their benefits.

In this article, the Culinary takes issue with the following seven-page NGCB document listing the reopening guidelines:

https://gaming.nv.gov/modules/showdo...cumentid=16731

It then goes on to praise the Wynn's TWENTY-THREE page reopening plan, while still calling it inadequate:

https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/...ealth-plan.pdf

It then rolls out its own list of demands, some of which would take literally years to develop and implement. To wit:

-"...contactless and cashless tipping systems for guest service providers-such as bellpersons, valets, doorpersons, guest-room attendants and room service attendants-should be provided..."

This one takes the cake though:

"— If COVID-19 has been detected at any time during the preceding 14 days in the state or province where the facility is located, no employee should be compelled to accept work. Any employee electing not to accept work should be considered to be on involuntary layoff. Employers should not challenge applications for unemployment benefits by employees subject to such involuntary layoff. Such employees should be permitted to return to work at any time according to regular scheduling practice."

So let's say it's the summer of 2022 and the virus is largely a memory. I'm a valet attendant at Bellagio and I hear of a single rogue COVID case that popped up 400 miles away in Reno the previous week. I can then refuse to show up to work, go back on the government dole (while still getting my benefits) and go back to work whenever I feel like it.

These are going to be non-starters for these casino companies. This is going to get very, very messy.

Wow.

We will talk about this development on radio on Saturday.

100% you're correct, the unions don't want to go back to work right now.

What a mess for the casinos. I think they might just stay closed, between this bullshit and the fact that they may not be able to run profitably with all the restrictions in place anyway.

WSOP in October is a pipedream since it is a global phenom.

The casinos will provide free coronavirus testing for their employees but that's it.

Work at your own risk, the employees will sign another contract saying that if they get coronavirus on the job, that they will not sue.

All guest must sign a form as well that they will not sue the casino if they get coronavirus.

I'm not sure if Las Vegas casinos will eliminate parking fees to bring locals. The Las Vegas strip properties said "fuck you" to locals years ago. Will California visitors return? Not if they are still under lockdown.

The convention business is fucked for the foreseeable future. All conventions will be cancelled for 2020. They may not return in 2021. Business travel is cancelled for most businesses as well.

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/04...7339171048.jpg

a couple things:

the extra $600 the government gives for unemployment won't last forever. pretty soon, the union workers will need to go back

also if the workers don't want to go back, the majority of them will be in luck as when the casinos reopen, they'll be doing so on a bare minimum staff until the customers fully return.

the bulk of these workers may be laid off for the rest of the year at a minimum.

it's not going to be a choice for them.

Negotiations are about asking what you can't get and then accepting what you can to make it look like a win for both parties.


Pandemic Unemployment runs out of cash end of July. Well see what happens then

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheXFactor

The casinos will provide free coronavirus testing for their employees but that's it.

Work at your own risk, the employees will sign another contract saying that if they get coronavirus on the job, that they will not sue.

All guest must sign a form as well that they will not sue the casino if they get coronavirus.

I'm not sure if Las Vegas casinos will eliminate parking fees to bring locals. The Las Vegas strip properties said "fuck you" to locals years ago. Will California visitors return? Not if they are still under lockdown.

The convention business is fucked for the foreseeable future. All conventions will be cancelled for 2020. They may not return in 2021. Business travel is cancelled for most businesses as well.

---

In response to the bolded sentence, per the terms of the contract they can't ask for something like that of their unionized employees unless the union agrees. It would represent what is worded in the contract as a "material change in working conditions." Zero point zero chance IMO that the union would agree to such a disclaimer.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by blake

a couple things:

the extra $600 the government gives for unemployment won't last forever. pretty soon, the union workers will need to go back

also if the workers don't want to go back, the majority of them will be in luck as when the casinos reopen, they'll be doing so on a bare minimum staff until the customers fully return.

the bulk of these workers may be laid off for the rest of the year at a minimum.

it's not going to be a choice for them.

---

I think the union is banking on an extension of the $600 add on, as well as possibly more direct stimulus. I think both are pretty big favorites to happen considering the virus is proving to be quite stubborn and a 2nd wave is likely.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by OSA

Negotiations are about asking what you can't get and then accepting what you can to make it look like a win for both parties.


Pandemic Unemployment runs out of cash end of July. Well see what happens then

---

This is a very good point, and the Culinary is as skilled a negotiator as they come. I'm not sure it changes my original premise though. We shall see.

This may also be a huge obstacle:

Quote:

---

Here is a list of the airports where JetBlue may stop serving passengers until the fall:

Atlanta (ATL)
Charlotte (CLT)
Chicago (ORD)
Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW)
Denver (DEN)
Detroit (DTW)
Houston (IAH)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Minneapolis (MSP)
Nashville (BNA)
Philadelphia (PHL)
Phoenix (PHX)
Portland (PDX)
San Diego (SAN)
Seattle (SEA)
Tampa (TPA)

---

https://www.boston.com/travel/travel...major-airports

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shizzmoney

This may also be a huge obstacle:

Quote:

---

Here is a list of the airports where JetBlue may stop serving passengers until the fall:

Atlanta (ATL)
Charlotte (CLT)
Chicago (ORD)
Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW)
Denver (DEN)
Detroit (DTW)
Houston (IAH)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Minneapolis (MSP)
Nashville (BNA)
Philadelphia (PHL)
Phoenix (PHX)
Portland (PDX)
San Diego (SAN)
Seattle (SEA)
Tampa (TPA)

---

https://www.boston.com/travel/travel...major-airports

---

That's the tip of the iceberg IMO.

My guess is 1Q 2021 until any substantial air travel returns to Vegas and sometime in 2023 before it begins to approach pre-COVID levels.

The Strip will look very, very different by then.

They better market the fuck out of themselves to the drive-in SoCal contingent. If they fail to show up, it's GG CZR/ERI, and possibly MGM too.

Funny enough, Vegas' diversification away from gambling revenue being the sole driver of the economy screwed them here.

Prior to 1993, Vegas was all about making money from the gamblers, and everything else was either a loss leader or close to it. That was the reason for the cheap buffets, cheap hotel rooms, and cheap entertainment. However, there wasn't a lot to do in Vegas if you weren't interested in gambling or seeing fairly low-budget shows.

Then there was the '90s revolution where they attempted to make Vegas a family vacation spot, and tons of new major resorts sprung up on the strip -- many of which are still relevant or semi-relevant today. More expensive restaurants ad shows came with it. Activities started developing for the kids. There was a new source of revenue besides gambling, and it was no longer easy to take a high-value vacation to Vegas without gambling.

This evolved more over the years, but along those same lines. Conventions became progressively more prominent and important to the economy, and eventually replaced the family theme. More high end resorts with high end shows and restaurants popped up (Wynn, Venetian, Cosmo, Aria). The 2010s brought the nickel-and-diming of parking and resort fees. Games were degraded to where the odds became much worse than would be accepted by 1980s era gamblers, because most of the gamblers now were already in Vegas for something else and lacked enough knowledge about the games they played. Sophisticated players clubs were developed (invented by Harrahs) to identify who deserved comps and who didn't.

By 2019, only 35% of strip revenue was from gaming.

So what's my point?

If it were simply about getting the gamblers back, they could just focus heavily upon bringing the whales and semi-whales back, not worry about the general public, and still pull in acceptable revenue, albeit lower.

Now it's not so simple. They don't have a way to bring back conventions any time soon. The restaurant won't fill up, and can't anyway because of restrictions. Even if the shows reopen, they will also require most seats to go unsold due to restrictions (and there's likely to be little interest). Night clubs? Dead for now. Bars? Dead for now.

They diversified themselves into needing more than just the degenerate gamblers to keep them afloat, and now they're fucked.

Mayor? Polk will be able to pick Vegas up at auction.

First we will go to MGM then take a cruise via Delta

Follow ups:

https://www.reviewjournal.com/busine...ublic-2022946/

https://www.reviewjournal.com/?p=202...ce=parsely-api

Vegas bank owned real estate countdown starts now

No words

CASINOS OPEN IN DEADWOOD TMRW FTW

Almost all casino & hotel employees in Las Vegas have been "furloughed" most are collecting unemployment and are just waiting to come back to work. The Governor has suspended evictions "indefinitely".

When they finally re-open, I guess probably half of the employees will return unless the demand is there. How soon before most hotel rooms are at 90% occupancy? When will conventions return? My guess is at least two years before everyone goes back to their old habits.


https://www.tripsavvy.com/thmb/LvAAm...000144ee24.gif

Quote:

---

Company officials said the resorts will need an occupancy rate of 50% to 60% to break even.

---

Good luck with that.

Conventions, shows and nightclubs shutdown.

Only limited gambling, some shopping and most restaurants open only to half capacity.

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.town...=crop%2Cresize

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sanlmar

Vegas bank owned real estate countdown starts now

No words

---

I think Vegas was in pretty decent shape prior to this.

I come up with about 11,000 homes for sale which doesn't seem that out of whack with other major cities on a per 100,000 basis.

Prices might regulate some but don't think we are looking the housing crisis down the barrel again.

It was in decent shape. It rebounded nicely from the 2008 crash (though it took a few years to get going), then housing values rocketed up for some years, then there was a stagnation, then it started going up again.

But yeah there's gonna end up a ton of foreclosures when those are allowed again, unless the gubbmint steps in to help.

There's also a potential long term problem if we never get a vaccine, or if we get one which is only partially effective, or if it keeps mutating, and coronavirus is something we have to live with for eternity. This will introduce a new danger into people's lives -- especially ones over 45 -- and they'll start adjusting their activities accordingly. (Cruises will be screwed if this occurs, unless they re-market to the under 35 crowd, which might be tough.)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheXFactor

Quote:

---

Company officials said the resorts will need an occupancy rate of 50% to 60% to break even.

---

Good luck with that.

Conventions, shows and nightclubs shutdown.

Only limited gambling, some shopping and most restaurants open only to half capacity.

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.town...=crop%2Cresize

---

Lord have mercy on Derek Steven’s soul. I forgot all about his new place with his over the top sports book.

I have so much respect for the independent casinos and wanted the Stevens brothers to smash it.

If anyone knows or has read anything from Stevens I’d love to see it.

I hope he doesn’t drown in his own puke

Rampart just laid off its employees via voicemail.

Oof.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/busine...audio-2027681/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by go_buccos

Rampart just laid off its employees via voicemail.

Oof.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/busine...audio-2027681/

---

wow that's fucking deplorable...you have to really be a spineless sack of shit to so something like this...

people like this need to get the 'rona and die ASAP...

This was posted by Vital Vegas today.

It's fake, but that hasn't stopped people from sharing it, believing it's real.

Zero point zero chance most of this happens.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EYWqJ9PU...pg&name=medium

https://www.fox5vegas.com/coronaviru...600ba4e46.html

MGM is in fact going back to free parking, at least for now...

So at least there's that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by abrown83

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sanlmar

Vegas bank owned real estate countdown starts now

No words

---

I think Vegas was in pretty decent shape prior to this.

I come up with about 11,000 homes for sale which doesn't seem that out of whack with other major cities on a per 100,000 basis.

Prices might regulate some but don't think we are looking the housing crisis down the barrel again.

---

Take a bow abrown. I was colossally wrong.

Nothing but records being set. Hotels are shuttered mid-week etc etc. It’s convention season and crickets. It’s incomprehensible but free money is a powerful drug.