Wynn CEO looks for May reopening of Las Vegas Strip

Hotel room lights form a message on The Wynn and Encore, Thursday, April 2, 2020.

Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox is calling for an early May reopening of Las Vegas in some capacity.

In a 23-page report released Sunday, Maddox said some Las Vegas resorts should open next month with “reduced occupancy” and various social distancing and sanitation protocols.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak order all nonessential businesses — including all casinos — closed for 30 days due to coronavirus health concerns in mid-March. He later extended the closure end the end of April.

It’s expected that Sisolak will reveal more about any potential plans for reopening later this week.

“I commend our governor, Steve Sisolak, for making the difficult decision and taking early action in the fight against COVID-19,” Maddox said in a statement. “I believe his decisions saved lives as we were facing potential exponential growth in COVID-19 exposure, given that Las Vegas caters to millions of people from all over the world.”

While Maddox said he believes Nevada is “well-positioned” relative to other states with an eye toward recovery, he said the state’s economy is now in a “free fall.” Assuming certain health benchmarks are met, Maddox said a mid-to-late-May opening of some or all Strip properties would be realistic.

Whenever the green light is given for Strip casinos to reopen, Wynn Resorts said it has a long list of health precautions that will be put in place.

Those include the use of thermal cameras to check the temperatures of potential guests/patrons (those with confirmed temperatures over 100 degrees will not be allowed on property), a mandate that all employees will wear protective masks, and the limitation of no more than four guests inside an elevator at any one time.

As of Friday, more than 3,500 cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in Nevada, according to health officials. A total of 155 deaths in the state have been blamed on the novel coronavirus.

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