Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

All employees will wear masks when casinos reopen, Caesars says

Exteriors of Caesars Palace 2015

One of the many sculptured angels is shown at Caesars Palace on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2015.

Updated Monday, May 11, 2020 | 3:36 p.m.

All employees will wear masks when Caesars Entertainment resorts in Las Vegas eventually reopen after the coronavirus shutdown, according to a company statement.

Caesars said it will also provide masks to guests and will “strongly encourage” patrons to wear them.

The measures to combat the virus are among a number outlined in a reopening update the company issued today.

“All team members will be provided with a mask and they will be required to wear a mask while at work,” the statement says.

Some employees, including housekeeping and security staff, may be required to wear other protective articles, such as gloves.

Caesars did not offer dates for reopening its nine Strip resorts but said they would resume operations in phases.

In a first-quarter earnings call today, Caesars CEO Tony Rodio said as many as three or four properties could initially open, including Caesars Palace and perhaps a "value property."

Gov. Steve Sisolak in mid-March ordered casinos and other nonessential businesses statewide closed to curb the spread of COVID-19.

While some businesses were allowed to reopen starting Saturday, casinos, nightclubs and bars have not yet received the green light.

“We look forward to welcoming our guests and team members back to our properties as soon as it is appropriate to do so,” Rodio said in a statement.

“We are implementing new protocols focused on the wellbeing of our team members, guests and communities to create environments with high standards of sanitation and physical distancing practices,” Rodio said.

According to figures released today, net revenues for Caesars were down nearly 14% for the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year, largely because of the coronavirus shutdown.

During a quarterly earnings call Monday, Rodio said he expects Caesars Palace will be among the first of the company’s Las Vegas resorts to open.

“When we do see openings in Vegas, we’re going to look at it in a phased approach,” Rodio said. “Certainly, Caesars Palace would be one of the properties that we would open first. We’d probably also open a value-oriented property on the east side of the Strip, and it may be three or four properties that open depending upon consumer demand.”

Rodio said he’s expecting some Strip resorts to start welcoming guests in the coming weeks, assuming all goes well with Sisolak’s first phase of a multi-faceted reopening plan.

“I support the governor in the approach that he’s taken,” Rodio said. “The fact that he decided to open the phase one businesses, I didn’t expect that to happen until later in the month. If all goes well, knock wood, phase one could be about a two-week phase. If there’s not a spike, we could be looking at Strip openings later this month.”

Rodio said the company had a good start to the quarter in January and February before coronavirus shutdowns across the country stymied that momentum. Through the first two months of the year, Rodio said, Caesars was up almost 30% in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) year-over-year.

He also said Caesars properties in Las Vegas witnessed an increase in reservations for later this year, right around the time the Las Vegas Raiders football scheduled for 2020 was released earlier this month.

“We’re seeing some encouraging statistics and information as we look toward the fourth quarter,” Rodio said. “When the governor announced the move to phase one and the Raiders’ schedule came out, we actually had a pretty bump in reservations booked for September through the fourth quarter.”