Wynn, Encore Resorts on Las Vegas Strip at 100 Percent Casino Capacity

Posted on: May 4, 2021, 10:36h. 

Last updated on: May 4, 2021, 11:30h.

Larry Henry Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Gaming Business, Legislation, Politics, Regulation.

Wynn Las Vegas and the adjacent Encore have been approved to operate their casino floors at 100 percent capacity. This approval came because 88 percent of the company’s workforce has been vaccinated against COVID-19, Wynn Resorts said in a statement.

Wynn Resorts
Encore, left, and Wynn hotel-casinos tower above the Las Vegas Valley floor. The two Wynn Resorts properties are on the east side of the Las Vegas Strip. (Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The Nevada Gaming Control Board gave Wynn Resorts the OK on Monday to open the gaming areas at these two properties to full capacity. The resorts also are approved to take down plexiglass dividers from table games and slot machines.

Employees and customers are still required to wear masks.

Wynn and Encore are on the east side of the Las Vegas Strip at the site of the now-demolished Desert Inn. The resorts are the first in Southern Nevada’s Clark County approved to operate gaming floors at 100 percent capacity. Las Vegas is in Clark County.

On May 1, the Gaming Control Board allowed casinos in Clark County to operate at 80 percent capacity, up from the previous state mandate of 50 percent. The social distance requirement was reduced from six feet to three feet. The board said in a notice last month it could waive all restrictions for hotel casinos that take “measurable” steps to vaccinate employees.

Casinos in other Nevada counties are operating at 100 percent occupancy with no social distancing requirements. These are Douglas, Storey, Humboldt, Pershing, Lander, Elko, Eureka, White Pine, Lincoln, and Nye counties.

Casinos Encourage Vaccinations

The removal of restrictions at the two Wynn Resorts properties on the Strip comes after the company’s effort to encourage employee vaccinations. 

Last month, Wynn announced its workers would have to be vaccinated or produce a negative COVID-19 test every week. Failure to comply could result in disciplinary action, the company said. Wynn provided on-site vaccination clinics and made videos available on the benefits of vaccinations.

Wynn Resorts’ vaccination rate is nearly double the state’s rate of 46 percent among people age 16 and older, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Other hotel-casino companies have encouraged vaccinations, including the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, which is offering bonuses to inoculated employees. Also, Boyd Gaming is giving employees paid time off to become vaccinated.

State Mask Guidelines

Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) has said he would like the entire state to be open at 100 percent capacity by June 1.

On Monday, the governor issued an emergency directive stating that fully vaccinated people can remove masks outdoors except in crowded spaces. This directive aligns the state with US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

The term “fully vaccinated” applies to those who have gone two weeks or longer since receiving a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or one dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

Under the directive, businesses are to ensure that customers and employees wear masks.

Nationwide, more than 103 million people are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. An estimated three million people in the US are being vaccinated daily.

In Nevada, 5,464 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 infections, with 4,300 of those being in Clark County, according to state health officials. Clark County is the state’s most populous county.