Sisolak: Casino reopening turnout ‘in line’ with expectations

Las Vegas casinos weren’t flooded with gamblers when they reopened Thursday after more than two months on lockdown.

But a surge of guests wasn’t expected, Gov. Steve Sisolak said Friday.

Sisolak, speaking to reporters at Wynn Las Vegas, said he and casino executives “absolutely” weren’t bracing for a massive turnout when customers were allowed back in.

The governor had ordered casinos and other Nevada businesses closed in March to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

“We didn’t expect there to be, you know, people crushing in the door,” he said.

Downtown Las Vegas had something of a burst of incomers when casino doors opened at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, Sisolak indicated. But overall, he said the early turnout was “pretty much in line with what we thought, maybe it’s a little bit higher than what we thought, and I’m proud of it.”

Not every resort in Southern Nevada reopened Thursday. Harrah’s, for one, opened at 11 a.m. Friday. Masked employees, joined by two showgirls in purple face coverings, applauded as customers entered the casino.

It had a slow start. By around 11:15 a.m., it seemed the number of employees on the casino floor well-outnumbered gamblers.

An hour or so later, Wynn Resorts chief executive Matt Maddox gave Sisolak and Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairwoman Sandra Morgan a tour of Wynn Las Vegas’ casino floor while shadowed by news media.

Nevadans are still getting infected with the coronavirus, which causes a respiratory disease known as COVID-19. But, in an interview at the Wynn, Sisolak said testing is up fivefold from a month ago, and he indicated the share of positive test results has been steadily dropping.

He also said hospitalizations are down, and usage of intensive-care-unit rooms by COVID-19 patients has fallen as well.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.