Wynn Resorts shuts casino doors due to coronavirus
After the Centers for Disease Control advocated for the postponement or cancellation of all gatherings of 50 people or more for the next eight weeks, Wynn Resorts took the recommendation to heart by announcing the temporary closures of its two Las Vegas properties: the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore.
The closures will begin on March 17, shutting off to the public at 6 p.m. before shutting down internal operations.
The announcement comes during a time when sports books throughout the city are bracing for widespread losses. With sporting events put on hold en masse, there are nearly no sporting events for casino goers to wager on.
Of all the events on the sports calendar, the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament rank among the highest of the year.
“We certainly write more tickets on the first four days of the tournament than we do on the Super Bowl,’’ Jay Kornegay, who oversees gambling operations at Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino, told USA Today Sports. “That’s a gimme.’’
Last year, Nevada sports books won over $36 million on basketball (both pro and college combined) in the month of March from nearly $500 million in bets placed, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The Wynn is the first Nevada casino to close its sports book due to the coronavirus pandemic. Illinois officials ordered their casinos to suspend all gambling operations for at least 14 days beginning on March 16.
In his statement, Wynn CEO Matt Maddox said the company would continue to pay all of its full-time employees during the duration of the closure.