With the goal being “not to go backwards, but stay open,” the president of the Nevada Resort Association has welcomed strong oversight from gaming regulators and health officials and said that it helps build confidence for bringing back out-of-town visitors.
The comments from Virginia Valentine Friday during the final day of the ICE North America digital conference followed a panel discussion earlier in the week, at which former Nevada gaming regulators pushed back against tight control of the resort industry. Those comments concerned the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s 111 cases against gaming-license holders over safety protocols.
There was “a misunderstanding about what the enforcement was,” but regulators are doing what they can to help the industry get back on its feet, Valentine said. “Guests expect to see a higher level of health and safety. Consumer confidence comes from seeing health and safety guidelines being published on websites and from enforcement from gaming and health districts, as well as (state) OSHA, in some cases. It’s a highly regulated environment. Most of the time the guest or visitor doesn’t see that, but I believe enforcement is a big part of what builds consumer confidence.”
Valentine, who cited testing and contact tracing as additional keys to the recovery, said that when they wake up in the morning, everyone in the state and the industry looks at their phones to see the latest test results for coronavirus infections. There’s understandable concern about operating “while the virus is still floating around,” and that creates a lot of exposure for an industry whose environment has changed forever.
“After the big push for the Phase Two reopening (of the casinos), it was how do we get to Phase Three. But now, I think we’re pretty much focused on staying open,” Valentine said. “Recovery isn’t just about what we do here, though I think we’re getting it right. It’s also about how it works around the country. The whole country has to be trending well and travel bans and restrictions have to be lifted.”
The Nevada casino industry was the object of criticism before masks were mandated on June 26 for not doing enough to ensure that customers were properly distancing. Social-media videos from inside gaming floors and at pools set a negative national narrative.
The industry realizes that it has to foster a completely positive image that Las Vegas is safe, especially when you’re trying to get people to fly in to visit, she said. In this world of social media, “it takes only a few seconds with a camera showing what isn’t right, no matter how much is right.”
“We have people driving in to visit, but to sustain that, we have to step up our game and adhere to the standards,” Valentine said. “We call ourselves the gold standard for gaming regulation and we want to be the gold standard for health and safety. A key part of that health and safety is that we embrace — and participate in — enforcement.”
Jeffrey Hamilton, president of the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, said safety has become the top demand of customers. The Mohegan Sun and its neighbor Foxwoods reopened on June 1 to controversy when the state posted electronic road signs warning visitors that the two casinos reopened over Gov. Ned Lamont’s objections since the region was an early epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Everyone should understand that safety is now the most important thing,” Hamilton said, without mentioning the controversy. “A lot of times, we focus on guest services and hospitality as the most important things, but those have become secondary to safety. Guests have to feel safe when they come to your property or they won’t come. That has become the differentiator between properties and which properties are safer is even more important than what property has more amenities or provides better service.”
Hamilton said that from the moment guests arrive at the Mohegan Sun, there’s signage, temperature-check technology, wipes, hand sanitizer, and more throughout the property. “When you think about the pandemic, it’s silent safety,” Hamilton said. “The more signage, the more wipes, dispensers and hand sanitizer, the more things you can do to let your customers know that this is a safe environment.”
Slot consultant Buddy Frank, owner of BF Strategies, said it’s been interesting to see how operators balance health and safety issues with generating revenues. It’s not known yet which strategy, such as removing chairs, turning off every other slot machine, and installing plexiglass shields between games, works best, he said.
“Those plexiglass options are so good that a lot of the patrons say they hope when the pandemic over, they keep them up, because they don’t like sharing the fragrance of the person next to them,” Frank said. “Those smoking and non-smoking issues that are a big concern for safety — a lot of folks say the plexiglass shields make them feel better.”
