Two more Las Vegas Strip resorts plan to temporarily reduce amenities during the middle of the week as the market continues to see visitation levels decline due to the resurging pandemic.
MGM Resorts International said Friday it will close the hotel operations at Mandalay Bay and The Mirage on Mondays through Thursdays, starting on Nov. 30 – following the Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend. Restaurants and other amenities will remain open at the properties throughout the week.
“We are constantly evaluating occupancy levels and adjusting operations accordingly,” MGM said in a statement, blaming low midweek visitation. “While we do not currently expect the mid-week hotel closures to remain past December, we will continue evaluating business levels to determine how long they are in effect.”
The move by MGM, which operates 10 resorts on the Strip, comes ahead of any restrictions that may be implemented on the Strip and throughout Las Vegas by Gov. Steve Sisolak. More than a week ago, he implored state residents to stay home as much as possible because of climbing COVID-19 cases.
Twice this week, Nevada reported more than 2,000 positive cases and the state is exceeding the coronavirus levels that led to a 78-day shutdown of the state’s gaming industry that began on March 18.
Since casinos reopened on June 4, but the pandemic has continued to weigh down the Southern Nevada tourism industry. Through September, gaming revenues on the Strip were down 45%, the market’s visitation was off 55%, and airline passenger volume at McCarran International Airport dipped 56.5%.
Nevada casinos are operating under COVID-19 guidelines covering health, safety, cleaning, and capacity limitations.
Protocols on mass gathering forced the cancellation of the annual National Final Rodeo in December, which was the largest visitation event to Las Vegas during the month. The NFR moved to Dallas for this year.
MGM had already limited the operations at Park MGM to just weekends, following a similar trend started by Las Vegas Sands – closing the Palazzo from Monday through Thursday – and Wynn Resorts, which has similar limitations on Encore.
Caesars Entertainment announced plans to reopen the Rio resort in late December, but only for weekend occupancy.
In an emailed statement, a company spokesperson said Caesars has “no intention of modifying our hotel operations schedule in Nevada. The company said it is “focused on the well-being of our team members, guests and the communities we serve.”
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
