COVID-19 has destroyed the global casino industry, bringing it to its knees in many areas of the world.
The various COVID vaccines have begun rolling out, and are touted as the savior of the global economy, but the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) are shocked by a preliminary survey.
The survey asked casino workers whether they’d be taking the vaccine, with more than 35% responding no.
The NGCB could close down casinos if staff refuse the COVID vaccine
Putting Casinos at Risk
As it stands, Nevada has some very tight restrictions in place for its casinos, with max capacity at 25%.
Once the vaccine for COVID-19 begins to roll out across the state, we could see staff legally required to have the vaccine, or lose their job.
This pressure could cull 30% of the casino industry workforce from the herd, as 80-90% of the population needs the vaccine as a minimum amount in order for it to be successful.
This stance could put casinos at risk in two ways.
The first being that casinos cannot remain open without a certain percentage of their workforce having the vaccine, meaning they may have to close their doors until staff get vaccinated.
This would hurt the industry as punters would be turned away, forcing them to go to other establishments or online.
On the other hand, we could see massive layoffs as people refuse to get vaccinated and casinos need to get back to business.
After more than a 70% decrease in player numbers, Nevada needs a win, and these people refusing to get vaccinated could stop the win.
Some Casinos Stepping Up
Not all casinos and their staff members are getting in the way, however.
The Encore has opened its doors and is hosting a COVID vaccination center to make lives easier for everyone in the city.
The Encore stepped up to help distribution of the vaccine go as smoothly as possible in Las Vegas, meaning that more frontline workers, elderly and casino workers will be able to get vaccinated.
This in turn means that sin city can burst back to life faster than if we all just sit around and wait for this thing to blow away.
If casinos want to prevent being shut down even further, just as we’ve seen all across the United States, they need to get their house staff vaccinated.
We’ve seen casinos in Detroit shut their doors once more, but with a vaccinated staff, it’s likely that these casinos would be able to open as usual once more.
Tribal casinos have been able to escape the mass closures, but at what cost to their population and users?
If the vaccine rollout is widespread and successful, we could see the American economy return to normal.
With casinos like the Encore opening up as vaccination centers, it’s easier than ever before to get vaccinated and help the industry recover.
Until the mentality changes, online casinos will continue to grow in popularity, ceiling the fate of smaller casinos.
We could even see Las Vegas left as the last remaining bastion of casino entertainment in the USA if more casinos in the country are forced to remain closed.
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