(Bloomberg) -- When Wynn Resorts Ltd. gets the go-ahead to reopen casinos in Las Vegas and Boston, one of gambling’s most iconic games won’t be offered: poker.
- The Wynn side is the most popular and largest casino, and the former spot for the resorts firm’s poker room. The Encore casino floor is a bit smaller and is where the poker room has been located since May 2016.
- A schedule of Wynn poker tournaments, including time, buy-in, blind structure, and more. You also can find Wynn phone number, address, and website info.
The Wynn Poker Room hosted four $10,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em high rollers from Dec. The first tournament in this high-stakes onslaught kicked off at 3 p.m. Local time on Thursday, Dec.
It also won’t be as easy to play craps. At the company’s Encore Boston Harbor resort, the game will be allowed only in the high-limit area, where crowds are typically smaller. It’s all part of efforts to limit contact between patrons during the pandemic.
“We don’t in any way want to do anything we can’t execute as safely as possible,” Brian Gullbrants, president of Wynn’s Boston property, said in an interview this week on the Bloomberg Baystate Business radio program. “This is an evolving situation.”
The decisions by Wynn, one of the most prominent casino operators in the country, highlight the changes gamblers can expect when they return to resorts that have been closed for two months as a result of the coronavirus. Poker rooms are typically crowded, and the game is one of the least profitable for casinos.
Casino operators also plan to open with every other slot machine closed and will impose limits on how many people can play at a table. In some cases, they’ll do temperature checks. One post making the rounds on social media shows Hialeah Park Racing & Casino in Florida testing a poker table with customers wearing masks and playing behind a giant sneeze guard.
MGM Resorts International, the largest casino operator on the Las Vegas Strip, released plans earlier this week that showed sinks for hand-washing installed in the lobby of the Bellagio. The company is relying heavily on technology to make guests comfortable, such as online check-ins and mobile phones doubling as room keys at its hotels.
Masked Poker Face
The changes will present challenges for players. Can you read a competitors’ face in poker when it’s hidden behind a protective mask? Is it polite to blow on the dice before rolling in craps, as many people do for good luck?
Virtually all of the nearly 1,000 casinos in the U.S. were closed as result of the coronavirus, and 52 are open now, according to a running tally by the American Gaming Association.
Most of those that have opened are in smaller markets or on tribal land. Casinos in Louisiana and Mississippi, two relatively large markets, are expected to open next week.
Jay Snowden, chief executive officer of Penn National Gaming Inc., said in an interview Thursday that he expects as many as five states to let their casinos reopen this month, with most of the others following in June.
It also won’t be as easy to play craps. At the company’s Encore Boston Harbor resort, the game will be allowed only in the high-limit area, where crowds are typically smaller. It’s all part of efforts to limit contact between patrons during the pandemic.
“We don’t in any way want to do anything we can’t execute as safely as possible,” Brian Gullbrants, president of Wynn’s Boston property, said in an interview this week on the Bloomberg Baystate Business radio program. “This is an evolving situation.”
The decisions by Wynn, one of the most prominent casino operators in the country, highlight the changes gamblers can expect when they return to resorts that have been closed for two months as a result of the coronavirus. Poker rooms are typically crowded, and the game is one of the least profitable for casinos.
Casino operators also plan to open with every other slot machine closed and will impose limits on how many people can play at a table. In some cases, they’ll do temperature checks. One post making the rounds on social media shows Hialeah Park Racing & Casino in Florida testing a poker table with customers wearing masks and playing behind a giant sneeze guard.
MGM Resorts International, the largest casino operator on the Las Vegas Strip, released plans earlier this week that showed sinks for hand-washing installed in the lobby of the Bellagio. The company is relying heavily on technology to make guests comfortable, such as online check-ins and mobile phones doubling as room keys at its hotels.
Masked Poker Face
The changes will present challenges for players. Can you read a competitors’ face in poker when it’s hidden behind a protective mask? Is it polite to blow on the dice before rolling in craps, as many people do for good luck?
Virtually all of the nearly 1,000 casinos in the U.S. were closed as result of the coronavirus, and 52 are open now, according to a running tally by the American Gaming Association.
Most of those that have opened are in smaller markets or on tribal land. Casinos in Louisiana and Mississippi, two relatively large markets, are expected to open next week.
Jay Snowden, chief executive officer of Penn National Gaming Inc., said in an interview Thursday that he expects as many as five states to let their casinos reopen this month, with most of the others following in June.
Penn’s 41 properties will open with half or less of their slot machines and tables available, Snowden said. Buffets will stay closed, and employees will wear masks, but he’s leaving it up to local authorities to decide if customers must as well.
Snowden said he was heartened by images of a fairly busy start in some markets that have reopened, such as Deadwood, South Dakota.
Wynn Poker Tournament Results
“It shows there is pent-up demand,” he said.
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LAS VEGAS – The spread of coronavirus has forced Wynn Resorts to close the Las Vegas hotel-casino's poker room, sports book, spas and salons.
The temporary closures will take place Sunday.
In response to 20 reported cases throughout the Nevada, the governor Thursday declared the spread of COVID-19 a state emergency – a day before President Donald Trump declared it a national one.
The spread of COVID-19 has led to unprecedented disruptions along the Las Vegas Strip tourism corridor – including layoffs and furloughs for thousands of workers.
In addition to closing those staple casino and resort spots, Wynn Resorts closed XS Nightclub and Encore Beach Club and canceled all large entertainment gatherings.
All performances of the popular stage production 'Le Rêve – The Dream' have been canceled until further notice.
Wynn Resorts buffets, nightclubs and theaters in Las Vegas and Boston have closed – including these restaurants: Costa di Mare, Lakeside, Mizumi and Wazuzu.
In one of the more drastic measures, the company is now using 'non-invasive' thermal cameras to monitor the temperatures of guests.
Wynn Poker Atlas
“We will be screening for temperature using non-invasive thermal cameras at all our entrances,” Wynn CEO Matt Maddox said in a statement about new company policies in response to the intensifying spread of coronavirus.
The readings will decide which guests stay and which guests go, targeting fevers – a symptom of COVID-19.
'Any person registering a temperature of 100.4F or higher will be discreetly informed by a trained member of the security team and not be permitted to remain inside the resort,' a company statement said.
Ed Komenda writes about Las Vegas for the Reno Gazette Journal and USA Today Network. Do you care about democracy? Then support local journalism by subscribing to the Reno Gazette Journal right here.
© Photos Provided: Vox Agency Here are the signs YESCO Sign Company designed and built in Las Vegas.Wynn Poker Blog
This article originally appeared on Reno Gazette Journal: Wynn Las Vegas to shutter poker room, sports books, spas and salons as COVID-19 spreads
