No More Betting! MGM, Other Major Las Vegas Resorts To Close Amidst Coronavirus Fear

After the Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Sunday ordered the state’s casinos, racetracks, and all other similar betting facilities to close until further notice, most of the major resort giants including MGM Group of Resorts and Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas also decided to shut down all of its resorts.

In a statement, Jim Murren, the chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts said, “We will close all of our Las Vegas properties as of Tuesday, March 17th, for the good of our employees, guests and communities.”

The casinos will close Monday followed by all hotel operations. MGM Resorts has also suspended reservations for arrivals before May 1.

In a letter to all the staff members, the management said, "We’ve been through difficult challenges before, and together we will persevere through this as well. We will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so, which we hope will be soon."

MGM Resorts' properties in Las Vegas include Bellagio, CityCenter, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, The Mirage, New York-New York, Park MGM, and T-Mobile Arena.

The decision comes after several casino employees in Las Vegas tested positive for COVID-19. According to MGM spokesman Brian Ahern, while one of the employees who tested positive worked at the Luxor Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, the others worked at the Wet Republic pool at the MGM Grand.

Some other hospitality giants like Wynn Resorts also made announcements late Sunday on the temporary closure of its Wynn Las Vegas and Encore properties for two weeks. The closure will begin Tuesday at 6 p.m. In a media release, Wynn Resorts said it is committed to paying full-time Wynn and Encore employees during the closure.

But Las Vegas Sands said Sunday all its resorts will remain open and that it was not considering layoffs or changes to existing health-care benefits.

Social distancing due to the fear of the spread of the virus is making it a hard sell at the baccarat tables as patrons shy away from handling chips, cash, slot machines, and playing cards. Casino gambling is a $261-billion-a-year industry, which supports 1.8 million jobs. With many of the country’s biggest attractions from Disneyland to March Madness shutting down because of the coronavirus pandemic, it is unclear how much longer the industry can hold out.