Coronavirus Test Site Opens at Wynn Las Vegas, Adds to Company Initiatives

Posted on: May 9, 2020, 03:10h. 

Last updated on: May 10, 2020, 11:33h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Wynn Las Vegas employees can get a COVID-19 test at their workplace, thanks to a new testing site that will give free procedures. The site is operated in partnership with Nevada’s University Medical Center (UMC).

UMC health-care professionals will administer the tests. UMC has opened a lab that can allow hundreds of tests to be processed daily.

Having timely access to test results backed by the medical expertise of University Medical Center is a tremendous advantage as we work toward our reopening,” Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox said in a company statement.

Wynn Resorts has yet to announce a reopening date for the Las Vegas gaming property. But the on-site testing forms a key part of the precautions the company will adopt to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission when guests are allowed back in.

Wynn Donates Food, Supplies, Money, Employees

Wynn Resorts will also provide 70 employees from its call center to assist the Clark County Commission with contact tracing. Contact tracing is one part of an effort to reduce COVID-19 spread.

Since the outbreak, Wynn donated more than $3 million worth of aid, personal protective equipment, food, and cleaning and hygiene supplies to health-care facilities and nonprofits in Las Vegas and Boston.

Among these are more than 245,000 N95-equivalent respirator masks, 730,000 surgical masks, and 580,000 pairs of medical gloves to hospitals, nursing homes, and law enforcement agencies. The company also donated $125,000 and $950,000 worth of food, including 21,000 prepared meals, to local food banks, as well as $100,000 to domestic violence shelters.

Some 15,000 Wynn employees in North America continue to receive their full wages through May 31. “We have the best teams and culture in the industry, and have made the important decision to continue to invest in our employees in Las Vegas and Boston by extending their full pay and benefits through the end of the month while we work through the phases to welcome back our guests,” Maddox said in a statement.

Wynn’s coronavirus-related efforts have gotten national attention. During a Tuesday press conference, Unite Here International President D. Taylor complimented “extensive” reopening plans released by Wynn Resorts about two weeks ago.

In Oklahoma, Tonkawa Casino and Hotel is basing its safety guidelines on a plan developed by Wynn Resorts. Tonkawa is a tribal gaming property not affiliated with Wynn.

This week, Wynn Resorts announced a 42 percent decline in operating revenue for the first quarter of 2020. The drop is blamed on economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this year, Wynn spent approximately $56.4 million to pay workers their salaries, tips, and benefits even though company venues in the US are currently shuttered.

But with Macau, the Chinese gaming mecca, likely to lead a sector rebound, Wynn is poised to benefit, Roth Capital analyst David Bain said in a recent note provided to Casino.org.

Wynn Promotes Health, Sanitation Efforts

In recent weeks, Maddox urged in the “Wynn Las Vegas Health & Sanitation Program” that the Nevada COVID-19 task force focus on testing and “safely reopening the economy.”

He wants to see parts of the state’s economy reopen in early May, starting with “reduced occupancy, physical distancing measures in place, temperature checks, and no large gatherings.

We all need to wear a mask. Wearing a mask is uncomfortable. However, it will allow our economy to reopen faster,” Maddox said.

He also wants Nevada leaders to track data provided “by a team of modeling experts tracking benchmarks,” such as increased coronavirus testing velocity, deaths and hospitalizations per million residents remaining below national averages, availability of hospitals in the event a second wave of COVID-19 cases arrives, and making all data fully available to the public with daily monitoring of those data points.

As of Saturday, Nevada restaurants, barbershops, salons, and retailers can start to reopen during the first phase of a statewide reopening policy. Casinos remain closed.