Demand must be there first
Station Casinos still has not opened some of its Nevada casinos. It may never.
In a second quarter earnings call this week, Frank Fertitta III, the CEO of Station’s parent company, Red Rock Resorts, said that it is possible that Fiesta Henderson, the Palms, Fiesta Rancho, and Texas Station might never reopen.
“We don’t know if – or when – we’re going to reopen any of the closed properties,” Fertitta said. “We think it’s too early to make that decision at this time.”
The company has 20 Nevada properties in total, all of which closed in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most reopened in early June when Governor Steve Sisolak gave casinos the green light.
Though Fertitta’s prognosis sounded dire, the four casinos could certainly still welcome back customers at some point. Red Rock’s Chief Financial Officer Stephen Cootey said it is simply a matter of continuing to evaluate customer demand. If the demand is there, some of the properties could reopen.
“So far we’re very pleased with results that we’ve had, the ability to move some of the play from the closed properties to our existing properties, and we’re going to continue to try to get clarity and navigate the situation to make well-informed decisions,” Fertitta added, “but whatever decisions we make will be in the best interest of shareholder value.”
Finances will dictate future action
Amanda Belarmino, an assistant professor at UNLV’s College of Hospitality, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Red Rock’s approach is prudent.
“This type of cautious approach makes the most sense,” she said. “All indicators are pointing towards a slow recovery for travel, which in turn will lead to a slow recovery for local unemployment and disposable income for locals to spend at local casinos.”
Nehme E. Abouzeid, president of consulting firm LaunchVegas LLC, said that at this point, there are no “sacred cows” in the gaming industry. All options for the continuing viability of business are on the table, even if it means a casino is not, itself, viable.
Fertitta also said that some casino amenities and services that remain closed at its reopened properties may also never return.
“They were amenities that maybe generated a lot of traffic but not necessarily high-margin business,” he said.
Some poker rooms are now open
One amenity that has returned at some Station casinos is the poker room. Red Rock Resort, Boulder Station, and Santa Fe Station all reopened their poker rooms on Monday morning. As one would expect, health and safety measures have been taken. Most notably, plexiglass barriers have been installed between each seat at every table, as well as in front of each seat to shield the players and dealer from each other.
The poker rooms are not really limiting the number of players per table, though. They were originally going to be six-handed, but the casinos asked the Nevada Gaming Control Board if they could increase the table capacity to eight and the NGCB granted the request.
Face masks are required to be worn by everyone in the poker room.
