Some final thoughts before the shit hits the fan tomorrow, if that’s what’s about to happen.
1. With 10%-35% occupancy, this would be the perfect time to come to the Las Vegas Strip and have the run of the place, if we have a proper outbreak defense in place. https://twitter.com/govsisolak/status/1265040572462428161">https://twitter.com/govsisola...
1. With 10%-35% occupancy, this would be the perfect time to come to the Las Vegas Strip and have the run of the place, if we have a proper outbreak defense in place. https://twitter.com/govsisolak/status/1265040572462428161">https://twitter.com/govsisola...
2. The trend among some western nations with tourist destinations (e.g. beaches) — Italy and Greece — seems to be to bite the bullet, accept the downside, and open for the summer. Spain disagrees; Las Vegas it appears may not. https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-05-21/as-italy-prepares-to-open-borders-to-tourists-spain-opts-for-caution.html?outputType=amp">https://english.elpais.com/society/2...
3. The question in my mind was never whether Las Vegas would be healthy enough to open things up. As I said from the start, I fully expected to see locals casinos (for example) open by June. Personally, I think Las Vegas is one of the safest places to be. https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/04/09/why-re-open-the-las-vegas-strip.aspx">https://www.fool.com/investing...
4. Rather, the two big questions in my mind:
- Will our source markets (U.S., CA and other regional destination) be healthy enough for visitors to come here?
- Will we have a mechanism to screen out unhealthy visitors before they arrive? https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/05/12/las-vegas-strip-on-border-controls-and-the-subsist.aspx">https://www.fool.com/investing...
- Will our source markets (U.S., CA and other regional destination) be healthy enough for visitors to come here?
- Will we have a mechanism to screen out unhealthy visitors before they arrive? https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/05/12/las-vegas-strip-on-border-controls-and-the-subsist.aspx">https://www.fool.com/investing...
5. Without a mechanism for screening visitors, we are virtually guaranteed to have an outbreak on the Strip. This is not a “reasonable possibility” or “let’s open and see” if it happens, but rather a likelihood.
The casino operators and the state have to know this.
The casino operators and the state have to know this.
The plan will not be to open the Strip just to shut it down in a month. And at present we don’t have a way to simply lock down our borders as Macau, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, NZ, Australia, Japan, and other stalwarts have.
This means that if we do open the Strip without a plan in place to screen out unwanted visitors, we are doing it accepting that we will have an outbreak, and that we plan to keep the Strip open despite it.
6. If that turns out to be the case — if the plan we hear tomorrow is to open the Strip accepting that outbreaks will occur, without a plan to screen unwanted visitors — the question we need to have answered is this: “What is the plan for dealing with outbreaks when they happen?”