Station Casinos won't include poker rooms, buffets in its initial reopening phase

Station Casinos won’t open poker rooms, buffets and some of the restaurants when the company is permitted to reopen its Las Vegas casinos.

In an earnings call Tuesday, Station Casinos CEO Frank Fertitta III said that none of its properties will reopen buffets in their initial phase of reopening. Additionally, some of the specialty restaurants will also remain closed. "We're going to narrow it down to basically the restaurants that were the most popular and had the most throughput, but we're going to leave some of the other ones unopened in Phase 1," Fertitta said, as reported by FOX5.

Fertitta also stated that poker rooms would remain closed upon reopening in Phase 1. "We just didn't think it would make sense with only three players per table or so that, that would be a profitable venture. So that will be on hold," Fertitta said. 

Red Rock Resorts chairman and CEO also said there's no truth to rumors of a possible sale of Palms Casino Resort, KSNV reports. The Palms, located on Flamingo Road just west of the Las Vegas Strip, is one of the company's four properties that will not immediately reopen once Nevada gaming regulators give the green light. Executives have said they would assess the performance of the casino-resorts that will reopen, like Sunset Station and Red Rock Resort, before getting to the Palms, Texas Station, Fiesta Henderson and Fiesta Rancho.

Red Rock Resorts, the parent company of Station Casinos, reported a 15.6% drop in net revenue for the first three months of 2020 compared to the previous year.

Fertitta also discussed Station Casinos' health and safety plan unveiled on Monday, which includes thermal scanners and testing for employees, saying the company would take steps to address guests' concerns about COVID-19. 

The company said in a statement that it will install thermal scanners at all entrances and will require employees to wear personal protective equipment, or PPE. Employees will be required to undergo FDA-approved testing for the coronavirus disease before they return to work, according to the statement, and they'll be tested at regular intervals once back.

There will be sanitizing stations installed at Station properties around the Las Vegas valley, along with "enhanced cleaning technologies" like electrostatic sprayers and hospital-grade disinfectants.

In a 15-page guide sheet posted online, the company says it will encourage guests to practice social distancing. It will also implement state-mandated restrictions on occupancy and the number of table game players.

Other casino operators have released similar health and sanitation plans, including Caesars, MGM Resorts and Las Vegas Sands.