Starting Wednesday, September 15, all employees of the Strat Hotel Casino & SkyPod in Las Vegas must be vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus or present a weekly negative Covid test in order to work. The Strat is a Golden Entertainment property.
A company spokesperson said the decision was made to “maintain the health of our team members, our guests, and our community.”
Golden Entertainment operates nine casinos in Nevada, one in Maryland and 66 pubs and taverns across Las Vegas. Last month, MGM Resorts International became the first large U.S. casino operator to require salaried employees to be vaccinated.
In a letter signed by Golden Entertainment President and Chief Financial Officer Charles Protell, he reminded employees that they were encouraged in July to be vaccinated to protect the community and their families. To facilitate the process, Golden will host several free vaccination clinics at both the Strat and Sierra Gold Jones in weeks to come. The vaccinations are open to employees’ family members.
“Vaccination is the most effective method to slow the spread of Covid-19. Hopefully, we can all continue to do our part to maintain the health of our business and communities,” Protell said in the letter.
Casino consultant Josh Swissman, founder of the Strategy Organization, told MSN that more companies are realizing they must enforce vaccine and testing policies for the sake of their businesses as well as workers and customers.
“Beyond the gaming industry, this seems to be the trend,” Swissman said. “It’s what these operators feel they need to do, not only to protect their employees, but also to protect the customers and give them a sense of security. The fact that these new requirements are being put in place does become newsworthy. Customers see it and I’m sure that affects some folks’ travel patterns to go to places where they feel more safe.”
