Nevada tavern operators hope Gov. Steve Sisolak’s own words will contradict his directive and will allow them to re-open the bar tops – as well as the slot machines – that have been closed for more than a month as part of the state’s COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
During a 90-minute court hearing Thursday over a lawsuit filed last month against the governor by the operators of 62 Las Vegas-area taverns, a plaintiff’s attorney told the judge the reasoning Sisolak gave in announcing his directive – that positive coronavirus tests had surged, and that bars had violated social distancing and safety guidelines – was no longer valid.
The tavern operators asked Clark County District Judge Kerry Earley to rescind the directive. The judge said she planned to expedite a decision.
Las Vegas attorney Dennis Kennedy said the governor, during a July 27 press conference to discuss a long-term COVID-19 mitigation strategy, admitted closing all bars and bar tops in seven counties “may not have been the fairest way to do it,” adding the state would target “specific businesses” rather than “an industry as a whole.”
A week later, during an Aug. 3 press conference, the governor said he now believed “the most significant causes” for spreading the virus were “large family gatherings and people going to work when they were sick.”
Kennedy told Earley that despite “all these changes in methodology, these restrictions are still in effect.”
Craig Newby, deputy solicitor general for the Nevada Attorney General, who represented the governor’s office, said the challenge is in managing the response to the novel coronavirus. “The issues change on a daily and weekly basis,” Newby said.
Sisolak, in announcing the closures on July 9, said bars had violated social distancing and health and safety guidelines and that he was ordering standalone bars and bar top areas inside taverns and restaurants to cease operations.
The closure silenced a large portion of Nevada’s lucrative restricted gaming business – those locations with 15 or fewer slot machines. Grocery stores, convenience stores, and drug stores, many of which also have restricted gaming slot machines, were not affected.
Bar top slot machines, such as this game from IGT, were closed in restricted locations in Nevada under the governor’s directive
Tavern operators were given permission to remove slot machines from their bar tops and place the games inside traditional slot machine cabinets. However, the relief solution hasn’t been a workable option for some tavern operators, due to space limitations and overhead costs.
Kennedy told the judge that statistics compiled by the Nevada State Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that 80% of all bars were following health and safety guidelines a week before Sisolak ordered the shutdown. The week of the shutdown, Nevada OSHA said the compliance rate was 89%.
Kennedy said that between June 26 and July 10, Clark County Business License conducted inspections on more than 1,600 businesses and filed 39 notices of violation.
“Not one went to a bar or tavern,” Kennedy said, telling the judge none of the 62 taverns that are party to the lawsuit were cited in any of the investigations.
Restricted gaming operators were required to adhere to the same COVID-19 health, safety, and cleaning guidelines, which also included social distancing and capacity requirements. The protocols were established by Nevada gaming regulators ahead of the state’s June 4 reopening of gaming following a 78-day shutdown.
Las Vegas attorney Dennis Kennedy argues a case on behalf of the taverns/Phoot via Twitter
Kennedy told the judge many tavern operators went to great expense to comply with the guidelines for their bar top slots, including the addition of plexiglass dividers between games.
Nevada has 2,451 restricted gaming locations, collectively operating some 17,600 slot machines. Clark County alone accounts for more than 1,600 of the restricted gaming businesses with more than 13,200 slot machines, according to the Gaming Control Board.
Nevada taxes restricted gaming locations through quarterly and annual fees per machine, far different than casinos, which pay 6.75% monthly on taxable gaming revenue in excess of $134,000.
For the first five games, the quarterly fee paid to the state is $81 per machine. The locations pay $141 per quarter for each of the next 10 machines. Under the formula, the total annual tax for a location with 15 slot machines is $11,010.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
