Two French Restaurants at Paris Las Vegas Permanently Lay Off 149 Staff

Lettuce Entertain You, the Chicago-based restaurant group, notified the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation that it will permanently lay off 96 full-time employees at Mon Ami Gabi and another 53 full-time staff at Eiffel Tower Restaurant on December 16. Legal counsel for both French restaurants at Paris Las Vegas say the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect its businesses.

“Unfortunately, we could not foresee how significantly or for how long a time the COVID-19 related governmental orders, which were initially issued for short durations, would be repeatedly revised and extended or how gravely they would impact our business – and not merely for a short period, but, as it turns out, for the foreseeable future,” Ethan Samson, vice president of legal for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Inc., writes.

Both letters, part of the WARN Act, the federal law that requires most employers with 100 or more employees to provide 60 calendar-day advance notification of layoffs, note that neither restaurant plans to close.

Additional layoffs at the Tropicana

The Tropicana also announced additional layoffs at its resort that reopened in September. On Thursday, October 15, 661 employees lost their jobs, but the resort says an additional 167 will also permanently lose their jobs, although a second notice to the state says that it will postpone its layoffs of 57 employees until January 15, 2021.

“These layoffs at Tropicana Las Vegas, Inc. are the unfortunate result of COVID-19 related business circumstances that were sudden, dramatic and beyond our control. The impact on our business was not reasonably foreseeable until now,” Robin Rivera, vice president of human resources at the Tropicana, writes in a letter to the state.

Encore Las Vegas reduces operating hours

With consumer demand for hotel rooms down on weekdays, Encore Las Vegas decided to reduce its hours starting on Monday, October 19. That’s when the resort closes at 2 p.m. on Mondays and reopens at 2 p.m. on Thursdays. The reduced hours also affect the restaurants and bars at Encore,, including Jardin, the Asian eatery Wazuzu, the new Mexican restaurant Elio, and the Italian restaurant Sinatra, which will now only be open Thursday through Sunday. Customers can check into the resort at 2 p.m. on Thursdays and must depart by noon on Mondays. [8 News Now]

Paid self-parking sadly returns at some Caesars Entertainment resorts

The coronavirus pandemic brought an end to paid parking on the Las Vegas Strip, but now Caesars Entertainment says it’s bringing it back for self-parking on October 30. Caesars Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Bally’s Las Vegas, the Flamingo, the Linq Hotel, and Harrah’s Las Vegas begin charging for self-park service then. Nevada residents with valid identification, hotel guests, and Caesars Reward loyalty members who hold platinum rating and above will not have to pay. Caesars says it will donate parking fee profits to charitable groups that “support Caesars team members and local communities in need” through the end of the first quarter of 2021. [LVRJ]

• How Coronavirus Is Affecting Las Vegas Food and Restaurants [ELV]

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