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The Colorado Belle, the Laughlin casino that resembles a 19th century paddlewheel riverboat, says it will not reopen when Gov. Steve Sisolak lets gaming properties resume business in Nevada. The casino that floats on the Colorado River laid off 400 employees last Thursday.
Parent company Golden Entertainment Inc. pointed at the uncertainty of tourism returning after Sisolak ordered all nonessential businesses including casinos to close on March 17 as the reason for keeping the Colorado Belle closed, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
“We anticipate reduced business levels which will last for an unknown period of time,” Katherine Roden, Golden’s vice president of human resources, wrote in a letter to staff. “Due to these challenging circumstances, the company has no current plans to reopen the Colorado Belle property and the layoffs currently in place will extend indefinitely.”
The casino features Pints Sports Bar, Loading Dock Bar & Grill, and Big Easy Deli, along with two bars.
Health-care benefits for laid off employees end on May 31.
Golden also operates Edgewater and Aquarius in Laughlin, along with PT’s and Sierra Gold taverns across the state.
Casinos and resorts will open in phase three or four of Sisolak’s slow reopening of the state for business. Right now, Nevada is in phase one of reopening, with dine-in restaurants, including some within casinos, permitted to reopen with restrictions.
• Every Restaurant and Bar That Closed in Las Vegas: 2020 Edition [ELV]
• Nevada’s Governor Permits Restaurants to Reopen for Dine-in Service on May 9 [ELV]
• Nevada Allows Restaurants Inside Casinos to Reopen for Dine-in Service With Restrictions [ELV]
• How Coronavirus Is Affecting Las Vegas Food and Restaurants [ELV]
