Gaming Control Board Files Complaints Against the Sahara for a Health and Safety Violations

Officials at the Nevada Gaming Control Board filed four complaints with the Nevada Gaming Commission calling for disciplinary action against the Sahara for not following state-mandated health and safety guidelines issued to curb the spread of COVID-19.

One complaint claims the resort on the north end of the Strip allowed a luncheon with approximately 135 people in the resort’s Congo Conference Rooms on July 23. A local trade group held the event, which the board says violates Gov. Steve Sisolak’s emergency order limiting gatherings to 50 people to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The resort’s vice president of government affairs approved the event, and called it a misunderstanding about the number of people who could attend. He believed that any event the involved food and beverage could take place at 50 percent capacity.

The board also included an incident on June 16, observed by a board agent, where a person not playing craps stood near three people participating in the game, another where five people gathered near another person playing a slots machine, and a third incident where a nonparticipant stood between two blackjack players. The board says those incidents violated the health and safety policies issued by the board.

In these three cases, an assistant casino manager corrected the gatherings and spoke to dealers at table games about allowing spectators to stand at tables.

The Sahara can respond to the complaint and the gaming commission can fine the company.

the Gaming Control Board opened 156 regulatory cases statewide related to non-compliance with the agency’s health and safety policies, the Nevada Independent reports. The online publication also says the board conducted more than 10,135 inspections and observations through June 28.

• Gaming Control Board Files Health and Safety Complaint Against the Sahara Las Vegas [Nevada Independent]

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