Las Vegas Sands to continue paying workers through at least Oct. 31

The company is the only gaming operator of the state’s six largest that has not furloughed or laid off staff despite Las Vegas tourism taking a major hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employees were made aware of the commitment in a Wednesday letter signed by Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.

“We value your contributions and loyalty, which is why we will strive to maintain this support for as long as possible amid this challenging business climate,” the letter said.

Since hotel-casinos were allowed to reopen June 4 after a 78-day, state-mandated shutdown, many have laid off workers as demand has failed to rebound amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic.

“To my knowledge, we are the only company in our industry and likely one of few in the broader hospitality industry who has not furloughed or laid off employees because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Adelson said in the letter.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. had avoided furloughs until last week. It did not disclose how many workers were impacted. A June statement from the company said it had invested nearly $250 million to pay 15,000 employees their wages, tips, and benefits throughout the shutdown.

Business in Asia — where Sands operates one property in Singapore and five in the Chinese gaming enclave Macao — is “trending in the right direction,” he said, but it “may” take more time for Las Vegas to recover.

In the company’s second-quarter earnings call last week, Chief Operating Officer Rob Goldstein told analysts that of all of the markets the company operates in — Las Vegas, Macao and Singapore — “I view Las Vegas least favorably” because of its dependence on fly-in traffic.

Goldstein said only about 10 percent of visitors inside its Macao properties are people who traveled by plane, compared with about 45 percent in Las Vegas.

Goldstein said he doesn’t see any change until a COVID-19 vaccine is developed and deployed.

Applied Analysis principal Jeremy Aguero predicted Tuesday it may take 18 to 36 months for Southern Nevada to recover to a level of where it was before the virus began pummeling the region this year.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.

Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.