Wynn Resorts extending benefits for workers
Wynn Resorts Ltd. announced Wednesday that it is paying all salaried, hourly and part-time U.S. employees full wages through May 15, for a total of 60 days of payroll continuance.
A Wednesday statement from the company said the coverage includes more than 15,000 current Wynn and Encore employees, and includes average tip compliance rate or distributed tips/tokes since the beginning of the year.
The company runs Wynn Las Vegas and Encore in Las Vegas, as well as Encore Boston Harbor in Massachusetts, all of which have been temporarily shut down.
The company had previously said it would guarantee all Wynn and Encore employees payroll coverage through the 30-day casino shutdown in Nevada, which has since been extended until at least April 30. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted March 25 to extend the closure of the state’s casinos to April 7.
CEO Matt Maddox said in a video for employees posted Wednesday that it “has become very apparent” that Wynn’s U.S. properties will not reopen in April. He told employees in the video that he doesn’t want workers to struggle with financial insecurity during the shutdowns.
“I anticipate the next couple of weeks are going to get harder in terms of COVID-19,” he said in the video. “You’ll see increased news flow, you’ll see increased hospitalizations, you’ll likely start to know people that have contracted it. So I’m encouraging all of you to stay safe, please stay safe, and stay home.”
Maddox added that the company is already looking into various sanitation protocols for when its North American properties do reopen, including strategies that it learned from its properties in Macao. All casinos in the Chinese territory — including Wynn Macau, Encore Macau and Wynn Palace Cotai — were shut down for 15 days due to the outbreak in February.
“When we reopen our facility we are going to make sure it is in direct coordination with the medical experts with the states and with the gaming commission so that it is a safe environment,” he said. “We will be ready, that I can assure you of.”
Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.
