CNN Business:
At the heart of a nearly vacant Las Vegas Strip, Caesar’s iconic palace stands empty. The hotel’s doors are locked for the first time in its storied 54-year history.The casino floor is nearly as silent as its statues, save for the siren song auto-playing from a few slot machines echoing through the polished halls.
It’s been the worst experience of Tony Rodio’s 40-year casino career. Now, the CEO of Caesars Entertainment is undertaking the Herculean task of safely reopening the 85-acre resort in the era of Covid-19, he told CNN.
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At Caesars Palace, card tables, dice games and even slot machines are being retooled across the casino floor with social distancing and disinfection in mind, Rodio explained.
“We will be deactivating every other slot machine and removing the stool from the game,” he said, standing at an darkened slot machine at the center of three-machine row. “A customer can’t even stand here and play this game because the game’s not even active, and so we will do that throughout the whole floor.”
At card tables, the number of seats will be reduced from six to three, he said. And say goodbye to the classic casino scene of a crowd cheering a winning streak.”Nobody will be able to be within 6 feet of any of the three customers that are playing,” Rodio said. “You’re certainly not face-to-face.”
