Wynn Resorts lays out employee vaccination requirements

Employees at Wynn Resorts’ United States casinos who have received a COVID-19 vaccine must submit proof of vaccination by April 25, the company said.

Gambling News reports that employees that choose not to, or are unable to be vaccinated, will have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test weekly.

According to a company issued memo, those employees must complete the COVID-19 tests at their own expense and time.

President of Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, Marilyn Spiegel revealed that employees that are not vaccinated can also test within the site at the Lighthouse Lab Testing facility, located in the Petrus Convention Room at Wynn.

The cost per test is $15, which makes a total of $60 per month.

Spiegel acknowledged that the increased business volumes in March allowed the company to increase hours and shifts.

Consequently, this led to more employees returning to work.

However, she stressed that to get to the next level of business, more restrictions need to be lifted so that more customers can visit the casino, bars, convention centre and restaurants.

Spiegel added that lifting of the restrictions will come from the Nevada Gaming Commission and the Control Board.

But before that happens, she stressed that resorts “must ensure that all employees who can safely receive the COVID-19 vaccine are vaccinated.”

Despite the difficulties in 2020, Spiegel said that she feels optimistic about the future.

Further, she added that her goal has always been to offer the safest vacation and work environment.

Wynn pivots to grow fourth quarter earnings

A pivot in its target market has helped Wynn Resorts grow its earnings in Macau.

Calvin Ayre reported in February that the company saw its adjusted property earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation back in the black in the fourth quarter after it suffered a $112.1 million loss in the third quarter.

Wynn was in the positive by $39.4 million for the final quarter in the year, in part due to a greater focus on the premium mass gambling segment, a move that is likely to continue in the foreseeable future.

The latest figures were made available through a company filing, in which Wynn Resorts chief executive Matt Maddox pointed out that improved travel and reduced COVID-19 restrictions helped with the recovery process.

In addition, the premium mass segment gave the rebound “particular strength”, while VIP and mass-market gaming improved as well.

The quarter’s mass market table drop was $1.29 billion, six times higher than the previous quarter and VIP turnover from table games improved almost at the same rate, coming in at $4.58 billion.

Still, both figures were nowhere near the number Wynn Macau had seen a year earlier, before the coronavirus upended Macau.

The improvement in premium mass action was possible due to a shift in operations across the last six months of 2020.

Wynn realised what was going to drive its growth and began implementing changes that would allow it to focus better on the premium mass segment.

Maddox explained in the company filing that, “it’s crystal clear that the growth drivers for Macau are really the sweet spot for our company, and that’s the premium segment, premium mass in particular.”

He added, “the premium segment did better than the core mass segment, it was not down 50 per cent as the overall mass was.

“We do not need 50,000 people a day walking through our facilities to get back to our target.

“We require significantly less people because we cater to the higher-end customer…we are targeting that segment and we are going to get more market share in the premium-mass segment than we have in the past.”

Wynn had predicted in 2020 that VIP gambling was likely to take a hit as it began to shift gears.