The venue initially closed its doors in March after the government ordered a shutdown of nonessential businesses. Brad Belhouse, regional president for Caesars, stated: “Harrah’s Reno will be permanently closed and all employees will be terminated.” The date for the layoffs should be after 1 August, but the concrete date hasn’t been set yet.
The venue is in the process of being sold to CAI Investments, a Las Vegas-based developer. Once the acquisition is complete, the new owner plans to turn Harrah’s Reno into a mixed-use development called Reno City Center.
Caesars Entertainment said the decision to keep Harrah’s Reno closed was influenced by an ongoing merger with Eldorado Resorts. The $17.3bn was supposed to be finalized in the first half of 2020, but the date has been pushed back to August (with a chance of further pushbacks).
Another casino in Reno city, the Peppermill Resort Hotel, announced they will be laying off 103 employees on 1 August. Peppermill general manager Billy Paganetti stated, “When we originally provided notice of furloughs effective March 17, 2020, we did not foresee the furloughs could last beyond six months or become permanent. Frankly, no one could have foreseen how the COVID-19 crisis played out.”
In April, the revenue from Reno-Sparks casinos (one of which is the Peppermill Resort) was $3.5m, a drop of 89% compared to $32.2m the last year. The Peppermill Resort actually resumed work earlier this month, with the safety precautions in place to protect both workers and guests, however, the company expects the business to remain far below previous years’ levels.
