Center will be in Encore’s convention space
The Encore resort-casino on the Las Vegas Strip will double as a COVID-19 vaccination center starting January 18, owner and operator Wynn Resorts announced in a press release Thursday.
The Encore Las Vegas’s convention space will host a University Medical Center of Southern Nevada (UMCSN) vaccination center with the daily capacity to administer hundreds of vaccinations, initially on a Monday to Friday basis.
Matt Maddox, CEO of Wynn Resorts, said in an official release that the operator offered the Strip resort-casino “to help facilitate vaccine distribution as quickly and efficiently as possible throughout the Las Vegas Valley.”
critical step in our state’s economic and health recovery”
Maddox added that the new venture with the UMCSN follows a previous partnership in April 2020, when Wynn Resorts employees received on-site COVID-19 testing. The success of that agreement led Maddox to express that Wynn Resorts was looking forward “to hosting this critical step in our state’s economic and health recovery.”
Nevada extends pandemic restrictions
On January 11, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak announced that current COVID-19 restrictions would remain in place in the Silver State for another 30 days. The decision follows the state’s high coronavirus infection rate in recent weeks.
Gov. Sisolak also unveiled a new strategy that involves vaccinating essential workers in key economic sectors, such as casino employees.
The Wynn news release stated that eligible Nevada residents can receive vaccinations at the Encore, besides health care workers, first responders, and people aged 70 and above. UMC CEO Mason Van Houweling said the new vaccination center would “serve as a valuable asset to our community.”
Pandemic battles across the Pond
Across the Atlantic Ocean in England, the gambling industry is also rallying to the COVID-19 vaccination cause. On January 10, sportsbook Paddy Power volunteered hundreds of its betting shops to the National Health Service (NHS) for use as vaccination stations.
Paddy Power volunteered hundreds of its betting shops to the National Health Service
The Flutter Entertainment-owned gambling operator offered over 350 of its retail shops to the national health body. It also called on thousands of its own employees to lend a hand.
Other big brands to have joined The Sun newspaper’s vaccine acceleration campaign, known as “Jabs Army”, include Sky TV, Hilton Hotels, telecom company BT, and British Airways.