Layoffs at Las Vegas Strip properties continue

Layoffs across the Las Vegas Strip’s properties continue, and one Strip restaurant is re-closing.

Casino Royale indicated it was laying off 98 employees, half of whom were dealers, as of Aug. 10, according to a notice made public Friday. The notice is dated Aug. 10 and was filed under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which is meant to ensure employees have notice before significant layoffs so they have time to find work elsewhere.

Casino Royale’s layoffs are “a continuation of the mass layoff on May 27, 2020,” the notice said. They follow a pattern of valley hotels and resorts laying off or furloughing employees as fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and related statewide shutdown.

Additionally, Searsucker, a restaurant inside Caesars Palace, announced Tuesday on social media it was closing until further notice because of “the resulting economic impacts” of slowed business, reduced capacity and directives from public officials.

A notice from Hakkasan Group dated Tuesday and filed with the state echoed the economic impact of the pandemic and said 52 employees were to be laid off from Searsucker on Friday. Among the people out of a job were bartenders, cooks, servers and dishwashers, according to the notice.

“We are committed to reopening Searsucker when the various government agencies restrictions are reduced and business levels return,” the restaurant tweeted Tuesday.

Representatives for Hakkasan Group, Casino Royale and Caesars Entertainment Inc. did not return a request for comment.

The notices come as Las Vegas’ tourism industry faces a potentially long road to recovery.

Tourists spent $34.5 billion in Southern Nevada in 2018, directly supporting more than 234,000 tourism jobs, according to a report by local consulting firm Applied Analysis for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

But tourism is nowhere near pre-pandemic levels, with the LVCVA reporting earlier this month 1.065 million people visited Las Vegas in June, a 70.5 percent decline from June 2019.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.