Layoffs confirmed at Beau as Coast casinos deal with blow from coronavirus outbreak
This month was supposed to be prime time at Coast casinos, with the resort hotels, restaurants and sportsbooks packed for March Madness.
Instead, concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus have customers canceling their reservations and casinos starting to notify their employees of layoffs and possible closures.
On Saturday, media outlets published a copy of the email letter MGM Resorts International President and COO Bill Hornbuckle sent to all employees. MGM is the parent company of Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi.
The letter said furloughs and layoffs would begin this week. It also said all MGM properties are suspending operations at day clubs, night clubs, spas, salons and fitness centers, and 150 food and beverage outlets will close on a rolling basis.
The Beau Rivage confirmed some layoffs had already begun, and more updates would be announced Monday.
MGM also said Sunday it would close all its Las Vegas casinos on Monday. Louisiana announced Monday its casinos would close for two weeks. As of Monday morning, 13 states had all or some of the casinos closed, according to CDC Gaming Reports.
Those who work at the casinos say extended layoffs leave many of their co-workers wondering how they are going to make it through.
The Sun Herald spoke to several casino staff members, who asked not to be identified because they don’t want to jeopardize a return to their jobs once the coronavirus pandemic passes. They also want the public to know what’s happening, they said.
At the Beau Rivage, the cooks and wait staff were among those notified they would be laid off.
“You didn’t see the faces of the employees that just got laid off. They live paycheck to paycheck,” said one of the staff members at the Beau Rivage. “You just rocked somebody’s world for three weeks.”
Other Coast casinos
Scarlet Pearl Casino CEO LouAnn Pappas told employees on Facebook, “We want to put your mind at ease regarding your compensation in the event that we are mandated to close.”
If the Gaming Commission calls for a mandatory shutdown, she said Scarlet Pearl will continue to pay employees’ salaries, wages, reported tips (as reported to the IRS), medical benefits and 401K match.
If only certain departments are closed, those employees will be compensated, she said.
“Currently, any team members with compromised immune systems should refrain from coming to work,” Pappas said. “Like above, you will receive full compensation and benefits.”
Several Coast casinos have a coronavirus page on their websites, and are directing employees to stay home if they are sick.
Penn National Gaming, parent company of Boomtown Biloxi and Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast, has closed casinos in states where the casino regulators directed the closings. In a press release announcing closings in Pennsylvania, Penn National said the company plans to continue to pay employee wages and benefits through the end of March.
Palace Casino employees will be paid during this time, the casino announced, and their medical benefits will remain intact.
Sports betting on what?
Until last week, working in sports betting was a well-paying, coveted job at the Coast casinos. Then all the professional sports leagues and college teams suspended or postponed their seasons. March Madness was canceled.
With no sports teams to bet on, the sportsbooks at the local casinos looked like ghost towns, employees said.
“Our department was the first one to close down,” said a staff member at the Beau Rivage sportsbook.
Employees there were told they can use personal time off to get a paycheck or file for unemployment, they said.
“I was expecting them to say we (the casinos) were closing,” one employee said. They weren’t expecting to be laid off, they said.
The Beau Rivage will continue to pay their health insurance, according to the letter they received. The staff is on call to come back to work should the situation change.
For unionized employees, one employee said the union is speaking with MGM corporate and working with state officials to hopefully get unemployment benefits based on an employee’s wages with tips included and not just on their base salary.
How bad is it?
“Co-workers are saying they don’t know how they will pay their bills,” one casino employee said. Some are pregnant. Others are single parents and don’t have a “significant other” who is still working, they said.
The number of customers is way down, they said.
As recently as the first weekend in March, the hotel at the Beau Rivage was full. “We were at an occupancy of 99%,” one employee said.
Then President Donald Trump declared a national emergency and Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state emergency after the first cases of coronavirus were announced in Mississippi.
By Saturday, hotel occupancy dropped to about 50%, an employee said.
Employees watching out
“I’m not afraid,” one employee said of the risk of getting coronavirus. “I wash my hands all the time.” But others are concerned about the risk of working with the public, the person said.
Beau Rivage has an employee fund that staff members contribute to, and it is available to help other employees who have a fire or other personal emergency.
“Our Employee Fund is the best thing that any casino can have,” an employee said.
With so many staff members who could be affected by the coronavirus for an unknown amount of time, they won’t rely solely on that fund, a Beau Rivage employee said.
“We’re a tight-knit family. If we see somebody else struggling, we’re going to help them out no matter what,” they said.
Are you a Coast employee affected by the coronavirus pandemic? Email Mary Perez at meperez@sunherald.com or message us on Facebook.
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 1:31 PM.
