For those not going to the Super Bowl in Los Angeles this weekend, the second best place to watch the game might now be Las Vegas.
Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, lifted the Nevada’s indoor mask mandate on Thursday citing “a rapid decline in case numbers, coupled with declining hospitalizations, a drop in #COVID19 detected in wastewater, a broader availability of testing, and an increase in available treatments.
“I’m hopeful and confident,” he continued, “based on the data we have, we are in a good positions to drop this and to give people back some freedom. Everyone wants to get back to their normal life … I mean, its been two years. I think the time has come.”
One hour later, the Nevada Gaming Control Board followed suit, allowing all casinos and most other businesses in the state to remove such requirements.
Industry Notice 2022-11: Emergency Directive 052 (update on mask mandate): pic.twitter.com/dE8StBDGeG
— Nevada Gaming Control Board (@NevadaGCB) February 10, 2022
The moves come just 72 hours before Sunday’s Super Bowl, with total legal betting dollars already pegged to be 78% vs. last year to $7.6 billion. And that was before the Governor’s announcement.
A cursory survey of the web sites and social media accounts of some of the bigger casinos in Vegas did not turn up any demasking announcements — not yet anyway.