Nevada Regulator Finds Minor Compliance Issues at Grand Sierra

The Nevada Gaming Control Board filed a disciplinary action on Friday last week against the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno. According to the disciplinary action, the operator allegedly breached post-COVID-19 health and safety guidelines.

Nevada’s Gaming Regulator Files a Complaint against Grand Sierra Resort

The Nevada gaming regulator issued disciplinary action against the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno reported yesterday the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The disciplinary action is a result of alleged breaching of the Nevada’s post-COVID-19 health and safety guidelines. The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) filed the complaint last week Friday. According to the complaint, on three different dates, agents of the regulator observed alleged breaches of health and safety protocols at the hotel-casino.

It all began on June 19 when an agent of the Board spotted two casino visitors located at different tables playing without wearing the mandatory face masks. On that occasion allegedly the situation wasn’t resolved by the casino staff. Another breach was observed by an agent who visited the premises on July 2. The regulator’s agent has seen some 40 visitors around the resort that did not wear masks or wore masks not in a proper way. On this count, the agent hasn’t seen Grand Sierra employees attempting to resolve the matter.

The complaint also outlined an observation from a Board agent who visited on the resort on July 31 and observed:

• a resort promoter communicating with visitors without a mask
• a line of some 50 guests waiting for an elevator ride not following the necessary social distancing
• at least 34 guests who did not wear masks or did not wear it properly; even though Grand Sierra employees attempted to resolve this situation, they allegedly failed

The Disciplinary Actions by Nevada’s Gaming Control Board

Back in June, Nevada’s regulator announced possible disciplinary actions for operators who do not follow the post-COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Although the state shifted its phased reopening plan with a new approach, masks remained mandatory as per the order by Governor Steve Sisolak.

In a statement, Grand Sierra Resort commented on the subject: “We take our duties as a licensed gaming operator very seriously and work continuously to adhere to the health and safety standards set forth by the governor and Nevada Gaming Commission.” Furthermore, the company stressed that upon the filing of the regulator’s complaint it “acknowledged and immediately corrected conditions related to state-mandated mask wearing requirements and social distancing protocols inside the resort.“

Back in July, the regulator said that there were 156 ongoing investigations for alleged breaches of health and safety protocols. Those investigations were the result of more than 10,000 inspections conducted by agents, the regulator said.

By now, there are a total of six complaints filed by the NGCB for breaches in health and safety policies. Small Nevada businesses have seen four of the raised complaints. On the other hand, the fifth complaint was raised against the Sahara Las Vegas Casino last week. This makes the recent complaint against Grand Sierra the sixth in line so far. Here, we cannot miss to say that the Meruelo Group operates both Sahara and Grand Sierra.