Covid Laughlin

24 July 2021

By Jerry Stickman

The Covid-19 pandemic hit the world hard. Virtually no individual or business has been immune to its impact. Now that the country is starting to open up a bit, I thought I would take a tour of some casino destinations and report my observations.

This is the third in a series of articles on the current state of casinos. It presents my observations while visiting Laughlin, NV in mid-April 2021.

This was a one-day trip, so not much time was spent in any one casino. All Laughlin casinos were open.

All of the casinos required coverings over the nose and mouth. A security guard at each entrance made sure the face coverings were properly worn.

There were very few people in any casino, probably because it was a Thursday morning.

As has been the case when times were good, the vast majority of players were at slot machines. There were a few video poker players at all locations. Table games appeared to be open in every casino, though several tables had no players.

Like the casinos visited previously, social distancing measures varied from casino to casino. Some casinos shut down every other slot machine to keep players separated. Others did not. Some casinos put plastic dividers between slot or video poker machines if all machines were inactivated. Others did not.

Some casinos put dividers between table game players. Some put up no dividers at all on the table games.

Some of the casinos with video poker games at the bars disabled every other machine. Others put up plastic barriers between each game. Still others had everything operating with no barriers.

None of the casinos had buffets. Most just closed the buffet and let the other food outlets supply the food.

One activity I did try was the jet-boat tour to Lake Havasu and the London Bridge. Apparently, this is a popular activity as the boat was sold out. Luckily, I bought tickets online prior to arrival.

The weather was absolutely perfect – sunny, not too hot and not too cool. The trip on the Colorado River from Laughlin to Lake Havasu is two hours. There was a two-hour layover by the Bridge and then a two-hour trip back to Laughlin. It was a great trip. If you ever find yourself in Laughlin, consider taking the tour.

An unexpected treat, Arizona does not have a mask requirement. Since the Colorado river is Arizona’s western border for the entire trip, we did not need to wear masks while traveling. Since Lake Havasu in in Arizona, we didn’t have to wear masks there either – unless required by the business.

I visited several shops, bars and eateries and I saw only one souvenir shop that required wearing a mask.

Wearing a mask is a major inconvenience to me. What a liberating feeling spending six hours in public without wearing a mask. It actually angered me a bit when I once again had to wear one upon our return to Laughlin.

Laughlin has never been terribly busy any time we visited there. It is slower now. However, things seem to be getting better. We all certainly look forward to the end of governmental restrictions and a return to some semblance of normalcy.

Time will tell when and how much things will change for the better.

As always, may all your wins be swift and large, and your losses be slow and
small.

Jerry “Stickman”


Jerry “Stickman” is an expert in craps, blackjack and video poker and advantage slot
machine play. He is a regular contributor to top gaming magazines. He authored the
video poker section of "Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas
Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, and Pai Gow Poker!" You can contact Jerry “Stickman” at
stickmanjerryg@gmail.com