Big casino hotel and restaurant strike averted
Hours before union workers were scheduled to walk off the job and leave Las Vegas casinos scrambling, a strike has been averted. The culinary and bartender unions have struck a 5-year deal with the Golden Gate and will not be picketing the property as they had planned.
The deal comes on the heels of deals with four other downtown Las Vegas properties, including Binion’s, Plaza, Four Queens, and Las Vegas Club. If the strike had not been averted, hundreds of restaurant workers, cocktail servers, hotel housekeepers, bartenders, and other service industry professionals would have walked off the job to strike.
If a strike had gone through, it’s fair to say that those properties would have taken a massive hit. Patrons wouldn’t travel to those hotels to play, and hotel rooms would have likely remained empty given the fact that no one wants to sleep in filthy rooms.
Restaurants would have suffered too as a good chunk of those who would have gone on strike are food and beverage service professionals. Had there been a strike, we don’t think it would have lasted. The last strike back in 2002 lasted just nine days and included hotel workers at the Golden Nugget.
The new deal is for five years, which means we could find ourselves facing another strike situation in 2019. But we’re not so sure we’d even get to an 11th hour scenario like we did this week.
Competition for business in Las Vegas is already hot. If a few properties go on strike, the other casinos in the area will reap the benefits. We aren’t talking about a 1-casino town (or a 2-casino town) like Niagara Falls where your only option is to cross the border to play on the US side (and if you didn’t bring your passport, you’re out of luck). The truth is if there were a strike there, people would still come to the casino because that’s the only option.
But today in Las Vegas, you’ve got tons of choice. And competition five years from now will be even hotter with more properties being erected on the strip, plus even more states legalizing casinos in their state, giving locals less reason to hop on a plane and travel to Sin City.
Of course, if a strike does go down, you could always play at home at sites like Palace of Chance. Our casino is open 24/7 and our customer service agents, VIP team, and everyone else who works hard to please you will never strike.
