MGM and Sands casinos shut down over Coronavirus fear

Seems like the travel and tourism industry is going through a rough time these days, thanks to coronavirus outbreak. Nearly all the 41 casinos in Macau, which is considered the busiest gambling town in the world, have shut down till further notice. The town, being a partner and competitor with Las Vegas, is home to myriad US run resorts and casinos, which includes the MGM and Sands.

All these things have bought the Chinese territory and economy down to its knees, and has caused devastating losses for the tourism industry overall. This is the second time that the casinos had been shut suffering great loss. In the year 2018, casinos were closed for a day when Macau was hit by a typhoon.
Almost 80 percent of revenue in the town of 631,000 comes from gambling. Full of glitz and glamour, Macau is one such gambling town in China that draws tourists from across the globe.

Coronavirus has created enough damage already to the country. From claiming hundreds of lives and disturbing the country’s economy, the virus simply doesn’t seem to stop. During the very famous Chinese Lunar New Year Holidays, Macau had to suffer 80 percent loss (tourism business).
With casinos too closing down, the loss is now expected to go down to 100 percent until the re-opening of casinos. The matter became huge after two casino workers fell sick with the virus a few days back.

“This is a difficult decision but we have to do it, for the health of our Macau residents,” informed Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng.

He also mentioned that he would meet gaming industry representatives soon and announce precise timings of reopening. Till then he has asked people to stay indoors.