![]() ![]() Ruffin believes that Las Vegas Mayor Caroline Goodman, who has called the stay-at-home order “total insanity,” has the right idea when she says the Strip needs to open up. ![]() While Ruffin believes that Governor Sisolak did the right thing by closing the Strip at first, he says staying closed much longer will do more damage to the socioeconomic fabric of the city. Still, he is eager to turn his “cash machine” back on. NEW FRONTIER: Ruffin touted his partnership with Trump at his first hotel in in Las Vegas. ![]() We have plenty of cash-I could go 20 years, maybe.” If you don’t need the money, don’t take it. “We have zero income coming in and a lot of expenses, but we don’t plan on taking any loans,” he says. When asked if he would take a Paycheck Protection Program loan through the government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), he dismisses it outright: “That’s not just no, that’s hell no. Ruffin says his empire is “fine” because he can afford to burn cash longer than most competitors. Macquarie analyst Chad Beynon, who wrote the report, believes most gaming companies have strong enough balance sheets to survive the lockdown, but it’s a question of how long the Strip remains closed. With no revenue, MGM has enough cash to last about 9 months, while Red Rock can survive almost 14 months before running out of cash. Red Rock Resorts, which is owned by billionaire brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, announced it would pay the salaries of employees during the casino closure. MGM’s executives, including its acting CEO, Bill Hornbuckle, donated money to its emergency grant program to help furloughed employees pay rent and buy food. “So if there’s any substance to the fact that sun kills the virus, we’ll have a hell of a lot of sun.” “In July, the weather will be 115 degrees,” Ruffin says of Las Vegas. Ruffin, whose Casino Miami in Florida is also shuttered, claims he’s only losing about $6 million to $8 million a month on each property. According to a report written by Macquarie Insights, MGM, the biggest Las Vegas operator with 80,000 employees around the globe-whose properties include the Bellagio and New York, New York-is losing a staggering $14.4 million per day, while smaller operator Red Rock Resorts is losing $1.7 million a day. “Do you understand that? We were mandated-we didn’t have any choice. “We were mandated to close,” Ruffin says sternly. Now the number of people filing for unemployment across the state is a record high of 17% while the total unemployment rate might be as high as 25% in Las Vegas. The local economy-one third of which is tied to tourism and the hospitality industry-was strong before the shutdown. He is also quick to add that Governor Sisolak is to blame for Las Vegas’ misfortune-not casino owners. He also offered that if any employee were to ask for money he would give them a loan at 3% interest. His companies have an estimated war chest of $500 million in cash. Ruffin certainly has the money to cover employee salaries during the lockdown- Forbes estimates that his net worth is $3.2 billion. The government shut us down and our people understand that.” “Our losses are and that’s okay, that’s part of the deal. No one is hurting worse than we are,” he says with a quick laugh. Caesars also is allowing employees to use accumulated paid time off.) “We’re trying to get open as fast as we can. (Both companies gave employees an extra two weeks’ pay during furlough, while Ruffin did not. When asked why he decided not to pay his employees while on furlough-which other billionaire-owned casino companies, including Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands and Red Rock Resorts all pledged-Ruffin says he’s following what the Strip’s largest operators, MGM and Caesars, did. “Hopefully they get a $1,200 check soon,” says Ruffin, referring to the first stimulus check the federal government sent to Americans. ![]()
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