Nevada: Colorado Belle to remain closed after casinos are allowed to reopen

Golden Entertainment, operator of the Colorado Belle hotel and casino in Laughlin has announced that it will remain closed after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and that it will extend layoffs for about 400 employees.

"The significant economic impact from the governor’s ordered closure of our industry and the continued uncertainty of when we will be allowed to fully resume operations has caused us to make the difficult decision to extend layoffs indefinitely," Golden Entertainment President Charles Protell said in a statement on Monday.

Employee health care benefits would also end May 31, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Employees were first laid off on April 3.

Some employees would be given the option to transfer to either two other Laughlin properties or other operations in Las Vegas or Pahrump, company officials said.

"Once we are allowed to open our other Nevada properties, we will have a better sense of the open positions available across the company," Protell said. "We see this as our only recourse to mitigate ongoing expenses and anticipated reduced business levels while facing competitive pressures from neighboring states allowing their casinos to reopen."

The Colorado Belle originally opened in 1987, officials said. It looks like a six-deck 19th century Mississippi River riverboat and has about 1,200 hotel rooms, 750 slot machines, 16 table games, a microbrewery and restaurant.

Protell said Golden Entertainment does not have plans to sell the hotel and casino.

"Future plans for the Colorado Belle will be highly dependent on the business volume at our other Laughlin properties and the Laughlin market in general," he said.