Cosmopolitan Latest Strip Casino to Add More Security Measures
The Cosmopolitan Resort is the latest casino on the Las Vegas Strip to add security as violence continues.
As violence continues to take place along the Las Vegas Strip, casinos are taking action to ensure their guests are safe. The Cosmopolitan is the latest casino located on the Strip to add more security measures in an effort to stop any violent incidents from occurring. Over the past few weeks, violence has escalated as visitors are fighting amongst each other with several shootings resulting in injury and even death.
Latest Acts of Violence
On Saturday, another incident took place on the Strip. A group of people attacked an individual, who ended up in the hospital due to non-life-threatening injuries. The incident took place near the Mirage and Venetian. As of late Saturday, no suspects had been arrested in the case.
Due to this incident as well as other violent crimes, the Cosmopolitan hotel and casino will be making security changes. They will limit entry to those who have a hotel or restaurant reservation, as well as players who are reward members.
The restrictions for entry will only be in place on Friday and Saturday, from 6pm until 6am. Guests entering during these two days each week will be scanned via wand. Bags will also be checked. The casino will have officers from the local police department at the doors as patrons enter and leave for added security.
Shootings from Summer into Fall
In the summer and into the fall season, police have responded to several shootings as well as assaults on the Strip. To try and combat the activity, the city-county police department of the area has increased patrols in the areas with more tourism. They are calling this effort Operational Persistent Pressure.
With an increased presence, the police are hoping that anyone with ill intent will decide not to act out for fear of going to jail. Captain Dori Koren spoke with a local news station about the elevated crime and said that the police are noticing an increase in gang members from other states. There has been an increase in robberies as well as shootings and stabbings and these have involved people from out of state.
The sheriff over the department, Joe Lombardo, has spoken about the incidents as well. He says that drugs and alcohol might play a role in the increase in assaults.
The issue has been ongoing and casinos are worried that the recent press is bad for business as well as unsafe for guests and employees. The Encore and Wynn Las Vegas, both located on the Strip and operated by Wynn Resorts, have stepped up their security measures as well in response to the activity.
For Wynn, they have added new security measures that include additional guards at both properties plus enlisting the help of a K-9 team. During the weekends, guests are scanned for metal objects and all handbags are checked. The goal is to find any weapons.
Casinos are worried that the shootings and assaults will stop people from visiting. The casinos just reopened in June after being shut down since March because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The venues lost a great deal of revenues and are only able to operate now at a lower capacity. It will take some time to build up business again and these violent incidents are not helping.
If such incidents continue, the region may start to see a monetary effect as tourists are afraid to travel to Las Vegas not only due to the deadly virus but also due to the increase in criminal activity. It seems almost every weekend, a new story is reported where a patron is hurt due to being beat up or shot. The increase in crime is certainly hurting business and will hopefully be stopped by law enforcement.
