Las Vegas Media Outlet Encourages Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak to Drop Mask Mandate

Posted on: January 31, 2022, 12:20h. 

Last updated on: February 1, 2022, 10:09h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal believes it’s time to end the wearing of face masks inside public spaces.

Las Vegas Review-Journal Sisolak mask Nevada mandate
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak is photographed in 2020 wearing an NHL Golden Knights facemask featuring the team’s Chance mascot. The Las Vegas Review-Journal feels it’s time for the Governor to end his mask mandate. (Image: AP)

An op-ed from the media outlet’s editorial board over the weekend encouraged Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak (D) to lift the ongoing emergency command. The RJ is the largest daily newspaper in Nevada.

“Most of Nevada has been under a mask mandate in public indoor settings since late July when Gov. Sisolak coupled his order with a Centers for Disease Control guideline on community pervasiveness of the virus. Six months later, state officials have offered little evidence that the edict has led to fewer infections,” the op-ed states.

We have entered a new stage in this pandemic, whether some politicians want to admit it or not. Vaccines are widely available and highly effective in terms of limiting extreme cases,” the opinion piece continues. “The holidays have passed and the surge is waning.

“Those who prefer to wear face coverings should certainly be free to do so. Likewise, employers should enjoy the autonomy to make decisions about whether workers or customers must mask up. But it’s time for Gov. Sisolak to rescind his one-size-fits-all order and to trust Nevadans to make their own risk assessments about face coverings,” the piece concludes.

Mask Enforcement

Anyone who has recently stepped foot in a Nevada casino is aware that the mask rule isn’t being overly enforced. Masks are frequently worn improperly or not at all, as many guests opt to purposely not adhere to the health decree.

Enforcement has been light,” says Casino.org’s Las Vegas insider Scott Roeben, who runs the ever-popular VitalVegas Twitter account.

“I was told by a high-ranking official that no fines have been issued in some time,” Roeben added regarding the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s ability to levy financial penalties on casinos found uncompliant with Sisolak’s mask directive.

Political Motives

The family of the late Las Vegas Sands billionaire Sheldon Adelson acquired the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2015. Through a subsidiary called News + Media Capital Group, LLC, the Adelsons continue to maintain ownership of the publication.

The late patriarch and casino magnate was a robust supporter of the Republican Party during his lifetime, which ended in early 2021 after a battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. While the family has publicly stated that it maintains distance from the RJ newsroom, the paper’s op-ed calling on the Democrat Sisolak to ease COVID-19 restrictions, specifically the mask mandate, follows a right-leaning trend.

Most of the larger US daily news giants endorsed Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential election. The Las Vegas Sun backed the former VP for the presidency, as did USA Today, The New York Times, and Los Angeles Times.

But the RJ went with Donald Trump, one of the few notable papers to support a second term for the controversial former casino tycoon.

“For all his flaws, Donald J. Trump stands in forceful contrast to the relentless progressive attacks on this nation that deny and minimize the advances we have made over the decades to better reflect and honor our founding ideals,” the RJ’s 2020 Trump endorsement read.