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According to the IRS website, the stimulus payments for my wife and I were being mailed out on the sixth. It also stated that they were sending a letter to us concerning the payment coming by mail. Not sure why there is a need for a letter, but maybe they are trying to provide stimulus to the Postal Service /s. Don't know why this round was not just direct deposited to our bank, since that's what occurred with the $1200 round. No changes on our end but I guess as long as we get them it doesn't really matter.

Things here in Las Vegas are still sputtering along. Station Casinos, which operates numerous neighborhood casinos, has said that it may never reopen at least four of them. That includes the Palms that underwent an expensive makeover not that long ago. The Tropicana has said that it will delay reopening later into the Fall. The Sahara has had to put out several statements to fight rumors that it is closing permanently. Smash Burger closed three of their operations here permanently. Yelp stated that about 20% of restaurants that had been closed temporarily, were now closed permanently. Unemployment stands at 18% compared to 10% nationwide. Casinos that reopened are under the gun to do a better job protecting employees. There are worries starting to surface that the convention business will never fully recover.

The "Executive Order" is overly broad. It won't pass muster If it ends up in court.

John Saxon passed away at the age of 83. His wife stated he passed from pneumonia in his home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. You might remember him from "Enter The Dragon" as well as numerous other movies and TV shows.

"Cai Wei, China's Consul General in Houston, said in an open letter the consulate released on Saturday, noting that no one can stop the bright prospect of China-US cooperation." Yeah, I'm having to wear my "sunglasses at night" because of the bright glare from those prospects! Otherwise it keeps me awake all night.

We had our highest single day total for deaths yesterday, with 28. Vegas area hospitals have added additional beds due to the recent spike in cases. One hospital has restricted visitor access. Casinos are reporting a decline in the number of tourists.

The latest from my brother in Germany. Note that the view of the U.S. response: "We still have to follow a few rules here. We still have to wear masks in public spaces. The infected are under 50 per 100.000 population. The more people are infected, the higher the security measures are. We can move freely. Countries with high infection rates ( also from Amerika ) are not allowed to enter Germany. It can be seen on television that there are up to 60.000 newly infected people in America every day. It is reported that your government is doing little about it. In Germany and Europe, governments react immediately with security measures if the number of infected people increases. Even if there are economic restrictions. A grant fund was set up for this purpose." Meanwhile, here in Las Vegas infections requiring hospitalization are still not beyond what the hospitals can handle. Capacity is slowly eroding due to higher numbers of infection though. Some are expecting a larger spike in cases still to come.

Boyd Gaming has announced that they will lay off about 25% of the employees that were brought back for reopening. Last Friday, bars were required to close until further notice by the governor. It is estimated that 80% of businesses are complying with virus guidelines. Clark County has the highest percentage of new cases in NV, which makes sense since it is the most populous. Some casinos are looking at only taking room reservations for weekends. It will be interesting to see if that comes to pass, and how it works out.

There are stories circulating in the media that some NV casinos are thinking about closing due to increasing virus cases. There has also been speculation that the governor would require their closure. So far, with the increasing numbers, hospitals are at 75% capacity. It remains to be seen how the uptick in visitors over the 4th will affect numbers. Unions are not happy with the casinos and do not feel that their doing enough to keep employees safe. Several businesses closed over the long weekend due to increased virus concerns.

The governor of NV has issued an order requiring everyone to wear masks when going into establishments for business or other purposes. Those with medical conditions that would be adversely affected by the mask are excepted. The other exceptions are while drinking, eating or SMOKING. Yeah, so far people are still able to smoke in casinos, or other establishments where it is allowed. Call me crazy, but it seems to me that one of the prime ways to spread this virus would be by smoking or vaping. Problems with the mask requirement: Those not wearing masks face no personal consequences such as fines. There is no requirement for showing a medical condition if not wearing a mask. Establishments can be fined if patrons are found to not be wearing masks. Establishments are allowed to turn patrons away if they are not wearing a mask.

Cases are on an upward trend here in Clark County, NV. Several restaurants, both in casinos and outside of them, have closed due to new infections. Casino owners are trying various ways of encouraging patrons to wear masks, including paying them $20 to wear one. MGM and Caesars are now requiring all patrons to wear masks, otherwise they will be barred from entry.

I thought about starting a new thread titled "Moronic Interview Statements" for this post but went ahead and put it here. I didn't know that Mr. Moore was a comedian in addition to being an economist. Hopefully he has something else to fall back on because he isn't very good at being a comedian or an economist. From the Hill: Trump ally Stephen Moore thinks the president will ask China to pay reparations over COVID-19Economist Stephen Moore said Sunday that it's likely President Trump will ask China to pay reparations to the United States over the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. “There is hostility right now between these two countries,” Moore, an ally of Trump, said on John Catsimatidis’s Sunday radio show. “I do believe that the Trump Administration will require the Chinese at some point to pay some kind of reparation payments to the United States for not alerting us to the danger of the coronavirus and doing severe damage to our economy.” https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/503761-trump-ally-stephen-moore-thinks-president-will-ask-china-to-pay

A few more casinos are to be opened this coming week. There have been a few virus cases reported at the casinos that are already open. One casino restaurant was closed due to an employee having tested positive. Patrons wearing masks is only at a 25% rate, and that may be a generous estimate. Gaming control is mandating that players at tables, especially those without plexiglass protection for dealers, wear masks. I saw an article about the Gila River Casinos, which were using similar protocols to those in Vegas, closed again due to the virus. While there has only been a slight uptick in virus cases so far, it seems likely that it's just a matter of time for a large increase to occur. While out, I've noticed that more and more people are going around without masks, and that social distancing is starting to lag. I'm still wearing a mask when going into stores. I've noticed a decline in the quality of fruits and vegetables lately. One store was actually selling potatoes that were green, while another had what looked to be rather old ones. The governor here said that schools could open beginning immediately as of his announcement. That's been two weeks ago, but no schools have opened, or announced their schedule to reopen so far. I am keeping the Southern NV economy going all on my own. Our refrigerator/freezer died on the 5th, and I had to buy a new one. Ordered it online, took almost a week for it to be delivered. Had to make major purchases of ice to keep the meat frozen, and refrigerator cold. That worked, so we only lost a little bit of food to spoilage. This past Monday I traded in my Prius C, and bought a 2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid. I then had several lights burn out, so I had to go buy some new bulbs to replace them. I've also had to replace batteries for a cell phone and a computer. So if the next set of statistics shows the economy picking up, you know who is responsible.

Charles Koch has expressed his opinion against any restrictions, as has the Chamber of Commerce, and other conservative business groups. Makes for an interesting dichotomy to say the least.

Some of the casinos opened yesterday. According to news reports there were a lot of people who showed up for the openings. The few pictures that I've looked at didn't indicate that was the case. But I guess you had to be there to know the truth. There was a couple who drove to Vegas from Atlanta, GA just for the reopening. And of course there were the one way ticket holders from 20 different cities. Reports said that less than half of the visitors wore masks. I've noticed an increase in traffic recently, corresponding with things opening back up. There have also been some businesses that have said they will not be reopening ever. At least two have closed within a mile of where I live, and already had their signs removed. I suspect that there will be a 5% failure rate, or higher, as things try to get back to normal. There are actually a lot of properties for lease that have been that way since the 2008 recession. Despite all the vacant properties, they keep building new ones. A new housing bubble is also getting much bigger and will probably go bust end of this year, or next. No ones learned their lesson.

I'm putting this article here, since it is China's response to the U.S. change to Hong Kong special status. Feel free to move it. https://thehill.com/policy/finance/trade/500464-china-halts-state-purchases-of-us-soybeans-pork-report China halts purchases of US soybeans, pork: report"China has reportedly told state-owned firms to stop buying U.S. soybeans and pork, a move that would break a key provision of the phase one trade deal between the world's two largest economies. Reuters reported on Monday, citing two unnamed sources, that the order from Beijing also applies to corn and cotton. According to the newswire, China is retaliating against President Trump for announcing he would strip Hong Kong of its special status."

So a casino owner here gave away 1700 free flights to Las Vegas from 20 different cities. The flights were all taken within a matter of hours. You were not required to book a room with that particular casino in order to get a flight. The only hitch? The flights were one way. Seems a little ominous to me, considering the corona virus. Lyrics from "Hotel California" come to mind: "Relax, " said the night man, "We are programmed to receive. You can check-out any time you like, But you can never leave! "

"The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong." What does that even mean? How do we stand with them, and what can we actually do for them? Don't mean to be negative, but I don't see a way forward for us, them, and China with the current people in charge on any side. Maybe instead of standing up, everyone should just take a seat.

Poker rooms, buffets and events/shows closed till later in the summer, if things go well. A couple of casinos are removing some banks of slot machines and installing sanitizing areas, whatever that entails. One casino said it was going to install, if I remember right, infrared scanners at some entrances to scan customers as they enter. The idea being that they will be able to check for elevated body temperatures and identify possible virus carriers. I applaud their ingenuity, but don't see how this would work very well. It's supposed to be 105 degrees or higher by Thursday of this week, so it would seem everyone coming off the street will show elevated body temps. They will be handing out masks to anyone who doesn't have one when they enter. Looks like only hardcore gamblers would be the ones to come back under these circumstances. Clark County still has a low count for virus cases, 8000 (rounded up). Considering there are over a million people in the County, that's good. It remains to be seen what effect opening things back up will have.

I was wondering about a second wave. However, after reading about some of the things that occurred over the weekend, I'm no longer wondering. Looks to me like the first wave, with some minor ups and downs, will roll pretty much continuously till it burns itself out in late fall. My wife is being very cautious. She has only gone to the market once in the last two months. I shop for fresh fruits and vegetables weekly. We do still walk early mornings in the park. She gets pretty antsy if we encounter anyone during the walk. Lately we have only encountered one other person out walking at 4 a.m.

So it was a no go for the casinos to open this weekend. Reports say that the governor will now give the go ahead for June 4th. At this point I will believe it when I see it.

Yes, there is a "Chinatown" area in Las Vegas. There has been some new construction over the past 1.5 years with a new mall type area being part of it. There is the older Chinatown Plaza as well. There is a fairly large Asian population and many restaurants, grocery stores, traditional medicine stores and other shops. My stepdaughter works at the "Great Wall Chinese Bookstore" in the Chinatown Plaza. Of course the casinos get quite a lot of Chinese coming in to gamble. The larger casinos all have decorations and celebrations during Chinese New Year. There are over 200,000 people of Asian decent in Clark County. You can read more here if you want: https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/asian-americans-fastest-growing-group-in-southern-nevada-1667505/

So some of the casinos apparently did not reopen over the weekend. The article that I originally read was mistaken. They may be opening this coming weekend with the same measures in place though. Apparently they are waiting for the blessing of the Governor and had thought that it would come end of last week. Good thing the bookies were not taking bets. I have seen conflicting reports concerning spikes of corona-virus in areas that are reopening here in the U.S. Continuing misinformation will surely make the situation worse.

Ok, so it seems to be getting worse: https://www.aol.com/article/news/2020/05/18/us-mulls-paying-companies-tax-breaks-to-pull-supply-chains-from-china/24344325/ U.S. mulls paying companies, tax breaks to pull supply chains from China Andrea Shalal and Alexandra Alper and Patricia ZengerleMay 18th 2020 8:06AMWASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers and officials are crafting proposals to push American companies to move operations or key suppliers out of China that include tax breaks, new rules, and carefully structured subsidies. Interviews with a dozen current and former government officials, industry executives and members of Congress show widespread discussions underway - including the idea of a "reshoring fund" originally stocked with $25 billion - to encourage U.S. companies to drastically revamp their relationship with China. Looks like my tax dollars will be hard at work, because these companies really need my money for this to work. Sure they do.

The latest from my brother in Germany: "In Germany we can meet with relatives again from May 18th. A Mask is required when shopping in stores. Cinema, theater and other events are still closed. With high hygiene measures, inns and hotels are also allowed to open. Here the waiters have to wear masks and gloves. The tables must be 2 m apart. Each guest must provide their address for tracking infection. If a city has more than 50 newly infected people per 100.000 inhabitants in a week, there are restrictions again. From June 15th we can travel to different European countries again. Only the countries with few new infections. Arrivals from non-European countries from June 15th must be quarantined for 14 days. Which non-European countries are allowed to enter Germany will not be announced until the end of May. We currently have only a few infected people. Only this number may not be increased, otherwise there are the old restrictions again. People understand the requirements, but are slowly getting the koller at home. We hope that it will be better and more open by the end of August." Beginning today, a number of casinos will start to reopen this weekend here in Las Vegas.Casino employees will wear masks and gloves, and it appears that there will be no buffets at any of them for the time being. Patrons will be required to wear masks and must fill out a form that they do not have the virus, and waive liability against the casino. Slot machine players will be required to practice social distancing, so I assume only a certain number of slots will be active. Likewise they are asking that patrons refrain from being close to each other at the gaming tables. I'm not a fan of the casinos anyways, but this doesn't seem like it would be much fun. It will be interesting to see how this goes. Still not seeing any problems here with meat at the grocery stores. It's plentiful and prices are steady, with no real increase in price. I'm still having problems finding bottles of hand soap though, so I have filled a couple that went empty with dish soap. Barbershops and hair salons are also opening up. Again, patrons are asked to at least wear masks, and some places are taking temperatures.