In this week’s gambling news, there are a few Las Vegas casinos being allowed to open at full capacity on the Strip… with no Coronavirus restrictions or social distancing! But Nevada is not the only state ready to get back to normal. Other states are ready to throw open the doors to their casinos as well. Plus, online gambling may soon be expanding in a big way!

Hello all my friends out there! And thank you so much for taking the time to stream another edition of This Week in Gambling! And happy belated Mother’s Day to everyone.! This week we have news stories from Pennsylvania all the way to Nevada… and that’s where we’ll start with this week’s big story!

Several weeks ago I told you all that the Governor of Nevada had announced plans to have every casino in his state open at full capacity no later than June 1st… provided, of course, that at least 60% of casino employees had received their Coronavirus vaccination. And as of now, things look like they are right on schedule.

We’re not even halfway through the month of May and already several Las Vegas casinos have either met or exceeded that 60% vaccination threshold. In fact, three of them all on the Vegas Strip have already been given the green light to open up at full capacity: The Encore, The Wynn, and the Cosmopolitan are now all 100% open! And even though each property can decide for themselves, they are allowed to remove any social distancing barriers they choose to… except, of course, for the whole face mask thing.

And Nevada isn’t the only state planning on having their casinos operating at full capacity by June 1st. In fact, Pennsylvania has already given the green light for casinos in their state to open up at 100% by Memorial Day, with most social distancing barriers also removed… except of course for the face mask thing!

And if all this Las Vegas casinos news isn’t exciting enough for you, it looks like Nevada may be considering expanding their online gambling! And if they do, you won’t have to wear one of those stupid face mask things! From time to time I do get asked why the state of Nevada has no online casino games. It does seem odd, as most people associate the state with gambling. And Las Vegas and Reno are almost synonymous with the topic.

However, after a meeting this week, all that may be about to change. The Nevada Gaming Control Board is set to meet and discuss the possibility of expanding internet betting in the state beyond just poker and sports betting which are currently allowed. This move comes amidst falling profits for Nevada. So if online gambling should pass, it would be just one more unforeseen consequence of the pandemic.

And speaking of online gambling, we have a brand new game review to share with you this week for the Wild Rails online slot, a 30 payline game from our friends at Play’n Go. This unique slot delivers the action on trains that slide across the rails, plus there are bonus spins, a bonus round, and both wild and scatter symbols! You can find this game review and hundreds more when you visit our YouTube channel!