A Las Vegas casino resort is showing its thanks to locals who have persevered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Cosmopolitan earlier this month began accepting nominations for its heroes giveaway promotion, which will provide 11 people with complimentary stays at the Strip resort, along with other prizes.
Ten winners will receive a two-night stay in a Cosmo wrap-around suite and a complimentary dinner for two — total value of about $1,600. One person will win a multiday visit at a Cosmo penthouse suite with 24-hour butler service and a personal photographer.
The grand prize, which also includes a helicopter tour of the Strip, is valued at over $50,000. All winners will be chosen by a committee put together by the Cosmo.
Any local front-line worker, medical personnel or individual hero who has provided a “shining example of what it means to be Vegas Strong through the COVID-19 crisis” can be nominated, according to Cosmo officials.
The resort will accept nominations through the end of the month, and the winners will be notified in April.
As of last week, nearly 400 nominations had been received.
“We thought it would be appropriate to recognize some of the individuals who have been on the front lines during the pandemic,” said Daniel Espino, chief people officer for the Cosmo’s human resources department. “We started to brainstorm about how we could do that, and this program is what we came up with. Quite honestly, anyone can be nominated who did something above and beyond during this pandemic.”
Espino said he wasn’t sure how many nominations would come in, but resort officials have been “thrilled” with the response to the program.
Giving back has been important to the resort’s leadership, Espino said.
In 2019, the Cosmo, which opened about 10 years ago, was the first Strip resort to implement the Everi Cares Giving Module, a program for casino guests to donate spare change from slot vouchers to charities, including Opportunity Village and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Las Vegas.
Each quarter, the Cosmo, which has 3,000 rooms, matches the first $10,000 donated to the rotating list of charities. Through the end of 2020, about $115,000 has been donated.
During the fourth quarter of 2020, $24,000 went out, according to Cosmo officials.
Espino said the resort has seen an increase in donations from gamblers since the Cosmo reopened in June after the shutdown of more than two months.
In a news release marking the property’s 10-year anniversary last month, William McBeath, president and CEO of the Cosmo, likened business conditions during the pandemic to what was seen in Las Vegas during the Great Recession a decade ago.
Though resorts have had to weather “yet another hardship,” the Las Vegas community is “strong and resilient,” McBeath said.
Still, Espino said the Cosmo’s leadership are excited about the future of the Strip, especially in the wake of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s announcement earlier this month to raise casino occupancy limits.
Sisolak raised capacity from 25% to to 35% on Feb. 15.
“We’ve had some trying times,” Espino said. “As an organization, we are waiting for the vaccine to be available to the gaming industry so we can offer it to our employees. We can’t wait to welcome everyone who wants to come back to Las Vegas.”
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Nominations can be submitted here.