The lights are still on inside Atlantic City casinos.
Five of Atlantic City's nine casinos opened Thursday, with another three expected to start business Friday. The city's best performer, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, put its plans on hold entirely in.
- Atlantic City casino restaurants prepare for Sept. 4 reopening date 9/2/2020. Voters approve police reform measures across the country. McDonald's May Make This Major Menu Announcement.
- ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (June 5, 2020) – In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Resorts Casino Hotel has developed a Play Safe, Work Safe plan to responsibly welcome back guests and team members to the most comfortable, fun, and safe environment. “We want our guests to be able to enjoy the friendly and warm experience that has always been.
- The beaches near Resorts Casino in Atlantic City, 1978. (Press of Atlantic City photo) Atlantic City and a new era of gambling. Atlantic City is in the process of recreating its image. What was once strictly a brick-and-mortar business has now expanded to mobile devices and web browsers. Online gambling apps are a huge part of the evolution.
However, casino operators and state government officials around the country continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of good options for mitigation seems to dwindle with each passing day. New Jersey casinos are by no means an exception to this new rule.
Although Atlantic City properties remain open with restrictions, it’s uncertain how much longer that will be the case. Relevant trends in the Garden State are going in the wrong direction.
The latest on Atlantic City casinos and COVID-19
NJ Gov. Phil Murphy has been upfront with his constituents on a daily basis about the worsening numbers in the state.
NEW JERSEY #COVID19 UPDATE:
➡️4,320 new positive cases
➡️293,744 cumulative total cases
➡️34 new confirmed deaths
➡️14,877 total deaths
The second wave is here. We MUST flatten this curve together. Wear a mask. Social distance. Wash your hands.https://t.co/JW1q8awGh7pic.twitter.com/konGYeQWK8
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) November 19, 2020
On Tuesday, Murphy signed a new executive order that lowered gathering limits for both indoor and outdoor venues. As of Nov. 23, New Jerseyians may only gather in groups of up to 10 indoors. For outdoor gatherings, the limit is 150 people. In both cases, the state expects proper social distancing and wearing of face masks.
As Atlantic City casinos are a significant source of tax revenue for the state and fuel the economy in the area, Murphy naturally had to address their fate. His main position is that data shows the casinos have been acting responsibly throughout the pandemic.
“We believe, based on the evidence that we have, that they’ve been able to responsibly manage their casino floors,” Murphy said during a briefing with other state officials on Wednesday. “Whether it’s through (personal protective equipment), whether it’s through dividers, capacity management, temperature checks, review of symptoms checks with people who go onto the floor, which is happening in all the casinos … there is not any evidence that there is either bad management of the floor or that there is a big outbreak coming from participating on the floor.”
Murphy did not elaborate on what evidence he drew that conclusion from. The most likely candidate is contact tracing for positive cases, which identifies the sources of transmission if done correctly.
The question is whether casinos can maintain their current status if trends continue to worsen. Casino operators seem determined to do all they can to maintain the reputation they have earned.
Casino industry not curtailing business
So far, none of the AC casinos have announced any major plans to further reduce their hours or offerings. A statement from the Casino Association of New Jersey mentions one adjustment, however:
Casino In Atlantic City That Closed
“The Casino Association of New Jersey (CANJ) understands the administration’s concerns, and that is why the industry has taken extraordinary measures to safely welcome back thousands of hardworking employees and valued guests, while also helping to minimize the exposure of Atlantic City casino property guests, our employees and our local community to the COVID-19 virus.
“We will continue to work to give our guests the exciting experience they have come to expect from our first-class properties:
- Casino floor and gaming operations will remain open, uninterrupted, 24/7.
- Indoor dining outlets will remain open, closing between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. ET, effective this Thursday, Nov. 12.
“As we see a rise in cases across New Jersey, we are focused on the health and safety of our employees, guests and fellow residents and will continue to work with AtlantiCare, our regional health care provider, as well as local and state officials, to refine and update our protocols as local and state mandates evolve. We remain dedicated to complying with, or exceeding, local or state-imposed mandates, restrictions and occupancy limits to try to maintain a healthy environment.”
Casino closings in other states
First Casino Opening In Atlantic City
Despite those best efforts, Murphy’s hesitancy to close casinos for a second time this year may soon make him an outlier. Earlier today, Rivers Casino in neighboring Philadelphia closed.
The well-being of our Team Members, guests & the community is our top priority. We will be temporarily closed effective Fri, Nov. 20, to follow @PHLPublicHealth’s order to close public venues. We appreciate your support!
.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. pic.twitter.com/HEPtOdWvXg
— Rivers Casino Philadelphia (@riverscasinophl) November 19, 2020
The City of Philadelphia announced “Safer at Home” restrictions that will be in place through Jan. 1, 2021. The list also includes:
- Indoor dining
- Theaters and museums
- Libraries
- Gyms and indoor exercise classes
For now, Rivers Philadelphia is the only Keystone State casino impacted. The other gaming halls are outside the city limits.
Other states are taking a similar approach. In Michigan, all three Detroit casinos are closed for three weeks. Illinois has ordered casinos within its borders to close, too.
Additionally, Massachusetts has limited hours for its casinos.
As of now, Atlantic City casinos are still open for gambling.
Murphy might take smaller steps, like shutting down indoor dining, before closing AC casinos altogether. If there’s not a marked improvement in COVID-19 numbers soon, he may have few other choices.
© Provided by 12 News New JerseyRestaurants in Atlantic City’s casinos are gearing up to resume indoor dining this Friday.
Casinos were able to reopen at the beginning of July, but without indoor eating or drinking. But now that indoor dining can resume, many employees are heading back to work.
Jacqueline Schiavo has worked in the casino industry for 35 years, currently bartending at the Hard Rock Casino. She says that nothing could have prepared her for what the last six months had in store.
“I worked on March 17 and I’m telling people that they have to leave and it was very eerie, just very scary not knowing when we were going to come back to our job,” she says.
VIRUS TRACKER: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut coronavirus cases and deaths
MORE: LIVE BLOG - Coronavirus updates from the tri-state area and beyondMORE: New Jersey Coronavirus Dashboard FULL COVERAGE: Coronavirus Pandemic
But now Schiavo and thousands of other workers will head back to work. UNITE HERE 54, the union representing about 10,000 casino workers, estimates that about 70% of its members will return to work when indoor dining resumes on Friday.
At Cuba Libre inside the Tropicana, restaurant workers are reading ready for the reopening.
“It would’ve been nice to have maybe a little more than four days’ notice,” says general manager Charlie Mulson. “We are a scratch kitchen and all of our dishes are prepared by scratch and all of our bar items are prepared by scratch. So getting a hold of the staff, getting them back in here and preparing all the food is now a race to get that done by Friday.'
MORE: 10 ways to stay safe when dining at restaurantsMORE: 15 questions to ask yourself before venturing out during COVID-19MORE: 10 ways to stay safe when returning to the gym/fitness centerMORE: 7 things to remember when going to a nail salon
Cuba Libre’s cleaning manual is 66 pages long, including new jobs and new responsibilities to protect the public from COVID-19.
“We have a greeter at the front who whose full job is just to be taking guests’ temperatures and asking them questionnaires. We have what we call a ‘disinfectador.’ This person, their whole job is just to disinfect while dining is happening. Before and after so every table and chair will be disinfected between use and any hot-touched areas will be disinfected every 15 minutes,” says Mulson.
Restaurants will have to have 25% capacity and social distancing among diners.