Detroit casinos going dark On Sunday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced new, wide-ranging restrictions to combat the spread of COVID-19, including the closure of the state’s casinos for three weeks. The public health order will go into effect on Wednesday. Three commercial casinos are affected by the shutdown mandate: MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, and… Read more »
It has been the case for much of 2020 and it seems that it is going to carry over to 2021 also. Officials at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, have decided that they will postpone one of the venerable stops on the international tournament poker circuit, the Aussie Millions. This postponement is an indefinite… Read more »
Last call comes early On Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced new restrictions on casinos as the state and the country as a whole suffers through a massive new surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Per Executive Order No. 194, casinos will not be permitted to serve food or drinks from 10:00pm to… Read more »
Pandemic roller coaster The COVID-19 pandemic has obviously been devastating to casinos, but things are about to get worse for the few in Massachusetts. This week, Governor Charlie Baker announced a slew of “targeted measures” to slow the spread of the virus. The United States is in its “third wave” of the pandemic right now,… Read more »
Almost all of the nearly 1,000 casinos in the United States have reopened and most of the world’s casinos have done so as well after months of lockdowns because of the COVID-19 pandemic. All major casinos, though, are still enforcing health and safety measures such as mandatory mask wearing, social distancing, severe capacity restrictions, and… Read more »
Four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and former WSOP Player of the Year Shaun Deeb has admitted to his Twitter audience that he has contracted the COVID-19 virus. While playing the 2020 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) from Mexico, Deeb contracted the virus and was so severely affected that he had to be… Read more »
PM not fooling around On Tuesday, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a slate of stricter rules in the country’s ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, including a 10:00pm curfew for pubs, restaurants, and “hospitality venues.” Included in the latter category are casinos. Johnson said he understood the issues this will cause, “But now… Read more »
Different, but likely safer Gambling outside can be a dicey proposition, pun completely intended. The natural elements are not overly conducive to games of chance. I remember in 2007, Ryan Daut defeated Isaac Haxton heads-up to win the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. The final table was held outside and it got really windy – Haxton long… Read more »
Thousands of members of two major Las Vegas casino workers unions can breathe at least a mild sigh of relief, as they have negotiated a deal with MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment to protect their health benefits for another half a year. The gigantic gaming firms have agreed to extend the family health benefits… Read more »
No mint juleps Following in the footsteps of most major sporting events, Churchill Downs has decided to hold the Kentucky Derby without fans in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. In March, when the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic was finally becoming realized in the United States, the Kentucky Derby was moved… Read more »
It’s not exactly shutting down casinos again, but Illinois is tightening its belt again in response to rising COVID-19 cases. Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced on Tuesday that extra mitigation efforts – some that affect casinos – have gone into effect in the area just outside St. Louis.… Read more »
New York’s commercial casinos are still closed by order of the governor and employees have had enough. A group of casino workers have planned a rally for Thursday morning outside the state Capitol Building in Albany to protest for their right to get back to their jobs. The casinos closed in mid-March, as did every… Read more »
Need that revenue to flow again Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield have asked the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for the go-ahead to open up their craps and roulette tables. The Commission will consider the request, scheduled to have a virtual meeting to discuss the matter at 10:00am Thursday. “We appreciate the Gaming Commission’s consideration of… Read more »
Not that I would want anyone to contract the novel coronavirus, but of all the people in the poker world, one of the last people I would want to see get sick is the legendary Norman Chad. Well, sure enough, Mr. Chad has caught the virus and as one might expect, he is not feeling… Read more »
Demand must be there first Station Casinos still has not opened some of its Nevada casinos. It may never. In a second quarter earnings call this week, Frank Fertitta III, the CEO of Station’s parent company, Red Rock Resorts, said that it is possible that Fiesta Henderson, the Palms, Fiesta Rancho, and Texas Station might… Read more »
Cubicle poker Station Casinos has reopened three of its Las Vegas-area poker rooms. All three – Red Rock Resort, Boulder Station, and Santa Fe Station – opened at 9:00am on Monday and will remain open around the clock. They are all decent-sized poker rooms, as well, which bodes well for those who want to get… Read more »
Five table game employees test positive Gah. I live in a really bad place right now. My current home state, Georgia, is one of the nation’s COVID-19 hotspots. It just so happens to be the northern neighbor of THE hotspot and the southern neighbor of a very warm spot. The closest casino to me, Harrah’s… Read more »
Decided the time was right And then there were nine. Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa announced on Tuesday that it will finally reopen on July 26. For the three days before that, it will host a “soft” reopening only for invited guests. Borgata is the last of Atlantic City’s casinos to reopen, permitted… Read more »
One Thursday, one Friday After being closed for nearly four months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Maine’s two casinos will reopen this week. Oxford Casino will welcome back guests at 9:00am on Thursday, while Hollywood Casino Bangor will open its doors at noon on Friday. Naturally, as we have seen throughout the country, both casinos… Read more »
Casinos allegedly skirting pandemic regulations As COVID-19 cases rise dramatically across the United States, taking proper care to be clean and safe is of the utmost importance. The Culinary Local 226 union in Las Vegas does not believe some casino properties are being responsible in the face of the health crisis and have sued several… Read more »
No food, no dice Atlantic City casinos will reopen on July 2 after more than 100 days in timeout because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Borgata will not be one of them. After New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy reversed course and announced on Monday that indoor dining would not be allowed to restart, Borgata officials… Read more »
Casinos ask for licensing pause With casinos continuing to reopen across the United States, it appears that two North Las Vegas casinos may stay closed for another year. According to Eater Las Vegas, Texas Station and Fiesta Rancho, both Station Casinos properties, have no plans on reopening any time soon. Eater’s evidence, despite no confirmation… Read more »
As Las Vegas slowly begins to restart their casino gaming industry and Florida gets back to action, Pennsylvania and Illinois have been rather slow in getting back in the game. That will change in the next week as Boyd Gaming, who own properties in both states (and Nevada, for that matter), looks to restart operations… Read more »
The state of Nevada and, in particular, the city of Las Vegas have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting shutdown. For more than two months, the industry that drives the economy of Nevada, the casinos, have sat silent. On June 4, some of those casinos reopened for customers but, as writer Jeff… Read more »
Time to start taking things seriously Caesars Entertainment is finally doing something it should have done before it reopened its first casino: it has made the waring of protective face masks mandatory for everyone who steps foot inside one of its properties. The company announced the policy change on Wednesday, June 24. It took effect… Read more »
