The Massachusetts Gaming Commission and casino owners aren’t taking any chances when it comes to reopening their premises for business. The regulators have extended the date of the closure till June 1 “at least”.

No May reopening for casinos

Several tribal and commercial casinos are eyeing a mid-May reopening to ensure that that their revenue streams restart once again. However, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission unanimously voted to extend the closure of the three-state casinos till June 1. The commission’s interim executive Karen Wells said that June 1 is an “at least” date which means that they could remain shut for a longer period of time as well.

Gov. Charlie Baker’s stay-at-home orders will end on Monday when the temporary casino order was also expected to expire. The governor is now talking about a four-phase reopening after the expiration date. However, Baker did not clarify what the plan included or what timeline the administration would follow in implementing that plan.

Casinos remain wary of the situation

Encore Boston Harbor casino president Brian Gullbrants said,

“By no means do we believe we should be in one of the earliest phases.”

Officials from the other two casinos in the state- Plainridge Park Casino and MGM Springfield also supported the members of the commission in suggesting a longer reopening schedule for the casinos. All three casinos are expecting an opening much later and unanimously supported the ideas of the commission. They are also planning to undertake efforts to keep their premises hygienic and keep people separated whenever they open.

Encore is one of the most expensive private construction projects in Massachusetts, built for a whopping $2.3 billion, which opened last June. Now Gullbrants is talking about ways to keep the casinos functioning after the shutdown is over. He focused on the use of thermal cameras for taking temperatures of people when they move in or out of the casino and making masks mandatory for all staff and visitors. He also said that machines will be sanitized every house for which it will use disinfectant guns.

MGM and Encore are also considering the possibility of installing plexiglass to keep gamblers separated. The smallest of them all, Plainridge casino, is planning to open even later and will keep several machines off and space gamblers out. However, this may also lead to some job cuts as casinos are losing millions with each day of the shutdown.