New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced today that Atlantic City casinos can start welcoming guests on July 2. However, the nine gaming properties of the city will only be allowed to operate with 25% capacity.

Casinos in the city face shutdowns

Atlantic City casinos have been shut down since March 16 when the governor ordered all non-essential businesses to shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The casino operators have been waiting for over 2 months to reopen their properties. The governor tweeted on Monday, “Casinos will be permitted to open on July 2nd at 25 percent capacity.” He also said that whoever is not following the health safety measures will be handled quickly.

He added,

“If any visitor refuses to comply with our simple safeguards, they’ll be escorted out. We’re not going to tolerate any knuckleheads trying to ruin it for those who wish to enjoy themselves responsibly.”

Casinos granted their wish

July 2 will come right before the Independence Day weekend. The casinos had earlier plead with the governor to allow them to reopen before July 4. This is usually a busy week of the year for the casinos. Gaming properties will have to follow additional safety and health guidelines which will be issued in the upcoming days. However, they have been limited to 25% capacity.

In other states where casinos have been allowed to reopen, there are many standard health and safety measures being followed. This includes mandatory temperature checks for all guests and employees, use of face masks, and availability of hand sanitization stations. Most casinos have not opened poker tables or have limited seating for table games. They have also uninstalled or disabled alternative gaming machines to ensure proper social distancing for users.

Hard Rock Atlantic City president Joe Lupa said that the property is delighted that there is finally a concrete date for reopening. He also thanked the governor for giving casinos time to reopen before the July 4 weekend. Note that Murphy had previously said that casino reopening would be a tough decision for the state.