Atlantic City Casinos Reopen after a 108-Day Shutdown

Atlantic City Casinos Reopen after a 108-Day Shutdown

Casinos in Atlantic City have finally started reopening after a 108-day shutdown. On Thursday, gamblers were allowed to enter their favorite casino building wearing face masks. Smoking and drinking were prohibited in space.

Compliance with guidelines very high

Casinos reopened while maintaining high compliance with guidelines issued by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. According to a reporter from Associated Press, there was no customer in the Hard Rock casino who was not wearing a mask during the first 2 ½ hours of reopening. Some of the customers wore full-face covering hoods that extended all the way to their chests.

Atlantic City Casinos Reopen after a 108-Day Shutdown

The crowds were small on an opening day. The casinos had limited their capacity to 25% of normal. Guests were mostly following social distancing guidelines. The casinos had put on plexiglass dividers between the seats at roulettes, craps, and card tables. Some slot machines were also turned off in order to maintain adequate physical distance between guests.

Five casinos have reopened

Atlantic City has nine casinos of which five have reopened, including- Golden Nugget, Tropicana, Resorts, Ocean and Hard Rock. Three other casinos- Harrah’s, Bally’s and Caesars will be ripening on Friday. However, the city’s top-performing property, the Bogata, will remain shut. The casino scrapped its reopening plans after Gov. Murphy canceled the permission for indoor dining and opted for drinking and smoking bans in the casino. The property has not set a reopening date yet.

The surprise announcement of the cancellation of indoor dining shook the casinos in the city, which had been creating their reopening plans with indoor dining in mind. The properties have been left reeling under financial pressure after the 3+ month shutdown. Thousands of employees working for the properties were furloughed during this time. The gambling revenue if the city declined by a whopping 69% on a yearly basis in April, followed by an equally bad performance in May and June.

About sherlock

Sherlock Gomes loves to write and express his views on anything related to Gaming, Gambling, & Casino. He has been covering Gaming for more than two years now.