Pa Casinos Shutdown
Casino officials said they will continue normal payroll for team members during the 14-day shutdown. 'The health and well-being of our team members, guests and the residents of Western. Some casinos in Pennsylvania plan to reopen their doors on January 4, following a mandatory three-week shutdown of their gaming operations ordered by Gov. The Meadows and nine other Pennsylvania casinos will welcome back guests on January 4. Like many sectors of the economy, Pennsylvania’s casinos took a massive hit when they were forced to close in the effort to fight the spread of coronavirus. The first round of mandatory Pennsylvania casino closures lasted three and a half months, from March 16 to July 2. The Meadows Racetrack and Casino and Rivers Casino Pittsburgh were the first to reopen on June 9.
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Casinos closed into 2021
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has signed an official Order to close the state’s casinos for three weeks, from 12:01am on December 12 to 8:00am on January 4, 2021. The Order applies to all indoor entertainment, as well as indoor dining, indoor gyms and fitness centers, in-person school extracurricular activities, and youth sports.
In his announcement Thursday afternoon, Governor Wolf laid out three goals for the strict mitigation measures. The first and most obvious is to stop the spread of COVID-19. The second is to ease the burden on Pennsylvania’s hospitals and health care workers. The third goal is related to the first: to get people through the holiday season safely and closer to the vaccine rollout.
Valley Forge Casino Closed
It will help all of us get back to normal, and back to all of the things we’ve missed, faster.”
“It will help all of us get back to normal, and back to all of the things we’ve missed, faster,” said Wolf, who himself was just diagnosed with COVID-19. “And it means more Pennsylvanians will be alive to celebrate that brighter future.”
Situation is worse than in March
The first round of mandatory Pennsylvania casino closures lasted three and a half months, from March 16 to July 2. The Meadows Racetrack and Casino and Rivers Casino Pittsburgh were the first to reopen on June 9.
On November 20, Governor Wolf said that there was no evidence of any outbreaks stemming from the state’s casinos. Nevertheless, things have gotten so bad in Pennsylvania that he and health officials felt that a strict, blanket shutdown was needed.
the virus continues to strain our health care systems”
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said on Thursday that each of the last two days have seen more deaths than any day since the very beginning of the pandemic. She warned: “The virus continues to strain our health care systems and the dramatic rise in cases among all age groups, including among school-age children, is alarming.”
Internet gaming choices abound
Fortunately for gamblers in the Keystone State, there are plenty of online options for people to have fun with from the safety of home. Most of Pennsylvania’s 13 casinos have internet versions that offer games like blackjack, slots, and roulette. BetMGM became the most reason operator to launch an online casino, doing so last week.
There are also ten sportsbook apps in the state and one online poker room, PokerStars. On December 27, PokerStars will host the $200 buy-in “Pennsyl-MANIA” tournament, guaranteeing a prize pool of at least $500,000, the largest ever in the state.
Pennsylvania also recently became the second state with live dealer online games when Evolution opened its studio in late October. Evolution is supplying its games to Rush Street Interactive’s PlaySugarHouse and BetRivers online casinos and DraftKings. It later launched with Caesars in November.
Shortly after Michigan announced it would begin to shutter its brick-and-mortar casinos for a second time as a part of another round of COVID-19 restrictions, other states have begun to follow suit.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that it will shut down the state’s gaming market starting at 11:01 p.m. Thursday night. He did not announce how long these closures will last, according to a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
If any of the state’s 10 casinos refuse to close during the mandated shutdown, they could lose their gaming license, according to the Illinois Gaming Board’s website.
Along with Illinois, New Mexico casinos are also beginning to cease operations in response to a COVID-19 surge. Route 66 Casino Hotel closed in mid-October response and according to local media outlets, the government is urging the 23 other tribal casinos to follow suit.
Are Pa Casinos Closing Again
Santa Ana Star Casino announced the closure last week and Sandia Casino never reopened since it shut its doors in March. Since the entire gaming industry in the state is run by tribes, the state government is unable to unilaterally shut down the entire market.
Pa Casino Closures
While Pennsylvania hasn’t announced a statewide mandate, one of its biggest cities is beginning to enact strict lockdown measures and one of the state’s biggest casinos is being forced to close again.
Rivers Casino Philadelphia, formerly SugarHouse Casino, is shutting down Friday and will not be allowed to reopen until January 2, 2021. South Philadelphia Race and Sportsbooks will be closed during that same timeframe.
Other states, like California and Ohio, are beginning to implement curfews on its citizens. While state officials haven’t announced anything specific to the gaming industry, it’s still unclear what effect curfews will have on the casino industry.
Rivers Casino Closed
Before reopening in July, New Jersey was one of the strictest and most cautious states when it came to its casino industry. This time around, however, it appears that Garden State casinos will avoid another shutdown. According to a report from the Press of Atlantic City, Gov. Phil Murphy said that there is no evidence that his state’s casinos are linked to any outbreaks of COVID-19.
Colorado casinos were in jeopardy of being closed as new restrictions were imposed Monday, but Teller County officials said earlier this week that the casino industry would not be affected.