Meadows, Rivers Casino set to reopen Tuesday
Both Rivers Casino and Meadows Racetrack & Casino announced plans to open for the first time since they were ordered to close three months ago because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rivers Casino is planning to open at 9 a.m. Tuesday, according to a release from the company. The casino will operate weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 a.m., and will be open all night on weekends up until 4 a.m. on Mondays. The casino will perform deep-cleaning during the closing hours.
“Our team had already been working on making the changes announced by the PGCB in May,” Rivers Casino General Manager Bill Keena wrote in a statement. “We intend to meet or exceed all requirements to provide a healthy environment. The safety and well-being of our team members, our guests and the community are our top priority.”
In a statement, Meadows General Manager Tony Frabbiele said the Washington County facility plans to reopen at noon Tuesday.
“We have been working closely with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, state and local leaders, and public health officials to finalize comprehensive reopening protocols and new health and safety precautions. We look forward to sharing details of our property-specific procedures in advance of reopening and welcoming back our team members and customers,” the statement read.
A spokesman for the PGCB said the Meadows is able to reopen because Washington County is among 16 counties scheduled to go to the state’s green phase of reopening with restrictions as of Friday. Allegheny County, home to the Rivers Casino, is also going green.
Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin in Farmington, Fayette County, the only other Western Pennsylvania casino in a county that will turn green Friday, has not indicated to the state gaming board its plans for reopening.
Among the state’s restrictions for reopening casinos and other entertainment facilities such as theaters and shopping malls is that they allow only 50% occupancy.
In a 10-page list of protocols for reopening sent to casinos last month, the gaming control board said it “desires to assure that reopenings occur in a manner which promotes the safety of casino patrons and employees alike as well as assure an environment conducive to proper regulatory oversight.”
All patrons and casino employees will be required to wear masks, social distance, limit personal contact while the casino enforces strict cleaning and disinfecting regimens to comply with all guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Additionally, other protocols include:
• The casino shall place signs at each entrance point reminding patrons of CDC guidelines for social distancing practices, proper washing of hands, use of sanitizers, wearing masks, and to stay at home if feeling ill or sick.
• The casino shall consider implementing methods for identifying people who have a fever or other symptom of illness and not
permitting them on the casino gaming floor.
• The casino staff stationed at entrance points shall receive training in recognizing possible signs of persons who may be ill, and shall be instructed to routinely ask such persons if they have had a fever, had contact with anyone with the COVID-19 virus within the past 14 days, and whether they are feeling ill.
• The casino shall place sanitizer stations at each entrance as well as throughout the casino floor which shall include hand sanitizer solution as well as sanitizing wipes for patrons to use both on themselves as well as on surfaces with which they may come into contact.
• The casino shall place markings on the floor in all areas in which patrons may form lines for entry or services. The marking shall be designed to maintain a social distancing of six feet in between patrons.
• Patrons not complying with protocols shall be warned and if they do not comply shall be asked to leave the casino.
Each casino must identify a pandemic safety officer who will report any employee with a confirmed or presumptive case of COVID19 to the gaming control board and the state health department.
As for slot machines, casinos are required to promote social distancing by doing things like installing a
Plexiglas barrier between machines, removing chairs from certain machines and disabling certain slot machines to create distance between operating machines.
Poker rooms are not authorized to operate under the COVID-19 protocols. And valet services will be discontinued until revised guidance is received.