Casinos craft plans to reopen safely

Properties looking into issue of how to keep gambling chips clean

After a two-month shutdown, the Hard Rock Seminole casinos are preparing to open their doors in South Florida.

In an appearance on Fox Business, Seminole Gaming CEO and Hard Rock International chairman Jim Allen said they’re aiming to relaunch their Florida casinos at the end of May or early June.

Broward County is home to three of the six tribe-owned casinos throughout the state, most notably the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood. The two other properties are the Seminole Casino in Coconut Creek and the Seminole Classic in Hollywood, which is just south of the Hard Rock.

On Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Broward and Miami-Dade can join the rest of the state in a partial reopening, beginning Monday.

The Hard Rock casinos temporarily closed their facilities on March 20, three days after bars and restaurants were ordered to shutter. The Seminole Tribe is sovereign and businesses on its properties are not subject to state business regulations.

As the other South Florida casinos wait for the green light from the state to reopen, plans are being formulated on how to safely operate the facilities — including the tricky issue of how to clean gambling chips, which frequently change hands throughout the casinos.

At The Big Easy Casino in Hallandale, general manager Daniel Adkins said they’ve had staff working daily on disinfecting the facility and installing plexiglass dividers for social distancing. They’ve selectively disabled slot machines, allowing more space between machines and ensuring that no two gamblers could sit next to each other.

“The distancing issue for the slot [machine] side is not that hard to do, but with things like poker and table games — that’s a little rough,” Adkins said.

“Our plan right now is not necessarily to open up with card games, because that’s a very social thing and these people are very close to each other. We’re still working the bugs out on that.”

The Big Easy Casino and the

Hard Rock facilities both plan on using plexiglass dividers at the tables, which help cordon off players from each other at smaller tables. While those measures help, Adkins said it still leaves margin for error.

“[The dividers] are all well and good,” Adkins said. “You’re in your bubble, you sneeze, it doesn’t go anywhere. But it does go over the chips, the cards and the money. And that’s something we’re still trying to figure out how to deal with. It’s something we want to make

sure we get right before we open the door.”

Bitner said the Hard Rock is still determining a plan, adding there’s a significant amount of details that factor into reopening. The Hard Rock casinos, which instituted social distancing measures prior to closing, will continue using modified seating plans. Blackjack tables will allow a maximum of four players per table, down from the normal eight positions, Allen said.

Other casinos throughout South Florida did not reveal their safety plans for handling gambling chips.

At the Hard Rock, Allen said they plan on limiting

capacity at 50% and will utilize thermal body imaging at their larger facilities. The devices, which range from $15,000 to $20,000, can detect skin temperature in as little as two seconds. The Big Easy Casino in Hallandale has purchased thermal cameras for their entrance as well. All employees at both the Hard Rock and Big Easy Casino will be required to wear masks.

“We’re anticipating very large crowds,” Allen told Fox Business. “We saw some openings last week in other parts of the United States and frankly the volumes are tremendous. We will be prepared for that.”

There’s no official word yet as to when or how the many restaurants, nightclubs and day clubs throughout the Hard Rock facilities will operate once the casinos open for business, Bitner said.

Further north, the Palm Beach Kennel Club reopened the Paddock Restaurant with added safety precautions. The restaurant is requiring all patrons to sign a waiver and undergo a temperature check before entering the facility. While the Palm Beach Kennel Club’s poker room remains closed, patrons can place wagers on greyhound racing in the restaurant.