No gamble: Masks a must at Nevada tables
LAS VEGAS – Nevada gamblers are now required to wear face masks at table games that have no barriers, reported the Reno Gazette Journal, a USA TODAY Network newspaper.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board updated its health and safety policy for casinos on Wednesday, tightening rules for gamblers sitting down to play.
“Licensees must require patrons to wear face coverings at table and card games if there is no barrier, partition, or shield between the dealer and each player,” the board wrote in a notice to licensees. “This requirement applies to table and card game players, spectators, and any other person within 6 feet of any table or card game.”
The update comes less than two weeks after casinos opened in Nevada after a shutdown that lasted almost three months.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed plenty of things about this gambling and entertainment capital, but key Vegas elements remain the same.
In the wake of COVID-19, the casino experience looks a lot different.
In the casino equivalent of blocking middle seats on a plane, you’ll find fewer chairs at blackjack, roulette and poker tables and fewer places to stand around the craps table.
The new limits per table: three players at blackjack, four at roulette and poker and six at craps.
Dealers and other employees are required to wear masks or face shields, according to gaming authority reopening regulations. Masks are mostly optional but are strongly encouraged for guests.
MGM Resorts has gone so far as to install plexiglass partitions at its tables, and, in some cases, bartop video poker machines. Caesars requires that gamblers wear masks at table games.