Louisiana’s casinos will have to wait a few more days to reopen to the public, even as casinos in other states continue to push the pandemic envelope.
On Monday, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that his state’s casinos – which have been shut since March 17 to minimize COVID-19 transmission – would be allowed to open their doors this Friday (15). However, Tuesday saw state gambling regulators and law enforcement insist nothing will reopen until next Monday (18) at the earliest.
Louisiana Gaming Control Board chair Ronnie Jones told local media that each of the state’s casinos and video poker venues will need to apply to reopen and provide details on how their gaming floors will be amended to accommodate the new social distancing requirements.
The first phase of the gaming restart will restrict operators to 25% of their venue’s capacity, which will be raised to 50% in Phase 2 of the state’s post-pandemic economic jumpstart. Phase 2 won’t begin until June 5 at the earliest, and some smaller Louisiana gaming operators are questioning the wisdom of reopening with just 25% of gaming capacity.
Delayed or not, Louisiana’s plans have casino operators in neighboring Mississippi pressing Gov. Tate Reeves to follow their neighbor’s lead. But Reeves said Tuesday that he wouldn’t be pressured into opening sooner than warranted, suggesting a Memorial Day weekend (starting May 23) launch was more likely.
Way up north, the casinos in Deadwood, South Dakota were among the last in the nation to shut their doors in March and were also among the first to reopen. Eleven Deadwood casinos opened their doors to the public last weekend with social distancing rules in place, and operators reported solid business, with lots of gamblers driving in from neighboring states.
A handful of tribal casinos in Oklahoma opened their doors on Tuesday, while several venues in Arizona plan to open this weekend once the state’s stay-in-place order expires. In California, eight tribal gaming operators in San Diego county have informed Gov. Gavin Newsom of their intention to reopen with some targeting a May 18 launch, while others have yet to fix a hard target.
On the other side of that coin, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians recently postponed plans to reopen their five casinos by two weeks until June 1. The tribe had clashed with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who lacks the authority to order tribes to remain closed, but urged the Sault tribe to hold off a little while longer.
Tribal gaming operators have been far more adamant than their commercial counterparts about restarting gaming operations in large part because many tribal governments are dependent on gaming revenue to fund social services in their communities.
Concerns remain that a premature reopening could result in a second wave of COVID-19 infections that could force the casinos to close for a second time. That’s a doomsday scenario for tribal gaming operators, but with the federal government slow to deliver on a promised financial assistance package and tribes still paying their casino workers, that’s a gamble they appear willing to take.
