New York Commercial Casinos to Re-Open With Restrictions

In a conference call on August 30, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo implied that some of the commercial casinos in New York might reopen soon. 

From September 9, New York state’s casinos will resume their operations after a 6 months long shutdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. New York is the worst-hit state in the country due to Covid-19. Infections and the fatalities are growing exponentially when compared to any other state in the USA. It was March 16 when the whole state of NY was shut down. To date, many businesses, small or large, have suffered huge losses and have laid off several employees.

The authorities have given permission to reopen New York’s commercial casinos including del Lago (Seneca County), Resorts World Catskills (Sullivan County), Tioga Downs (Tioga County), and Rivers Casino (Schenectady). However, there is a restriction of a maximum capacity of 25%. Moreover, everyone entering the casino is required to wear a mask. The casino operators are instructed to maintain at least 6 feet distance between the slot machines available. The table games are not approved by the state yet. But the casinos will make a plea again after ensuring a necessary social distancing between individual players.

This reopening is only in context with the commercial casinos. As the tribal gaming operators are the state’s sovereign entities, they don’t fall under these restrictions and they already re-started operations in June. However, the casino owners pushed the authorities to accept the re-open proposal in the wake of saving around thousands of jobs. Everyone is hoping for a recovery in the economy, even if it is a sedate one.