As most of the casinos in Las Vegas are now reopening after COVID lockdown, there are but certain norms to follow when visiting these casinos. Atlantic City’s nine casinos reopen after more than three months of coronavirus-related shutdowns.

The famous casinos in Atlantic City is now opened after 100 days of closure. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City now has inside security which is using facial scanning to take the temperatures before anyone is allowed entry.
The Topicana and Resorts and the Golden Nugget casinos also has the same measures.

According to Golden Nugget Casino CEO Tilman Fertitta, as the hotel, casino and pool reopened, this is a step in the right direction to getting casino employees back to work. He added that they are following CDC, state and regulatory guidelines and taking all the prudent and essential measures to maintain a safe and clean environment for our guests and employees.

Ocean Casino Resort had a special ribbon-cutting too with inside dining still not allowed, there are three food trucks and four outdoor smoking areas. Similarly Caesars reopened its three casinos — Caesars, Harrah’s and Bally’s and Borgata is the only casino to have opted not to reopen while indoor drinking and dining is still not an option.

Norms to follow at the casinos

Valerie Hill, of Toms River, celebrates a win at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, Thursday, July 2, 2020. The casino reopened after being shutdown due to the coronavirus scare. Image source: Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

• The state-mandated 25% of normal capacity at the casinos
• Casinos will not let their customers smoke, drink alcohol or anything else, or eat inside the casinos.
• Masks are mandatory and are to be worn by both gamers and staff
• Temperatures checks for guests and workers also necessary
• There would be hand sanitizer stations.
• Follow social distancing norms
• Keep the casino, slot machines and gaming tables clean and at a distance. All card tables, dice games and even slot machines are being retooled across the casino floor with social distancing and disinfection in mind.
• Casinos can offer outdoor dining, and those with beach bars, outdoor decks or Boardwalk seating still plan to offer it.
• Alcohol will be sold in liquor stores and non-casino businesses.

A thermal imager checks the temperature of guests as the enter the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City , Thursday, July 2, 2020. Image source: Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Casinos will also be deactivating every other slot machine and removing the stool from the game standing at a darkened slot machine at the centre of the three-machine row. A customer can’t even stand and play this game because the game’s not even active, and so casinos will do that throughout the whole floor.

At card tables, the number of seats will be reduced from six to three so this means a goodbye to the classic casino scene of a crowd cheering a winning streak.

Also, nobody will be able to be within six feet (1.8 metres) of any of the three customers that are playing.

These changes are being implemented as luck is running out for casino staff. Caesars Entertainment says 90 per cent of its 60,000 worldwide employees have been furloughed or laid off. With no reliable reservations on the books and few remaining staff on-site, it’s hard to imagine how future revellers and the army of workers who serves them will take to a new set of rules.

Guests checking in to one of the 3960 rooms will be able to use kiosks instead of the front desk, and the cleaning staff will not enter rooms during guests.  Though workers are demanding more transparency from casinos on plans to reopen and asking Nevada’s governor to adopt unions’ safety protocols.

For now, the steps being taken at casinos are among the first in an odyssey towards a new casino culture, one of its leaders believe will retain the spirit of Las Vegas.