Atlantic City poker players are getting a late Christmas gift with a second poker room in the city opening on Dec. 26.
All the poker rooms are doing enhanced cleaning of the tables, cards, and chips to reduce the risk of surface transmission. As Poker Rooms Reopen, It’s Okay To Be Selfish.
According to a report from the Press of Atlantic City, Harrah’s Atlantic City will reopen at noon the day after Christmas. The room will open every day at noon and close at 4 a.m. Harrah’s will join Borgata as the only two casinos with functioning poker rooms.
Dec 14, 2020 Card rooms and satellite wagering facilities are on the list of businesses that will be forced to close in affected regions. Delaware has also announced a stay-at-home advisory from December 14 to January 11. This is merely a strong recommendation and doesn’t carry legal penalties, though it is accompanied by a state-wide mask mandate. Housing over 1,600 slots, all of your favorite table games, Delaware’s #1 Poker Room and a state-of-the-art simulcast parlor, Harrington Raceway & Casino is the epicenter for gaming in Delaware. Make the most of every visit by joining the Players Club for more perks, rewards and exclusive members-only invites.
Borgata, the largest of the state’s nine casinos, reopened its poker room in late October. The two casinos are located right next to one another in the Marina District of Atlantic City.
The Caesars-owned Harrah’s will seat eight players per table and plexiglass dividers will be installed to ensure social distancing. Masks are already required by all patrons inside the casino.
“Harrah’s Resort is thrilled to re-open our World Series of Poker room just in time for the new year, which will serve as the destination for poker in Atlantic City at our Caesars Entertainment resorts,” said Ron Baumann, senior vice president, and general manager of Harrah’s and Caesars Atlantic City in a statement. “We’ve spent the last several months ensuring we had enhanced health and safety measures in place, so both our players and team members can feel confident when they play at Harrah’s while allowing us to take an important step forward in responsibly returning more of our table games product to market.”
Gov. Phil Murphy has played games with the casino market ever since announcing that his state’s casinos could reopen on July 2.
Just before the reopening, he announced that he was banning smoking and drinking inside Atlantic City casinos, which sparked a reopening delay by the Borgata. He eventually relaxed those bans but disallowed overnight food and beverage sales in mid-November.
Thanks in large part to a successful online betting presence, Atlantic City casinos saw a record sports betting handle in October.
© Provided by Daytona Beach News-Journal Staff and players alike wear masks inside the Orange City Racing and Card Club, 822 Saxon Blvd., on Tuesday, May 26, 2020. The poker room, as well as the location in Daytona Beach, reopened Memorial Day after having been closed for more than two months amid the coronavirus pandemic. [News-Journal/Katie Kustura]ORANGE CITY — A good poker face, or a lack thereof, isn't much of an issue anymore.
The poker rooms in Orange City and Daytona Beach reopened on Memorial Day with new rules in place after being closed for more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
© Provided by Daytona Beach News-Journal At the Orange City Racing and Card Club, Fred Guzman, the president and general manager of the racing and card clubs in Orange City and Daytona Beach, talks about the extra cleaning efforts in place now that the businesses have reopened. Both locations opened their doors on Monday, May 25, 2020, after having been closed for over two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. [News-Journal/Katie Kustura]Help support our journalism as The News-Journal covers the stories of the community through the pandemic. SUBSCRIBE HERE.
© Provided by Daytona Beach News-Journal Javier Martinez, security guard at the Orange City Racing and Card Club, 822 Saxon Blvd., checks a man's temperature at the door on Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Delaware North, the parent company of the poker rooms in Orange City and Daytona Beach, has instituted a number of measures as businesses slowly reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. [News-Journal/Katie Kustura]Fred Guzman, the president and general manager of the two clubs, said that overall he was pleased with the response at both locations which reopened at 50% capacity, as allowed by the state. For Orange City and Daytona, that meant the locations could run 17 and 25 tables, respectively.
'It was exciting to see players coming in, and it's exciting to get my employees back to work,' Guzman said Tuesday during an interview at the Orange City location on Saxon Boulevard.
There were about 550 employees between the two locations before the shutdown, and since reopening, more than 280 were brought back. Guzman said he hopes, eventually, to bring all of the staffers back.
Both employees and customers must wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth.
'The idea is to protect each other,' Guzman said.
In addition to mask requirements, everyone has their temperature checked at the door, and employees also are screened for symptoms upon reporting to work. Customers also must show a photo ID.
'Customers understand, when you come into a gaming establishment and we can't see your face, that's a problem,' Guzman said. 'We need to be able to know who's in our building at all times.'
On Tuesday, Guzman said he could only think of one person who was denied entry for refusing to follow all of the new guidelines.
The efforts are part of parent company Delaware North's hygiene strategy dubbed 'Play It Safe.'
Signage has been posted to help keep social-distancing guidelines in effect, and hand-sanitizing stations are now available throughout the facilities. Each dealer also has hand sanitizer at their table, which they, and the players at their table, are required to use.
There's a designated 'clean team' that cleans and disinfects high-touch areas throughout the buildings, and poker chips and playing cards are rotated out, as recommended by infectious disease experts.
Doors have been propped open where possible, so it's one less thing for people to touch, and the ADA-friendly doors that open with the push of the button are now the sole entry points.
Dining at the facility hasn't yet resumed, but there's a limited food menu for takeout orders, and players may still have drinks at the tables.
Guzman said dealers are asking players to lean away from the tables when they take a drink from their glasses as they'll likely need to pull down their mask.
Lake Mary resident Patrick Hughes was happy to back at a table at the Orange City card room. Before the pandemic hit and caused businesses to close, Hughes was playing poker a few times at week.
'It's been tough because poker's a big part of my life, and a lot of these players and dealers are my friends,' Hughes, 33, said Tuesday. 'They're doing a great job as far as sanitizing and keeping everything going; we're doing the social distancing the best we can.'
John Pappas, of Orlando, who also came to the Orange City card room on Memorial Day, said the past couple of months were 'horrible.'
Pappas, 64, echoed other customers' sentiments about the staff and the increased cleaning effort.
'I think they've done a fantastic job,' Pappas said. 'They make sure everyone has a mask, and they're on top of everything.'
Before COVID-19 hit, Guzman said expansion of the Orange City location was in discussion.
'It all is driven by volume, and we need to see the volume there before we reconsider,' Guzman said.
© Provided by Daytona Beach News-Journal While the Orange City Racing and Card Club, 822 Saxon Blvd., is back open for business, customers are required to wear a mask and provide photo identification before entering. The poker room, as well as the Daytona Beach location, reopened on Monday, May 25, 2020, after being closed for more than two months amid the coronavirus pandemic. [News-Journal/Katie Kustura]Delaware Poker Rooms Reopening In Atlantic City
© Provided by Daytona Beach News-Journal A staff member at the Orange City Racing and Card Club, 822 Saxon Blvd., cleans a panel of plexiglass at the bar on Tuesday, May 26, 2020. The strategically placed barrier is just one element of a plan instituted to keep customers, staff, the business and its product as clean and safe as possible while reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic. [News-Journal/Katie Kustura]