Losses of several million dollars, shovel's layoffs, the coronavirus epidemic struck the full force casino sector And everyone is waiting for a potential reopening! The gradual deconance that we observe all over the planet leaves the hope of an upcoming recovery but it is already certain that it will be slow and strictly framed. Between new cases and desire to find a normal life, the point on the reopening of casinos and the health measures implemented.
Covid 19: Reopening of casinos
Very harshly affected by the pandemic perhaps, the United States will certainly not be the last to force the reopening of its game establishments. And for good reason in Las Vegas, in the city which never sleeps, the mayor Carolyn Goodman militates For some time for a rapid resumption of the activity of hotels and casinos. It must be said that the epidemic hardly affected the lives of the inhabitants of the city and that the workers worried about their income are eager to resume the way to work.
The problem is that Carolyn Goodman vaguely plans to set up a control group in the establishments, while admitting that it is not required to respect the slightest sanitary measure on the pretext that "it is not China, C ' is las vegas ”. Declarations that have aroused many criticisms from health professionals and the Union of casino workers, even going so far as to demand the resignation of the mayor. Especially since deaths and new cases are still multiplying.
Elsewhere in the country, other establishments have already reopened their doors as in Oklahoma, southern Dakota or Louisiana, even if it means ignoring new health measures to be respected. In this reopening phase, only the Angel of the Winds Casino Resort in the state of Washington seems to comply with the rules imposed by the State with in particular the implementation of a waiting list system for more of fluidity.
The American case
On the American side, life is gradually resuming its course since May 11, but certain sectors such as bars, restaurants, spectacle places and of course the casinos are still stopped. No date is mentioned for the time being even though Fabrice Paire, Chairman of the Management Board of Partouche group, ensures that the health protocol already implemented by the sector could have allowed a rapid recovery after 44 days of closure.
The reopening of casinos will be carried out in all cases in a very progressive way, and probably at the same time as the other areas of activity. The financial issue remains very worrying since the Partouche group has already lost almost 50 million euros in turnover. A loss that online games, which have experienced a great ascent, did not manage to compensate since in USA, it is mainly sports betting and no sporting event has taken place since the start of confinement. So in the meantime we organize themselves as in Hyères and Monaco, emphasizing social distancing and the protection of employees. It remains to be seen what new announcements will be made from early June.
A difficult recovery?
Health measures should certainly weigh heavily on the fluidity of casinos. It will be a question in particular of respecting a meter distance between each individual, installing plexiglass plates between the machines, cleaning the devices after each use and systematically wear a mask. And already some problems arise since games such as poker and table games requiring the presence of croupiers widely complicate the implementation of these health measures. To see anyway if the players will dare to cross the doors of establishments as soon as activities resume.
