Casinos In Pa Closed
Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf has ordered the closure of various businesses including casinos in an effort to slow down the out-of-control spread of the coronavirus in the Keystone state.
The closure is set to take effect on Saturday, December 12, 2020, at 12:01 a.m. and will end on January 4, 2021, at 8:00 a.m. The orders are the most drastic since Wolf shut down all non-essential businesses last March at the onset of the pandemic. Aside from casinos, the order also covers indoor restaurant dining, sports activities, gyms, museums, bowling alleys, theaters and other entertainments venues. Likewise, all businesses serving the public will be limited to 50% capacity only.
The casino was fourth among all Pennsylvania casinos in total revenue. Rivers Casino Philadelphia, which was closed for 165 days in 2019 saw the largest decrease in revenue last year at -55.05%. Six casinos had already been closed when the order was issued by the state gaming board Tuesday. Dec 10, 2020 During the shutdown, Mount Airy Casino Resort in Monroe County said its casino, hotel, spa, golf course and restaurants will be closed to the public, Chief Operating Officer and General Manager. PENNSYLVANIA GAMING CONTROL BOARD COVID-19 CASINO REOPENING PROTOCOLS Casinos remain closed in the yellow phase of Governor Tom Wolf’s reopening plan.
In a statement, Wolf said:
“With these measures in place, we hope to accomplish three goals. First, stop the devastating spread of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth. Second, keep our hospitals and healthcare workers from becoming overwhelmed. And third, help Pennsylvanians get through the holiday season — and closer to a widely available vaccine — as safely as possible.”
COVID-19 Spread
As in the case with many other states in the U.S., Pennsylvania is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. With its shutdown, Pennsylvania becomes the third state to declare full casino shutdown. Last November 18, Michigan closed all casinos in a move that was first said to be good for three months but now has been changed to indefinitely. Two days after the Wolverine state, Illinois also declared an indefinite shutdown.
One of the fears in Pennsylvania is that the hospitals and health care workers could get overwhelmed. As of Thursday noon,there were a total of 5,877 people hospitalized with COVID-19, the most since the pandemic started. Gov. Wolf is hoping that the three-week shutdown of will slow down the numbers.
Pennsylvania Gaming Was Doing Well
Pennsylvania gaming were doing well despite the earlier restrictions. During the third quarter of 2020, the gross gaming revenue (GGR) from land-based casinos, online casinos, and brick-and-mortar sports betting shops totaled $891.3M which is 3% more than the July-September 2019 figures. Requiring them to shut down again will affect whatever gains they had.
There are a total of 12 Pennsylvania casinos and racinos with a total gaming revenue of $3.38B in 2019. The Philadelphia gaming market ranked 7th among the United States gaming industry’s top markets, per the American Gaming Association’s 2019 State of the States report. Rivers Casino, the only casino within the Philadelphia limits, has been closed since November 20. With the governor’s new orders, the other Philadelphia area casinos including Parx and Harrah’s Philadelphia will now be closed as well.
Shortly after Michigan announced it would begin to shutter its brick-and-mortar casinos for a second time as a part of another round of COVID-19 restrictions, other states have begun to follow suit.
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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that it will shut down the state’s gaming market starting at 11:01 p.m. Thursday night. He did not announce how long these closures will last, according to a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
If any of the state’s 10 casinos refuse to close during the mandated shutdown, they could lose their gaming license, according to the Illinois Gaming Board’s website.
Along with Illinois, New Mexico casinos are also beginning to cease operations in response to a COVID-19 surge. Route 66 Casino Hotel closed in mid-October response and according to local media outlets, the government is urging the 23 other tribal casinos to follow suit.
Santa Ana Star Casino announced the closure last week and Sandia Casino never reopened since it shut its doors in March. Since the entire gaming industry in the state is run by tribes, the state government is unable to unilaterally shut down the entire market.
While Pennsylvania hasn’t announced a statewide mandate, one of its biggest cities is beginning to enact strict lockdown measures and one of the state’s biggest casinos is being forced to close again.
Rivers Casino Philadelphia, formerly SugarHouse Casino, is shutting down Friday and will not be allowed to reopen until January 2, 2021. South Philadelphia Race and Sportsbooks will be closed during that same timeframe.
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Other states, like California and Ohio, are beginning to implement curfews on its citizens. While state officials haven’t announced anything specific to the gaming industry, it’s still unclear what effect curfews will have on the casino industry.
Before reopening in July, New Jersey was one of the strictest and most cautious states when it came to its casino industry. This time around, however, it appears that Garden State casinos will avoid another shutdown. According to a report from the Press of Atlantic City, Gov. Phil Murphy said that there is no evidence that his state’s casinos are linked to any outbreaks of COVID-19.
Colorado casinos were in jeopardy of being closed as new restrictions were imposed Monday, but Teller County officials said earlier this week that the casino industry would not be affected.