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No mint juleps Following in the footsteps of most major sporting events, Churchill Downs has decided to hold the Kentucky Derby without fans in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. In March, when the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic was finally becoming realized in the United States, the Kentucky Derby was moved… Read more »
It’s not exactly shutting down casinos again, but Illinois is tightening its belt again in response to rising COVID-19 cases. Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced on Tuesday that extra mitigation efforts – some that affect casinos – have gone into effect in the area just outside St. Louis.… Read more »
Ok, I know I’m totally a bad person and a bad parent for finding part of this story entertaining, but come on, sometimes things are funny. And of course I would never take my kids onto a casino floor and let them gamble – I don’t even keep my payment information stored on any online… Read more »
New York’s commercial casinos are still closed by order of the governor and employees have had enough. A group of casino workers have planned a rally for Thursday morning outside the state Capitol Building in Albany to protest for their right to get back to their jobs. The casinos closed in mid-March, as did every… Read more »
Need that revenue to flow again Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield have asked the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for the go-ahead to open up their craps and roulette tables. The Commission will consider the request, scheduled to have a virtual meeting to discuss the matter at 10:00am Thursday. “We appreciate the Gaming Commission’s consideration of… Read more »
The reward of a functioning society When people started realizing the COVID-19 pandemic might be serious in March, sports shut down. The NBA halted its season, NCAA March Madness was cancelled outright, the NHL paused its season, so on and so forth. The NBA and NHL are back, playing their “bubbles,” and Major League Baseball… Read more »
A suspect has been arrested in connection with the gruesome, tragic death of professional poker player Susie Zhao. 60-year old Jeffery Morris of Pontiac, Michigan was arraigned from his hospital room, charged with first-degree, premeditated murder of the 33-year old Zhao. Police found Zhao’s burned body at the Pontiac State Recreation Area on July 15.… Read more »
Demand must be there first Station Casinos still has not opened some of its Nevada casinos. It may never. In a second quarter earnings call this week, Frank Fertitta III, the CEO of Station’s parent company, Red Rock Resorts, said that it is possible that Fiesta Henderson, the Palms, Fiesta Rancho, and Texas Station might… Read more »
I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed As a sports fan, I haven’t actually been all that frustrated with the lack of sports during the pandemic. I have plenty of other things to keep my mind occupied, not the least of which is keeping myself and my family healthy (as I sit here eating peanut M&Ms).… Read more »
Cubicle poker Station Casinos has reopened three of its Las Vegas-area poker rooms. All three – Red Rock Resort, Boulder Station, and Santa Fe Station – opened at 9:00am on Monday and will remain open around the clock. They are all decent-sized poker rooms, as well, which bodes well for those who want to get… Read more »
The Tropicana was the first place I ever stayed in Las Vegas. It was a decent place with a cozy casino floor, though my lasting memory of it was that somehow I hurt my leg when I was visiting, so the walk to the hotel tower after a long day of being a good tourist… Read more »
Video game/gambling hybrid GameCo announced on Wednesday that it has been granted a Casino Service Industry Enterprise License by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. We have seen loads of companies received gaming licenses over the years, but the upshot of this one is that GameCo specializes in “skill-based” video gambling and will now… Read more »
Five table game employees test positive Gah. I live in a really bad place right now. My current home state, Georgia, is one of the nation’s COVID-19 hotspots. It just so happens to be the northern neighbor of THE hotspot and the southern neighbor of a very warm spot. The closest casino to me, Harrah’s… Read more »
Fresh, recycled air? One of the nice things about poker is that smoking is not permitted in most live poker rooms. So if the time you spend in a casino is spent playing poker, you can breathe easy (relatively, considering you are still in a casino huddled with poker players). But the rest of the… Read more »
Look out for the 800-pound gorilla Eldorado Resorts Inc. finally completed its $17.3 billion acquisition of larger gaming rival Caesars Entertainment Corp. on Monday, creating the largest casino company in the United States. The new combined company will keep the Caesars name, almost certainly because of its brand recognition, and will be called Caesars Entertainment… Read more »
Fantastic Four DraftKings, best known as one of the market leaders in daily fantasy sports and its growing sports betting vertical, launched its online casino in West Virginia on Wednesday afternoon. It is the first such product in the Mountain State, making West Virginia just the fourth state to have an online casino industry, behind… Read more »
One Thursday, one Friday After being closed for nearly four months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Maine’s two casinos will reopen this week. Oxford Casino will welcome back guests at 9:00am on Thursday, while Hollywood Casino Bangor will open its doors at noon on Friday. Naturally, as we have seen throughout the country, both casinos… Read more »
Mask use is mandatory at casinos With COVID-19 cases continuing to escalate in the United States, casino operators appear to be taking at least one safety measure very seriously. Caesars, Las Vegas Sands, and MGM Resorts International have all reportedly told their employees to wear protective face masks or find somewhere else to work. According… Read more »
Casinos allegedly skirting pandemic regulations As COVID-19 cases rise dramatically across the United States, taking proper care to be clean and safe is of the utmost importance. The Culinary Local 226 union in Las Vegas does not believe some casino properties are being responsible in the face of the health crisis and have sued several… Read more »
We’ve all had some version of that Back to the Future II fantasy. We have knowledge of the results of sporting events – with or without a sports almanac – and take advantage of that information by racking up sports betting winnings. An imperfect but quite profitable variation of the fantasy happened in Las Vegas… Read more »
No food, no dice Atlantic City casinos will reopen on July 2 after more than 100 days in timeout because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Borgata will not be one of them. After New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy reversed course and announced on Monday that indoor dining would not be allowed to restart, Borgata officials… Read more »
Casinos ask for licensing pause With casinos continuing to reopen across the United States, it appears that two North Las Vegas casinos may stay closed for another year. According to Eater Las Vegas, Texas Station and Fiesta Rancho, both Station Casinos properties, have no plans on reopening any time soon. Eater’s evidence, despite no confirmation… Read more »
Time to start taking things seriously Caesars Entertainment is finally doing something it should have done before it reopened its first casino: it has made the waring of protective face masks mandatory for everyone who steps foot inside one of its properties. The company announced the policy change on Wednesday, June 24. It took effect… Read more »
Poker players will have to wait On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission approved the health and safety guidelines for reopening casinos. The main takeaway for our readers: there will be no poker for a while. No date has been set yet for when Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park Casino will be allowed… Read more »
Closed indefinitely More than three-quarters of the casinos in the United States have reopened after closing for at least two months because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The problem with celebrating being “OPEN FOR BUSINESS” is that you expose more people to the virus, especially in a crowded, closed environment like a casino. Now, I’m not… Read more »
