As Las Vegas slowly begins to restart their casino gaming industry and Florida gets back to action, Pennsylvania and Illinois have been rather slow in getting back in the game. That will change in the next week as Boyd Gaming, who own properties in both states (and Nevada, for that matter), looks to restart operations at their properties in those locales.
Par-A-Dice, Valley Forge Casino Hotel Coming Alive
In Illinois, Boyd Gaming operates the Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino in Peoria, IL, which has been shut down March 15 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Illinois has had some of the most stringent reopening guidelines in the States of America, with Governor J. B. Pritzker’s five phased program being implemented for more than three months. The final phase of the program was reached on Friday and Boyd Gaming has stated that the Par-A-Dice will reopen in time for the Fourth of July weekend on July 1.
In Pennsylvania, Boyd owns the Valley Forge Casino Hotel in King of Prussia, PA, which had been shut down since March 12 by the order of Governor Tom Wolf. Valley Forge reopened on Friday to new rules for gathering, both by the order of the state and by the Chief Executive Officer of Boyd Gaming, Keith Smith.
“With the reopening of Valley Forge and Par-A-Dice, 26 of Boyd Gaming’s 29 properties nationwide will be back in business,” said Keith Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boyd Gaming. “We are encouraged by business volumes and responses from our guests since we began reopening our properties in mid-May, and we look forward to continued recovery as we provide safe and enjoyable experiences for our guests.”
Boyd Gaming Implements Extensive “Boyd Clean” Plan
The casinos and hotels under the Boyd Gaming banner have been attempting to go beyond local guidelines with their “Boyd Clean” program. The protocols that are being implemented by Boyd Gaming properties include:
- Mandatory face coverings and temperature checks for all team members;
- Social distancing requirements and capacity restrictions across all customer and team member areas, including casino floors and restaurants;
- Enhanced cleaning and sanitation of all high-touch surfaces, including door handles, gaming machines, table games, handrails and elevator buttons;
- Increased placement of hand sanitizer dispensers throughout our properties;
- Required training for all team members on our safety protocols.
What hasn’t been stated by Body Gaming is what their casinos will do in the event of a resurgence of the COVID-19 outbreak.
In Las Vegas – and after attempting to allow for customers to “do the right thing” and take precautions regarding safety protocols – several casinos made the move to mandate the wearing of masks by every person on the grounds. Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak soon removed the option from visitors and citizens of the state by mandating that people would wear masks while in a public setting such as a business or a casino. Twelve of the 29 casino operations that Boyd Gaming owns are in Nevada.
Overall, the States of America are experiencing a resurgence of the COVID-19 outbreak. The last three days have seen new infections rise each day to record levels, more so than when the virus was reportedly at its peak in March. While there have been disagreement regarding what is causing this uptick, many concur that the gathering of people in enclosed spaces without the appropriate protections – such as a casino or hotel, for example – have significantly added to the potential problems.
