Though several states have begun to “reopen” in recent days, giving people who just absolutely cannot deal without a haircut the opportunity to have somebody else groom them, Nevada casinos are still shuttered because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And rightfully so. No state has even met the minimum requirements for the federal government’s “Phase 1,” so jamming into a casino with thousands of people, recirculated air, and dirty chips and cards is the last thing I want to do. Of course, plans to get gamblers back at in the casinos are in the works – Governor Steve Sisolak will be announcing something Thursday – and part of that plan might involve sneeze guards at the tables.
Testing in Louisiana
Ok, sneeze guards might be simplifying things a bit, but it’s fairly accurate. One example comes from Margaritaville Resort Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana. DeucesCracked founder Joe “Joe Tall” Bunevith was sent a video of the casino’s gaming floor by a friend and posted it on his Twitter page. In the video, a blackjack table is shown with what appears to be plexiglass shielding installed on it.
The plexiglass is curved from one corner of the table to the other, screwed/bolted to the felt. It separates the players from the dealer and has dividers to separate the players from each other. There is a gap at the bottom of the barrier at each seat to serve as a pass-through for chips, cash, and cards.
When my wife saw this, she wondered if the player side of the barrier will be cleaned constantly, as one would think it’s possible that the virus could land on it via a player’s breath or cough.
And of course, one of the big issues is that players and dealers are still going to touch the same chips and cash. Cards are less of a problem at most table games, as players are not often permitted to touch the cards.
Bunevith has heard that a possible solution, telling Fox 5 Las Vegas: “The theory is to have a second dealer that only deals with the actual chips and cards, they actually play the hand for you.”
How fun.
El Cortez trying local firm’s product
While no Las Vegas casinos have announced any official plans to use such a barrier, the El Cortez in Downtown Las Vegas is taking a hard look at a possible solution made by Las Vegas-based Screaming Images.
As opposed to the safety shield demoed in the Louisiana casino, Screaming Images says that its acrylic device can be installed in 15 minutes and doesn’t need screws, so it wouldn’t damage the tables. It doesn’t fog up and is easy to clean.
Adam Wiesberg, El Cortez general manager, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that James Swanson, principal at Screaming Images, is “one of our best vendors by far,” so the casino was happy to take the shields for a test run on the currently empty casino floor.
The dividers can also be used at businesses like restaurants. And since the hope is that they will not need to be a permanent fixture, it was important to Swanson that they could be recycled when no longer needed.
“We’re going to have a program put together to make sure it’s not just thrown away in the trash can,” Swanson said.
