After being closed for seven months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Borgata poker room in Atlantic City has reopened to a limited capacity.
The casino has opened 30 of the room’s 77 tables with plexiglass dividers between players. The Borgata’s poker room is normally one of the largest in the country and hosts several World Poker Tour events. For the time being, the room will offer only cash games at seven-handed tables, the casino announced. Players will also be required to wear masks.
Borgata was slower to reopen than other Atlantic City casinos after state-ordered mandatory shutdowns this spring. Casinos were allowed limited openings for the July 4 holiday, but Borgata waited several more weeks to reopen.
Property President and Chief Operating Officer Melonie Johnson said in a press release that Borgata is happy to welcome back players and that they have made certain changes “to enhance our guests’ experience and are excited to reintroduce live poker and the Borgata Poker brand more safely.”
Last year, the Borgata poker room generated nearly $18 million in poker revenue of the $27.2 million reported by all five of the city’s poker rooms.
Atlantic City casinos are only operating at 25 percent of capacity, which is continuing to strain its workforce. The president of Unite Here Local 54, the city’s largest casino union, estimates that 75 percent of the union’s about 10,000 members are back to work but only at about half their former hours.
“There’s still a great need here for food and for support,” Robert McDevitt told the Press of Atlantic City at a recent food drive for casino workers sponsored by the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.
