Governor Andrew Cuomo has stopped New York’s four commercial casinos from reopening by specifically removing them from his Phase IV reopening order.
The state has dodged a second wave of Covid-19 that has been seen in other states such as California and Florida while new cases and deaths are at an all-time low since the worst of the pandemic.
The Phase IV reopenings included colleges, arts and entertainment, media production, and professional sports without fans. However casinos, cinemas, gyms and malls were removed from the list.
Critics of the governor say that New York and New Jersey had pledge to reopen together, but Atlantic City casinos have been open for weeks while New York’s are still closed, even those located well away from New York City.
The state has nine Indian casinos, operated by the Oneida Indian Nation and Seneca Nation, which are not subject to the governor’s jurisdiction and have reopened.
