Crown Melbourne in Victoria, southern Australia will not open for at least six weeks following an order from Premier Daniel Andrews to reinstate Stage 3 restrictions across the metropolis. The move was prompted by a record high of 191 new coronavirus cases on July 7, reported the U.K. Guardian.
“I think a sense of complacency has crept into us as we let our frustrations get the better of us,” Andrews said. “I think that each of us know someone who has not been following the rules as well as they should have. I think each of us know that we’ve got no choice but to take these very, very difficult steps.”
Elsewhere in Australia, businesses have mostly reopened and new Covid-19 cases have plummeted to low the single digits, Inside Asian Gaming reported.
Crown Melbourne has been closed since March 23 and hoped to reopen in the near future. In a statement, Crown Resorts said its first priority is “the health and safety of its employees, guests and the community.”
Crown’s other Australian casino, Crown Perth, reopened June 27, and the Star Entertainment Group opened its properties in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast to the general public earlier this month.
“It’s not where we wanted to be,” Andrews said, “but we can’t go back, we can’t change those things that have got us to this point. We can only respond appropriately and that involves everyone following the rules.”
The infection surge in Victoria reportedly followed lax quarantine protocols at hotels where people returning from overseas were required to stay for 14 days. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said the government is planning to slow down the return of Australian citizens and residents.
In related news, Star Entertainment’s Gold Coast property plans to focus on home-grown high rollers instead of foreign tourists, who are barred from entering the country, Group Executive of Operations Geoff Hogg told local media.
“We do have some domestic customers that will be pretty critical and we’ll be trying to focus on them to come to the Gold Coast,” he said.
Meanwhile, returning customers claimed a spot at more than half of the slot machines at Star Entertainment’s Sydney, Australia casino when it reopened July 1. Activity levels dropped off somewhat on ensuing days, according to J.P. Morgan analysts. According to Asia Gaming Brief, analysts at J.P. Morgan visited the casino on opening day and noted that 385 slots were active, about 54 percent of normal main floor capacity.
