Twin River Worldwide Holdings, owner and manager of seven casinos and a racetrack in Rhode Island, Mississippi, Delaware and Colorado, has begun reopening the properties forced into hibernation by Covid-19.
GGB News asked Marc Crisafulli, executive vice president of TRWH and president of its two Rhode Island properties, Twin River Casino Hotel in Lincoln and Tiverton Casino Hotel, if the reopenings are going as planned.
“Yes, they are,” said Crisafulli. “Of course, every jurisdiction is different, but overall, we’re very happy to get our people and guests back. Everybody is getting a different experience, but we’re happy.”
The first property to reopen was the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Biloxi in Mississippi. “It had a little more of a permissive opening—50 percent of capacity, and you’re allowed three people per table. There’s an open hotel, but limited amenities.”
The performance, he said, “was staggering for us. It proved there was pent-up demand. People wanted to come back. Our performance on slots and tables were higher than last year, even with those restrictions.”
Other markets didn’t see that level of enthusiasm. Delaware’s Dover Downs Hotel and Casino opened at 30 percent capacity, with no tables and no restaurant. Even so, said Crisafulli, “We’ve really seen the slot players come.
“Each market has its own phases, it’s not scripted,” he added. “Everyone looks at the data. On June 15, we’ll increase our capacity at Delaware from 30 percent to 50 percent. Right now, distancing is eight feet, enough for 100 VLTs. We’ll be able to reopen our hotel. Yes on the restaurants. Don’t know on the tables. We’ll finalize those details on Friday.”
Rhode Island, where Crisafulli is based, “has been a different experience,” he said. “We’ve been very cautious there. Our doors are open, but we consider it a pre-opening. It’s a bit of a pilot to make sure the protocols are working.”
Rhode Island opened with limited invitations sent to members of the casinos’ Players Club program. Guests needed to show invitations to enter. Those with invitations were given colored bracelets that identified which of three “mini-casinos” they were assigned to. The mini-casinos were physically separated, and guests were not allowed to wander among them. Many slot machines were turned off, and there were no table games. Hours are reduced and smoking is not allowed.
“The state wanted to be sure that we avoided any concentration or lines,” Crisafulli said. “We opened on Monday (June 8). Things went well and smoothly, and so we sent out another set of invitations. The first round was 4,000. At Lincoln, people with invitations could come as many times as they wanted over a 14-day period.”
Only Rhode Islanders were allowed in the first wave. After that successful test, Twin River sent invitations to another 4,000 guests.
“It’s not really a general opening,” Crisafulli said. “It’s more like a pilot. Let’s go slow, let’s make sure we’re safe. We can always layer in more people.”
Have there been any surprises during reopening?
“I think the whole Covid-19 situation caused us to take a hard look at the expenses of our business. There are expense savings that you can realize and still operate efficiently in this environment. I don’t know how long that will last.
“Two main drivers have been employee costs with limited amenities,” he said. “You don’t need as many people and marketing and promotions, because you have limited capacity. When you don’t have loss leaders, like a buffet, you can actually operate at a higher profitability.”
Some had predicted that reopening a casino would be as hard as opening from scratch, but so far, that hasn’t been the experience at Twin River, he said.
“I would say that the only part that’s like new is all the training around the new safety protocols and the measures we are putting in to ensure a safe environment. Otherwise, we’re welcoming back the same guests and team members. The scratch part is the new items to keep it safe.”
With all the new safety procedures, are customers still having fun?
“Absolutely,” said Crisafulli. “They missed the experience, they appreciate the environment and respect the protocols. In some properties, the (safeguards) are discretionary. We match our requirements to the market.”
In Mississippi, for example, “masks are optional, although we have a mask-only area for those who prefer that. We’re limited on amenities, but overall, our guests seem happy to get the experience they’re getting now. Absence made the heart grow fonder.”
Obviously, opening at less than peak capacity, the company’s casinos will take a while to return to full profitability. “We’re profitable in some markets, but otherwise, it’ll take a little time,” Crisafulli said. “We’re not going to project the future. We came to this with a strong balance sheet, so we can ride it out to the new normal—whenever that happens.”
TRWH’s large reserves helped it “take advantage of opportunities,” he said. Slightly more than a year after going public, armed with large reserves, the company aggressively acquired several properties and agreed to purchase the Isle of Capri Kansas City and Lady Luck Casino Vicksburg from Eldorado Resorts. That purchase is due to close during the second quarter. The company also picked up Bally’s Atlantic City from Caesars for only $25 million, completing the trifecta provided by the merger of Eldorado and Caesars.
Cash reserves “make us a natural buyer for some properties,” he said. “The acquisitions we signed with Eldorado are examples of how we hoped to come out of this stronger.”
The company “has a vision to continue to grow our business. We’ll be in eight states. If there are new opportunities, we’ll look at them. We’ll be thoughtful and continue to grow.”
