The opening last month of Resorts World Las Vegas was a high note for that city and yet another indicator that its main industry is getting back to normal. Like Vegas, many U.S. gaming markets have comfortably rebounded. But other markets continue to cope with Covid-19 restrictions and in some cases, a return to lockdown status. Here’s an update.
In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte recently extended Metro Manila’s general community quarantine from June 30 to July 15 with “some restrictions.” The quarantine zone includes Entertainment City or “E-City,” home of integrated casino resorts Okada Manila, Resorts World Manila, Solaire Resort Casino and City of Dreams Manila.
The Straits Times reported that new coronavirus cases in the Philippines exceeded 5,000 on June 28, bringing the total to more than 1.4 million. The government plans to administer as many as 10 million vaccines in July after meeting its goal of injecting 5 million doses this month.
And according to the RT Times, Duterte has threatened to jail people who refuse to get vaccinated. “If you don’t want to get vaccinated, leave the Philippines. Go to India if you want, or somewhere to America.”
The always colorful president reportedly asked government officials to identify people who refuse to get the shots. “I will order their arrest,” he said. “Choose—get vaccinated or get imprisoned.”
Casino reopenings are in the works in Canada, and it can’t come fast enough for Caesars Windsor in Ontario. Property officials and the employees’ union are lobbying the provincial government to let them resume business sooner than mid-July, which Premier Doug Ford set for a Stage 3 reopening. Ford moved the province into Step 2 on June 30.
Unifor Local 444 David Cassidy declared, “There’s no reason we can’t be opened up to 50 percent capacity, which is 5,000 people at a time. The safeguards that are in place are second to none.”
Cassidy said vaccination rates for the adult population in the region are in the 70 percent to 80 percent range for one dose and 20 percent for two doses. “We should not be where we are today, based on the numbers, based on all the requirements,” he said. “We’ve done our due diligence down here.”
Ongoing safety protocols include using clear plastic to separate tables and slots, with every other slot off to support social distancing. Sanitizers are ubiquitous and patrons will sign in at the entrance.
Casinos in British Columbia reopened July 1. Great Canadian Casinos, which operates nine properties in B.C., began recalling hundreds of employees who hadn’t worked at the casinos since March 2020, when the pandemic shut down most gaming.
Hospitality businesses are having trouble attracting workers. Great Canadian Executive Vice President Chuck Keeling said his company “will be challenged,” by those shortages. But he was mainly upbeat. He told the Vancouver Sun, “We are thrilled by the number of our team members that we’re calling that are coming back. We’re running north of 90 percent of those that we are calling.”
According to the B.C. Lottery Corp., casinos will be operating under enhanced sanitation protocols such as physically distanced slots at least six feet apart and clear plastic barrier between gaming tables and cash cages.
The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority opened its seven casinos June 20, but initially limited capacity to 150 people. The Northern Lights Casino reopened for the first time since December 2020 with 115 staff members.
General Manager Richard Ahenakew told CTV, “A lot of the machines have dividers in between them, and/or ATMs have dividers in the front. And we have hand sanitizing stations throughout the casino.” After the casino reaches capacity, patrons can get on a waiting list. No food or alcohol is being served on the casino floor. The casino is also hosting a pop-up vaccine clinic near the main entrance.
Casinos in the Australian states of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria last week suspended operations due to new Covid cases.
The Queensland government announced a three-day lockdown for 11 local areas that include the Star Gold Coast and the Ville Resort Casino. The website of the Treasury Casino (l.) in Brisbane, another Star Entertainment property, reported that its casino and restaurant would remain temporarily closed. Star said it would continue to pay its employees during the closure.
Though the situation remains fluid, as of last Friday the state of Victoria had announced a further easing of Covid restrictions following Melbourne’s 14-day “circuit-breaker” lockdown. Through July 8, social distancing measures are in force in the region, and workers can return to their offices at 75 percent capacity. The website of Crown Melbourne stated, “Crown is pleased to safely welcome guests to our restaurants, bars, hotels, shopping and selected entertainment venues. Our casino is open to Crown Rewards members only and a guest, and will operate under restrictions to designated gaming areas, each with maximum capacity limits.”
Queensland was under a “snap lockdown” order last Friday, but residents anticipated an imminent easing of Covid-19 safeguards.
In Malaysia last week, the government extended its nationwide lockdown through so-called movement control orders to help curb the spread of Covid-19, reported state news agency Bernama.
The massive Resorts World Genting casino complex (l.) in Genting Highlands, which “temporarily” closed May 31, remains inoperable due to “the government’s announcement on the nationwide total lockdown.”
Movement control orders will remain in place until Malaysia’s daily-infection tally falls below 4,000, said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. As of June 29, Malaysia had recorded 5,218 newly-confirmed Covid-19 cases in 24 hours. That took the country’s cumulative confirmed cases to almost 740,000. So far, only 6.33 percent of Malaysia’s population has been fully vaccinated, added Bernama.
On June 29, Genting’s casino cruise arm, Genting Hong Kong confirmed it had voluntarily suspended its Explorer Dream cruising activities in Taiwan, in place since May 12, due to a new Covid outbreak. Ship capacities in Singapore, which had been reduced from 50 percent to 25 percent in May, have now returned back up to 50 percent as of June 14.
In Hong Kong, the government has indicated that its Genting Dream will resume service at the end of July.
Meanwhile, the world’s foremost casino hub, Macau is exercising caution to keep the virus at bay, and has revisited a planned travel bubble with Hong Kong. “If Macau rushes into opening the border with Hong Kong it might end up suffering a big loss for just a little gain,” Macau Economic Association President Lao Pun Lap told the Macau Post Daily. “The vaccination rate is still low in Macau. It is only when people are fully vaccinated that we have the prerequisite to lift mandatory quarantine with neighboring regions and countries.”
Lao said vaccines are “the only hope” to revitalize the city’s economy. In addition, he said, the pandemic should serve as a reminder to the government and citizens to continue to diversify the territorial economy.
In the U.K., with infections on the decline, racetracks have become an issue for parliament as operators call for increased capacity.
Conservative MP Lawrence Robertson asked if capacities could be increased if pilot events show no differences between racetracks and stadiums, which can currently host as many as 10,000 spectators. The horse racing industry wants track capacities to increase to 10,000 too, but Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston nixed the request on the advice of public health officials.
“I’m aware of the impact that has had on certain sectors, in particular racing, and that is exactly why we want to get the Events Research Program moving and all these sectors open as soon as possible,” he said. The government did permit a capacity of 12,000 for the Royal Ascot festival, June 12-15.
“It will take a little while to gather the results from Ascot,” said
David Armstrong, CEO of the Racecourse Association. “If that were to come back with very positive results, we would continue to press even harder because that would be the first comparable event with real evidence.”
French casinos reopened in June and stadiums and racetracks will follow on July 11, subject to limits of 5,000 people. And in Italy, once a hotbed of the coronavirus infections, industry leaders are acknowledging what SBC News called “a paradigm shift” in the wake of Covid-19.
Marco Castaldo, CEO of Microgame, warned gaming operators to face a “change in mindset” across the industry if they expect to stay relevant. “The pandemic has definitely marked a drastic acceleration of the shift towards online gaming,” he said.
In the Greek-controlled Republic of Cyprus, Melco Resorts’ four satellite casinos are open, some with limited hours.
Back in the USA, while Las Vegas continues its rebound, Covid-19 has left “an indelible imprint” on the tourism industry, according to a report from research firm Applied Analysis, commissioned by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Principal Jeremy Aguero told Newsbreak.com that the “implications of Covid-19 were unprecedented in terms of our community’s core tourism industry” and affected every part of the economy in a “pretty dramatic and meaningful way.”
“Is the industry going to be forever changed because of Covid-19? The answer to that question is absolutely yes,” Aguero said. “The visitors are coming back and that will include business and eventually international travelers, but travel is going to be different for a while. The way we service visitors is going to be different for a while.”
Nevada, however, became the second state to lead the nation in the Delta Covid variant. With less than 40 percent of its residents being vaccinated and Las Vegas again hosting millions of people from around the nation, there is concern. Governor Steve Sisolak has requested federal assistance to get more people vaccinated.
Indian Country Today reports that the Navajo Nation has yet to record a single case of the Delta variant of Covid-19, but is not letting down its guard. Navajo President Jonathan Nez recently told the Washington Post, “I think we need to continue to be cautious. We have heard updates that the city of Tucson has identified a Delta variant … so we are concerned.”
For an updated list of casino markets in the U.S. and their Covid-19 status, visit the American Gaming Association’s Covid-19 tracker here.
