Bay State casinos to reopen

No Fourth of July fireworks for Laughlin‘s Avi Resort & Casino. The tribal establishment recently retested its 400 employees for Coronavirus and enough positive results came back to warrant a closure from Wednesday until July 10. During that time a deep cleaning will be performed and there will be a “reexamine[d]” approach to masking, disinfection, social distancing, health checks, testing, etc. Guests displaced by the closure will be comped to a future stay. Nevada’s best-known tribal casino, Avi sits on sovereign land and would be exempt from state regulation.

This was the scene yesterday at Resorts Atlantic City as the casino reopened for business. “Play Safe, Work Safe” is President Mark Gianantonio‘s motto, as he stressed (among other things) the number of outdoor-dining options available. He also name-checked a variety of vendors who did everything from electrostatic-spraying of the casino to installing anti-viral UV technology in the air-handling system. That’s what guests won’t be able to see. What they will includes mandatory mask-wearing, health screenings at every point of ingress, limited seating at table games (and only 50% of slot inventory in play) and readily available hand sanitizers, etc.

Not to be outdone, Hard Rock Atlantic City was open bright and early, with a new safety regimen of its own awaiting guests. We’ve mentioned some of this before, like the green-clad “Clean Team.” Presumably their high-profile attire is meant to lend a reassuring vibe to the casino floor. Masks or face shields are mandatory, entry points have been cut down to six, the better to screen incoming players, you can’t get in if you’re under 21 and operation will be at 25% of capacity.

Self-parking for loyalty-program members is free until further notice, slot machines will be spaced out by two vacant positions (ditto table play), table gamblers will have to sanitize before playing, and there are various comp and free-play goodies for loyalty members. Best of all, no resort fees! Maybe better still, would-be gym and pool users will get a $7 credit against future resort fees. Room rates start at $79 bucks a night. There’s not much not to like unless you’re from one of the 16 states upon whose citizens Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has imposed a 14-day quarantine. Fortunately for Atlantic City, that does not include Pennsylvania or any of the Boardwalk’s other big feeder markets.

No discussion of renascent Atlantic City is complete without mention of activist Steve Young‘s promise to be “shutting the city down” tomorrow as a Black Lives Matter protest. As much as we support the cause, this seems counterproductive to say the least. Best-case scenario, you’re not taking a knee so much as kneecapping a city that’s hurting financially on what is traditionally its biggest weekend of the year, not to mention inconveniencing God knows how many tourists. This is hardly the way to make friends and influence people. Young’s stated purpose is to “bring light to the oppression and the racism” in Atlantic City, which is ironic given the longtime failings of its traditionally African American, Democratic leadership. Also, having covered the Boardwalk for 25 years, I can think of a lot more racially oppressed places in which to protest.

Since Young has refused to rule out violence at his July 4 rally, raising the specter of a riot, we have to come down in opposition to this particular BLM march, one that could entail the same vandalism that Young’s Tanger Outlet Mall looting spree (“some window shopping,” Young called it) did. Both the NAACP and Mayor Marty Small (D) have asked Young to call the whole thing off but the latter seems to be enjoying the publicity. “There should be no ambiguity in his message if his message is change and justice, which I support,” said the NAACP’s area president, Kaleem Shabazz. “I don’t agree with just shutting something down because you have the ability to.” Amen.

Jottings: Seven Harrah’s Laughlin employees tested positive for Coronavirus. Scarily, this happened despite Harrah’s following new safety protocols from corporate HQ … Employees at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas say they’re not being kept abreast of positive cases. Cosmo management apparently continues to demonstrate “the wrong amount of right” … Downtown‘s former Red Light Nightclub is now, uh, Discopussy. The name is explained as a reference to a giant, eight-armed chandelier. Right … All four Apple stores in Las Vegas are being re-closed, due to runaway Covid-19 … California card rooms in 19 counties are being closed again, owing to a Coronavirus resurgence in the Golden State. They join movie theaters, museums and wineries on the verboten list in a three-week shutdown … Per documents submitted to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, both the Palms Casino and Fiesta Henderson will be mothballed until June 21, along with Fiesta Rancho and Texas Station. Formerly The Reserve, Fiesta Henderson was Ameristar Casinos‘ worst flop until Station bought it and turned it around … Eldorado Resorts closed on the sale of two casinos, Isle of Capri Kansas City and Lady Luck Vicksburg. The buyer in both cases was Twin River Holdings, growing rapidly.