Casino No Mask

No mask, no gambling at Caesars casinos. FILE PHOTO - The closed Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel & Casino sign is seen illuminated as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, on. A dealer wearing a protective face mask waits for customers before the reopening of the D Las Vegas.+ hotel and casino, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher. Kelvin Dennis wears a mask June 11 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa. A spokesman said the tribe's experience in dealing with COVID-19 could ultimately lead to a permanent change to the.

Sycuan Casino and Resort announced that starting at 7 a.m. Friday, bandannas, gaiters and face coverings with valves will no longer be considered acceptable options at its locations, a decision that puts it at odds with less-restrictive county and state health regulations.

In an update Thursday, the tribe that operates the casino and resort just east of El Cajon said such face coverings will no longer be among its approved options because they allow unfiltered, exhaled air to escape more easily than other types of coverings, increasing the risk of transmitting the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

• After casinos reopened with a new set of mask rules, some people still didn’t get the memo. One man who refused to wear a mask was cuffed and removed from the 4 Queens casino in Downtown Las Vegas.
• A Nevada man was arrested for trespassing Sunday after refusing to either leave a Stateline, Nev., casino or put on a mask. Security asked the man to leave the bar at the.

Eddie Ilko, Sycuan's casino safety manager, said that guests who arrive wearing one of the unacceptable types of face coverings would not be turned away, but would instead be provided a mask that is acceptable.

Sycuan’s new rules for what constitutes an acceptable face covering is more strict than that of the County of San Diego or the state, which consider use of such face coverings compliant with mask requirements in public health orders.

Ilko told The San Diego Union-Tribune that the casino resort's safety strategy was being guided by research on COVID-19 and government recommendations, and they constantly work to improve and adjust policies as scientists learn more about the novel coronavirus.

Recent research has indicated that the types of face coverings Sycuan no longer considers acceptable were less effective than snug-fitting surgical or multi-layer cloth masks when it comes to keeping exhaled breath from escaping into the air, Ilko said.

'A lot of times, people aren't within that 6-foot social distance, so we want to be able to add an extra layer of protection,' Ilko said of the reason for the policy change. 'So if it just means requiring certain types of masks, that’s not a lot to ask.'

He said safety teams toting disposable masks and hand-sanitizer were assigned to various areas of the property to provide the safety equipment to guests in need, and remind people of rules when necessary.

Most of the county’s casinos opened in May, defying public health guidelines that would have kept them closed. They have continued to operate indoors after the county was placed last month on a state monitoring list that restricted indoor operations at most non-essential businesses until certain COVID-19 tracking metrics are below a specified threshold.

Because casinos are on tribal lands, they’re not subject to state or county laws, such as public health restrictions. All the casinos in San Diego County have put in place many safety measures to prevent COVID-19 infections.

Vegas Casino No Masks

County officials have said they have seen COVID-19 cases among people who spent time in casinos, but as of Wednesday, they had not reported casino-linked outbreaks of three or more cases in people from different households who were all at the same casino location within a 14-day period.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City’s casinos will be able to reopen July 2 at 25% capacity and everyone inside the building wearing masks, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday.

In a Twitter post, the Democratic governor also said indoor dining can resume on that date, with restaurants also operating at 25% capacity. And racetracks can resume operating July 2 as well.

Murphy said New Jersey casino patrons will have to abide by a requirement that is not being used at every casino that has reopened thus far: All guests and employees will have to wear face masks and undergo some level of health screening.

“If any visitor refuses to comply with these simple safeguards, you will be escorted out of the casino,” the governor said. “We are not going to tolerate any knuckleheads trying to ruin it for those who want to enjoy themselves responsibly and those who need to get back to work, especially if those knuckleheads could be spreading Covid.”

The city’s nine casinos have been waiting for a reopening date for weeks, even as casinos in other states reopened.

“We’re delighted to get the reopening date,” said Joe Lupo, president of the hard Rock casino. “We thank the governor that we’ll be able to be open for the July 4th weekend to meet the demand on the world-famous Atlantic City Boardwalk.”

The governor said additional safety and health guidelines will be released in the coming days for casinos and restaurants.

Many of the casinos have been planning on their own for a reopening, and have adopted measures including increased hand sanitizers and social distancing to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

But some were planning more stringent measures than others. For example, Hard Rock was the first to say it would require masks to be worn by all employees and guests. Other casinos had planned to recommend mask use for guests, but now will have to require them.

Lupo said he is confident that what Hard Rock was planning on its own will meet — and probably exceed — whatever standards the state imposes.

“Our air filtration is better than most hospitals,” he said.

He also said the casino’s player database will be able to assist health authorities with any contact tracing that may become necessary.

“With 85% of our customers being rated, we can provide details on when the played, for how long, which beverage servers were in the vicinity, which room they stayed in, where they ate,” he said.

Casino No Masks

Resorts Casinos plans to utilize air ionization, and ultraviolet light as part of its sterilization protocols, and every other slot machine will be disabled to keep guests separated.

Atlantic City’s casinos have been shut since March 16, and revenue has plunged since then.

Casino Without Masks

The casinos had been informally planning to be open in time for the July 4 weekend, a goal Murphy had said he wanted to meet several weeks ago. The holiday is one of the busiest times of the year for Atlantic City casinos.

“In the past two years Atlantic City’s casinos made 30% of their total net revenue for the year in the third quarter, so the next three months are crucial for them to regain some financial stability,” said Jane Bokunewicz, coordinator of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute for Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University.

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Follow Wayne Parry on Twitter at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC.

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Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.