Cripple Creek casinos reopened Monday with crowds

Colorado: Central City and Black Hawk casinos reopening today

More than 300 customers lined up Monday morning in front of 11 casinos in Cripple Creek, waiting to play slot machines for the first time since all gambling facilities in Colorado closed in mid-March to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
2020-06-17
Reading time 1:52 min
The Mardi Gras, Golden Gates, Golden Gulch and Monarch Casino in Black Hawk are beginning their phased reopening on Wednesday, with casino floor limited to 175 people per floor and every other slot machine will be available for play. More than 300 customers lined up Monday in front of 11 casinos in Cripple Creek.

Central City and Black Hawk casinos are set to reopen today, following Cripple Creek casinos reopening earlier this week, in Colorado. The Mardi Gras, Golden Gates and Golden Gulch casinos will begin their phased reopening. All three will open with health and safety precautions, as well as limited hours of operation, capacity, dining options and gaming options.

During the initial phase of reopening the casino floor will be limited to 175 people per floor and every other slot machine will be available for play, CBS4 reports. For dining, Bourbon Street Café will be seating guests with limited capacity and Full House Café and Creekside Deli will be open and available for to-go food options.

There will be one main entrance for Mardi Gras and Golden Gates at the Main St. entrance, entrance to both properties will be available through the parking garage at the Players Club. All guests and employees will be subject to a health screening at the main entrances using handheld thermometers to ensure temperature is not greater than 99.5 prior to entering the building. All employees and guests will be required to wear a face covering while inside any of the properties.

About 250 employees of the Monarch Casino in Black Hawk went through updated training and were tested for the coronavirus to be ready when the doors open at 8 a.m. Wednesday. All the staff was COVID-19 free, a spokeswoman said, as reported by the Denver Post.

Several people visited Cripple Creek casinos, which opened Monday. All the casinos, including in Central City, had to get exemptions from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to reopen. They must follow certain guidelines and restrictions.

“We had in excess of a thousand people the first five hours we were open,” Matt Andrighetti, general manager of Wildwood Casino in Cripple Creek, said Monday. 

More than 300 customers lined up Monday morning in front of 11 casinos in that Teller County city, waiting to play slot machines for the first time since all gambling facilities in Colorado closed in mid-March to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Most other Cripple Creek casinos had a steady stream of customers, but capacity and social distancing didn’t seem to be much a problem after the opening lines quickly dissipated, as reported by Colorado Springs Gazette. None of the blackjack, poker or roulette tables or any sportsbooks are open yet, and some casino restaurants remain shuttered. To allow for social distancing, only about half the number of slot machines previously in operation are available for play.

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