Oklahoma: Chickasaw Nation to reopen all casinos Wednesday

Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby announced Friday that WinStar World Casino and Resort and all of the tribe's casinos and gaming centers will open at 25% capacity at 8 a.m. Wednesday, May 27.

Guests and employees will be required to wear face masks at all times within the casino and resort near the Oklahoma-Texas border. Casinos will close daily from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. for cleaning and disinfecting, and restaurants will have reduced seating capacity to maintain 6 feet of distance between each seated group of guests, officials said.

Along with WinStar World Casino and Resort, Chickasaw Nation officials said The Artesian Casino, Treasure Valley Casino, SaltCreek Casino, Chisholm Trail Casino and Newcastle Casino will open at 25% capacity Wednesday. The exact time for the opening of those casinos will be announced on the facility's social media pages.

"We have a responsibility to ensure our facilities remain safe places for our employees and patrons as we reopen," Anoatubby said in a news release. "Therefore, our leadership team has developed a comprehensive plan with numerous levels of protection in place to protect the health of our employees and patrons. We continue closely monitoring the data and consulting health professionals in an effort to maintain the most effective containment measures available and minimize any possibility of resurgence."

Anoatubby said preparations for reopening the WinStar casino and resort began weeks ago. Those preparations include employee testing, alterations to facilities and employee training to ensure enhanced disinfecting protocols and safety procedures are implemented effectively. 

"The health and well-being of our employees and patrons remained top of mind as we developed and worked through our extensive reopening plan," Chickasaw Nation Commerce Secretary Bill Lance said. "We have conducted initial testing and screening on all employees, vendors and partners. Also, employees will undergo a screening protocol daily before reporting to work, and we will continue employee testing every two weeks using commonly accepted scientific methods for population sampling."

In addition to employee testing and screening, the gaming facilities will implement responsible distance policies and enhanced protocols and limit casino gaming floors to 25% of capacity. The release states casino personnel will also check the temperatures of all patrons entering each facility and will deny entry to people with a confirmed temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher.