Pennsylvania: Rivers Casino and Meadows Racetrack & Casino set to reopen June 9

Both Rivers Casino Pittsburgh and Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Pennsylvania announced plans to reopen after three months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Rivers Casino is planning to open at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 9, according to a release from the company. The casino will operate weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 a.m., and will be open all night on weekends up until 4 a.m. on Mondays. The property will perform deep-cleaning during the closing hours.

"Our team had already been working on making the changes announced by the PGCB in May," Rivers Casino General Manager Bill Keena wrote in a statement. "We intend to meet or exceed all requirements to provide a healthy environment. The safety and well-being of our team members, our guests and the community are our top priority."

Meadows General Manager Tony Frabbiele said in a release that the Washington County facility plans to reopen at noon Tuesday. “We have been working closely with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), state and local leaders, and public health officials to finalize comprehensive reopening protocols and new health and safety precautions. We look forward to sharing details of our property-specific procedures in advance of reopening and welcoming back our team members and customers,” the statement read.

A spokesman for the PGCB said the Meadows is able to reopen because Washington County is among 16 counties scheduled to go to the state’s green phase of reopening with restrictions as of Friday, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Allegheny County, home to Rivers Casino, is also going green.

Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin in Farmington, Fayette County, the only other Western Pennsylvania casino in a county that will turn green Friday, has not indicated to the state gaming board its plans for reopening.

Among the state’s restrictions for reopening casinos and other entertainment facilities such as theaters and shopping malls is that they allow only 50% occupancy. In a 10-page list of protocols for reopening sent to casinos last month, the gaming control board said it “desires to assure that reopenings occur in a manner which promotes the safety of casino patrons and employees alike as well as assure an environment conducive to proper regulatory oversight.”

All patrons and casino employees will be required to wear masks, social distance, limit personal contact while the casino enforces strict cleaning and disinfecting regimens to comply with all guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Each casino must identify a pandemic safety officer who will report any employee with a confirmed or presumptive case of COVID-19 to the gaming control board and the state health department.

As for slot machines, casinos are required to promote social distancing by doing things like installing a Plexiglas barrier between machines, removing chairs from certain machines and disabling certain slot machines to create distance between operating machines.

Poker rooms are not authorized to operate under the COVID-19 protocols. And valet services will be discontinued until revised guidance is received.