Massachusetts regulators approve casino reopening requirements

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Tuesday set a number of requirements for the state’s three casinos to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, unanimously approving precautions that include social distancing at slot machines and a ban on mainstay games like roulette, craps and poker. 

Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park have been closed since mid-March. No reopening date has been set, and casino operators say they will need 10 to 14 days notice in order to ramp back up.

“We wish our licensees great success when the reopening is permitted,” commission Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein said, as reported by Mass Live. “To each licensee, I thank you for your patience today.”

The new guidelines include rules and recommendations for screening guests, including a requirement to make hand sanitizer available and a suggestion to conduct temperature checks. Social distancing guidelines for slots include a requirement that casinos turn off every other slot machine and remove chairs, and to either ensure a minimum of 6 feet between slot positions or install 6-foot-tall plexiglass dividers. 

Also, commissioners agreed that players will not be allowed to carry or drink a beverage while moving around on the gaming floor and that the licensees must make all reasonable efforts to ensure guests do not violate that rule, SHNS reports.

There are also reduced occupancy limits based on a formula for total patrons and employees. Commissioners believe the formula will reduce each facility’s capacity to about 25%.

For table games, plexiglass barriers separating dealers and players, and players from other players, will have to be at least 5 feet 10 inches high. The commission agreed that 5 feet 10 inches was acceptable after Encore Boston Harbor Senior Vice President Jacqui Krum said that was the maximum height her company was able to achieve when it fashioned its own partitions in-house.

The casinos’ opening date depends on Gov. Charlie Baker’s reopening plan, and is expected to occur in Phase 3. The state is in what officials have called the second part of Phase 2. The administration has said it will review two weeks of public health data from the start of indoor dining — which began June 22 — before launching Phase 3, meaning the decision is not likely until at least July 6.