{"id":134764,"date":"2020-05-03T23:59:20","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T06:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=134764"},"modified":"2020-05-04T10:13:16","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T17:13:16","slug":"indiana-eyes-mid-june-as-tentative-reopening-date-for-casinos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-eyes-mid-june-as-tentative-reopening-date-for-casinos\/","title":{"rendered":"Indiana Eyes Mid-June as Tentative Reopening for Casinos Closed by Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indiana casinos may reopen as soon as next month, according to information a state gaming official gave Casino.org<\/em>. That came just hours after Gov. Eric Holcomb on Friday outlined his program to get businesses and other facilities forced to close in March by the COVID-19 pandemic \u2018back on track.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Indiana
The Ameristar Casino in East Chicago, Ind., is one of 12 state-licensed casinos closed since March 16 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. State officials outlined a plan Friday that could allow them to reopen in mid-June. (Image: John Luke\/Times of Northwest Indiana)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tentative date for the 10 casinos and two racinos to welcome back customers is June 14, according to Jenny Reske, deputy director of the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC).<\/p>\n

\n

The IGC staff is working on its reopening requirements, which will be available at a later date, Reske said. The casinos must submit reopening plans to the state before receiving approval for welcoming back patrons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe casinos are putting a lot of thought into their plans,\u201d Reske told Casino.org<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Indiana was one of the first states in the country<\/a> to order its casinos closed to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. The gaming commission shuttered the venues early on March 16, just days after Holcomb began limiting \u201cnon-essential gatherings\u201d in churches, auditoriums, stadiums, and similar facilities.<\/p>\n

However, as it did in other states, the closure severely affected the amount of tax revenue<\/a> the venues provided to the state and communities. Just two weeks after the Tropicana Evansville closed because of\u00a0 the IGC’s order, the Evansville City Council agreed to a nearly $3 million repeal in the current budget.<\/p>\n

Four Keys to Reopening<\/h2>\n

While casinos are not mentioned explicitly in Holcomb\u2019s plan, the June 14 date would fall on the beginning of its fourth phase. During this stage, \u201ccultural, entertainment, and tourism businesses\u201d may open at half capacity. Bars and nightclubs may open as well with that same restriction.<\/p>\n

Holcomb\u2019s plan is for all businesses to operate at full capacity by July 4.<\/p>\n

We hope we can open up the state even more in mid-June to get you back to even more of the activities you and your family are used to and missing so much in recent weeks,\u201d Holcomb said in his Friday address.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The second stage of Indiana\u2019s five-phase reopening program \u2013 the first-phase covered the time since Holcomb ordered all nonessential businesses closed on March 23 \u2013 starts on Monday.<\/p>\n

However, for the state to proceed to each subsequent stage, Holcomb said officials will follow four key guidelines. Those are a continuation in the decrease of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the ability to keep intensive care beds and ventilators readily available, expanded testing capabilities statewide, outreach to all who test positive for the virus, and the ability to conduct contact tracing on those individuals.<\/p>\n

Through contact tracing, state officials will be able to identify those who may have interacted, knowingly or not, with someone who contracted COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we cannot continue to meet our four guiding principles, all or portions of the state may need to pause or even return to an earlier phase of our stay-at-home order,\u201d the governor said. \u201cIn other words: this is up to each of us, and all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indiana Casino Workers Rally Around Concerns<\/h2>\n

Also on Friday, union workers at Indiana\u2019s casinos held an online rally via Facebook to call on their employers to take additional steps to ensure the health and safety for them and the patrons. They also wanted gaming companies to make health insurance more affordable for the employees.<\/p>\n

The virtual demonstration was organized by UNITE HERE Local 1, which represents workers at three northern Indiana casinos, as well as UNITE HERE Local 23, Teamsters Local 89, and IUOE Local 399. The latter three casinos represent workers at both Caesars Southern Indiana and the Indiana Grand Racing and Casino.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m scared to go back to work because one of our co-workers on the property already died from COVID-19, and he was working with us right before the shutdown,\u201d <\/strong>said Anjila Gaudet, a Caesars slot attendant. \u201cIf we’re going to re-open, I want public health experts to be guiding us in what we should be doing.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indiana casinos may reopen as soon as next month, according to information a state gaming official gave Casino.org. That came just hours after Gov. Eric Holcomb on Friday outlined his program to get businesses and other facilities forced to close in March by the COVID-19 pandemic \u2018back on track.\u201d The tentative date for the 10 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":134765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIndiana Eyes Mid-June as Tentative Reopening Date for Casinos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Indiana Gaming Commission is looking at June 14 as the reopening date for casinos across the state, but casinos must submit plans for approval.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-eyes-mid-june-as-tentative-reopening-date-for-casinos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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