Arkansas closed its casinos due to Coronavirus

Last week, the state of Phoenix took the decision to close all ten of its brick and mortar casinos

US.- The three Arkansas casinos have been closed after the order of the State governor, Asa Hutchinson. Oaklawn Racing Casino in Hot Springs, Southland Casino Racing in West Memphis, and Saracen Casino Annex in Pine Bluff will close at least to the end of March due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

According to local media, the closures affect hundreds of employees who work for the casinos and temporarily shuts off a flow of revenue amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars monthly to the state and to the cities and counties that benefit from gambling revenue.

“I think we want to be in compliance with what the president is doing, and we want to be smart and protective,” John Berrey, chairman of the Saracen Casino Annex said.

“We’re instituting all of the CDC testing procedures for cleanliness, and we’re locking down the site to make sure only authorized personnel are on the property, but as it stands right now, we’re still at full tilt construction,” he added.

Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort had already closed its casino last Monday at 8 a.m. Despite the closure, the casino said in a press release that approximately 1,000 employees of the casino and the track who are affected by the shutdown will continue to receive full pay and benefits for two weeks.

Last week, the state of Phoenix took the decision to close all ten of its brick and mortar casinos as part of efforts to contain the Coronavirus outbreak.