Massachusetts poker rooms will not reopen until 2022

Despite the loosening of Covid-19 measures in Massachusetts, poker rooms will not reopen until next year, casinos have announced.

US.- This week the Massachusetts Gaming Commission removed remaining Covid-19 restrictions for gaming venues, allowing the state’s two casinos and the slot parlour to return to normal pre-pandemic conditions.

However, casino have said they are not ready to resume operating table games or poker rooms because they consider the games are not currently profitable.

When regulators allowed Massachusetts casinos to start operating again in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, they prohibited craps, roulette and poker, citing safety concerns around social distancing and the touching of surfaces.

In March, regulators allowed casinos to spread those games again, but capped the number of people at the table, including the dealer, at four.

However, despite the relaxing of measures announced this week, poker players in the state may have to wait until 2022 before the poker rooms are open again.

Executives at Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield said that it would not be profitable to spread poker games that shorthanded.

MGM Springfield Compliance Director Daniel Miller told the Berkshire Eagle: “We’re continuing to monitor needs for poker and whether we will bring that back. We too have decided to make a decision by or around December 31.”