Ontario casinos reopen at 50% capacity
As the province enters Step 3 of its economic reopening plan, casinos across Ontario can resume operations today at half of the capacity.
Canada.- All casinos in the Ontario province will be allowed to reopen after closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Casinos closed in March 2020, reopened in October 2020, closed in December 2020, reopened in February 2021, and closed again in April.
Since the province has passed into Step 3 of its economic reopening plan, casinos can now open at 50 per cent capacity. Terrence Doyle, the interim CEO of Great Canadian Gaming Corporation said 11 GCGC venues would reopen on July 16.
While Hanover, Clinton and Sarnia casinos will open at 9am, casinos in London and Woodstock will open at 12:01 a.m.
Gateway Casino Hanover’s general manager Derek Tierney said: “The phones been ringing off the hook since the announcement last Friday. A lot of our valued customers are looking for entertainment options, after not having them for quite some time”.
“We’re actually recalling staff that have been off since before the pandemic began, so March 2020. So, some of the employees have been off for 17 months. It’s been great to make those calls.”
However the business will not be fully operating: table games will remain off-limits and buffets won’t be available yet.
“Things will look a little different, but some things will look familiar. We’ve still got our directed signage on the floor, and hand sanitizing stations. Our buffet won’t be open yet, but it’s still really good to be reopening,” Tierney said.
