The number of seats at blackjack tables will be reduced to three, down from six, to encourage social distancing. Wynn-Encore hopes to open Tuesday.Īt Las Vegas casinos, employees must wear masks and guests are strongly encouraged to do so. In Las Vegas, about 35 properties, including the Sahara and Treasure Island, began accepting reservations Friday, hoping to draw guests looking to travel on the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The card clubs are playing catch-up with the Las Vegas and tribal casinos, some of which have opened and many others of which are planning to open in the next few days. At restaurants and bars, the food would be served on disposable plates and flatware, according to the proposed rules. The seats and rails that players lean on at the card tables would be sanitized each time a player leaves a table. The rules of the game would not change substantially, he said. Keith Sharp, general counsel for the Gardens Casino in Hawaiian Gardens, said that in blackjack the cards could be dealt to the players face up on the table, eliminating the need for the players to touch them. Where practical, players would not be allowed to touch the cards, according to the proposal, and cards and chips touched by players would be cleaned frequently or discarded after use.

The clubs shut in mid-March as the coronavirus spread through California.Īt a news conference Friday, Newsom said the state hopes to release guidelines to reopen casinos and card clubs in the “next days and weeks.”Įmployees and guests would be required to wear masks or other face coverings, which would be provided to all employees and made available to guests.

The protocols were drafted with the help of medical experts at UCLA and USC and have been presented to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in hopes of getting the agency’s blessing, according to representatives of the card clubs. It includes some proposed changes already adopted by tribal and Las Vegas casinos, such as increasing the distance between players at card tables, cleaning more frequently and taking the temperatures of gamblers as they enter. The 20-page list of protocols agreed upon by the six card clubs was presented to Gov. With Las Vegas casinos expected to open next month and a handful of tribal casinos in California already taking bets, Los Angeles County’s card club operators put forward a set of health protocols that they hope will enable them to reopen within weeks.

Commerce casino reopening