Casino News In Oklahoma
From Tulsa to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is known for its diverse landscape featuring beautiful hill lakes, lush forests and the Great Plains. With a captivating Western heritage and world-class museums, the “Sooner State” is not only a great place to find cowboy apparel, but is also home to glitzy casino hotels. North Texans: If you feel like gambling, there's good news for you. The casino many in North Texas head to - the WinStar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma - will reopen Wednesday.
It’s been almost two months since all of the casinos in Oklahoma closed their doors to the public. Many gaming analysts had questions about how popular these venues would be once they reopened. Some have recently started to accept guests again and it appears many are enjoying having their local casinos back.
The past two months have been some of the toughest in the history of the US casino industry. Fortunately, it appears that things may finally be improving. Today, we’re going to look at how Oklahoma’s casino industry is doing as it slowly begins to reopen.
Let’s get into it!
States Are Slowly Beginning to Reopen Casinos
The US land-based casino industry was forced to shut down weeks ago. Health officials around the country successfully argued that keeping gambling venues open to the public presented a serious health risk. As time goes on and cases of Covid-19 begin to drop, however, several states have begun allowing casinos to open back up.
That includes casinos in Oklahoma. As many know, Oklahoma is home to one of the largest Native American casino industries in the United States. Forcing casinos to close here immediately had a serious impact on the state’s economy.
Officials in Oklahoma realized it was important to reopen casinos. These venues employ a huge number of individuals and provide valuable revenue to many parts of the state. It now seems like every day, more casinos here are beginning to accept guests again.
Louisiana and Mississippi are also set to reopen their casino industries. To the surprise of many, casinos in Louisiana will open back up on Friday, albeit with heavy social distancing measures set in place. It’s not entirely clear when Mississippi’s casinos will reopen, yet Governor Reeves is aiming for Memorial Day.
Nevada is taking its time allowing casinos to open again. Leaders here recognize how important the gambling industry is, yet they want to avoid a surge in new infections. Many believe the major casino-resorts in Las Vegas will be up and running by June.
Some felt that even after reopening, casinos would have a difficult time bringing in players. That doesn’t appear to be the case in Oklahoma.
Casinos in Oklahoma Are Already Drawing in Large Crowds
There are many casinos now spread around the state of Oklahoma. Some of these venues are just finally beginning to reopen. Several major gaming analysts predicted that revenue would be slow to recover, however, as many would be unwilling to visit a casino due to concerns over safety.
Some of these analysts may be forced to change their minds. On Monday, the Thunderbird Casino in Shawnee held a soft opening to the public. Incredibly, there were hundreds of individuals waiting outside before the casino even opened its doors.
Jenny Mitchell, a regular casino player in Oklahoma, expressed her delight in seeing this venue resume its operations.
“I’ve been waiting for it to open,” Mitchell said. “I’ve been waiting this whole time and I’ve been coming here since they opened.”
Of course, things will be a little different here than they were in the past. Guests are already having their temperature taken before entering the casino. There are also strict distancing measures set in place on slots and table games.
It’s a great sign for other casinos in Oklahoma that have yet to reopen. The Thunderbird Casino is making it clear that guests still want to play inside a brick and mortar venue. Hopefully, enough revenue is earned to keep all of the casinos here above ground.
Las Vegas Casinos Start Releasing Reopening Plans
As we’ve already mentioned, Nevada has yet to formally allow casinos to start opening up again. Governor Steve Sisolak has been hesitant to reopen the state economy, much to the dismay of Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman. Fortunately, casinos in this state seem to have come up with safe guidelines to start operating again.
Not long ago, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved these reopening plans. It was a huge moment for the state and many casino companies immediately began setting dates to accept guests.
This week, several major casinos in Las Vegas released their casino plans. All of these venues are working hard to ensure their staff and patrons stay as safe as possible. Much like casinos in Oklahoma, all of the gaming venues in Las Vegas will require strict social distancing.
The conversation is now shifting to how many visitors will start traveling to Las Vegas. Tourism here has dropped to the lowest levels in history. Many may be unwilling to board a flight right now with concerns about the coronavirus.
As we’ve seen in Oklahoma, however, there are many that will take the risk. People around the country may be looking for an escape after being in lockdown for weeks. Perhaps this will result in a huge surge of visitors to the Las Vegas casinos.
It’s an interesting time for the gambling industry. Make sure to stay tuned for updates on the situation in Las Vegas over the next few weeks!
byAdam KempList Of Casinos In Oklahoma
NORMAN — The line to get inside Thunderbird Casino stretched nearly 250 people long.
Inside, guests' temperatures were taken at the door, masks were handed out and guests were told they had to wear them while they sat at slot machines at least six feet away from the nearest fellow gambler. The bar was closed, but drinks were available as well as a limited menu from the restaurant.
For Jenny Mitchell of Purcell, Monday and the opening of her favorite casino could not get here soon enough.
'I've been waiting for it to open,' Mitchell said. 'I've been waiting this whole time and I've been coming here since they opened.'
Thunderbird Casinos in Norman and Shawnee did a soft opening Monday to allow patrons a chance to gamble on select slot machines.
State health officials have given strict directives for social distancing and disinfection, allowing restaurants to open dining rooms Friday after being closed for six weeks while movie theaters, churches and concert halls, gyms, salons and other businesses have all reopened. Bars are still closed, as are city playgrounds. Social gatherings of 10 or more people are still forbidden.
National health officials warn that anyone entering a large venue full of people in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic must take safety precautions like wearing a mask and sanitizing properly.
“If we really want to keep our businesses open and we don’t want to see a spike in this and have to shut everything down again for another six or eight weeks, we’ve got to cover our faces,” said Dr. Jeff Warren, a member of the COVID-19 task force. “My mask really doesn’t protect me. Your mask doesn’t protect you. My mask protects you and your mask protects me. So this is a politeness issue.”
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Of the hundreds in line outside Thunderbird Casino on Monday, few came wearing masks. But casino staff, who were all wearing the face coverings, handed them out to all patrons who wished to enter.
From 10 to 11 a.m. the Norman casino was reserved for guests age 50 and older and quickly hit its reduced capacity of 250 people, roughly one third of its normal capacity, within minutes. The Shawnee casino had a capacity of about 125 people.
As the state continues to relax its emergency orders allowing for more and more businesses to open up and operate, Thunderbird general manager Sam Caruso said they wanted to get a jump on competing casinos in the metro area that are mostly waiting until May 15 or later to open their doors.
“We continuously paid our team members throughout our closure,” Caruso said. “Now that restrictions have been loosened, our whole team was anxious to get back to work.”
While masks were enforced by staff at the casino, patrons were still allowed to smoke once inside. One man, who refused to give his name, cut a hole through his paper mask to fit a cigar through it.
Casino News In Oklahoma News
“We are taking a lot of things away from people and telling them they can’t do this, can’t do that,” Caruso said. “So we thought we might as well allow them to smoke. They can just pull their masks to the side while doing it.”
In Oklahoma, many tribal governments that shut down casinos in mid-March kept paying employees. The Cherokee Nation said it costs the tribe $30 million to $40 million a month to pay salaries and expenses while casinos and other businesses are shuttered.
While Thunderbird, which is operated by the Absentee Shawnee Tribe, decided it was going to open, other casinos have decided to wait until later this week or even later before opening their doors.
Casino News In Oklahoma Casinos
Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby announced that the tribe's 24 casinos would also remain closed until at least Friday. And when they do reopen, business will be conducted with extreme caution.
“Health professionals advise that recent measures enacted to help mitigate the spread of the virus are beginning to work because of widespread participation,” Anoatubby said in a statement. “Health professionals also advise to take a cautious approach toward reopening in order to preserve recent gains and prevent a resurgence in new cases.
“Therefore, our leadership team continues to monitor the data on an ongoing basis as we work to develop a comprehensive plan for a phased reopening of our operations while being mindful of protecting public health.”
The governor of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes said Monday that the six Lucky Star Casino locations will reopen Friday, but with strict social distancing, mask and sanitization efforts in place.
Many other casinos, including Riverwind Casino and Newcastle Casino, announced they would remain closed through Friday.
Sac and Fox Casinos will also remain closed until at least Friday, as Principal Chief Justin Wood said in a Facebook Live chat that it was too early for the state to reopen.
“Now is not the time to end social distancing,” Wood said. “We will continue to watch the impact reopening Oklahoma has on human life.”
For Caruso, the line out the door is a sign people were eager for a little fun. He said he isn’t sure how long they will implement the social distancing and mask protocols, but predicts it will last a long time.
“It’s hard to predict,” he said. “Definitely at least the next couple weeks this way before we slowly turn more machines back on.
“But who knows, it could be limited like this forever.”
Related PhotosJenny Mitchell plays a game at the Thunderbird Casino for its soft reopening on Monday in Norman. The casino is operating at one-third of its capacity and spacing out machines six feet apart while implementing temperature checks at the door and requiring patrons to wear masks. [Chris...
Adam Kemp is a news and health reporter for The Oklahoman. He grew up in Oklahoma City before attending Oklahoma State University. Read more ›