The casinos of Atlantic City have reopened in a pandemic world in a bid to try to salvage lost business. However, gamblers in Atlantic City are already being confronted with a very different casino experience.

Following a 108-day closure, many of Atlantic City’s casinos reopened their doors at the beginning of July. Avid visitors to the tables in Atlantic City have already noticed some of the changes casinos have made in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Casinos Implement Anti-Virus Measures

.As of 1/27/2021, Atlantic City has 2,328 confirmed cases of Coronavirus (49 Deaths). Atlantic County has 18,718 confirmed cases (446 Deaths). Atlantic City Hotline (833)359-0084. Information on Rental Property & Evictions Under Executive Order 106. NJ COVID-19 Updates (godelivery.com) NJ COVID-19 Updates. COVID-19 Outdoor Dining per NJDOH.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy published guidance on what casinos should do in order to reopen safely and prevent a resurgence of the virus.

• The outside of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City is photographed on Tuesday, Dec. Atlantic City casinos are open, but running with restrictions due to the pandemic, affecting the industry and tourism at Atlantic City overall. Inside the Plum Lounge for high rollers.
• The decision means the nine casinos in Atlantic City will remain limited to 25 percent capacity of their fire code — not including employees. Guests and workers must continue to wear face masks.

Compliance within casinos appeared to be nearly universal. An Associated Press reporter said that in more than two hours on the floor of the Hard Rock Casino he didn’t see a single customer not wearing a face mask of some kind. He also reported some customers were wearing full-face hoods extending down to their chests.

Casinos are currently limited to 25% of their usual operating capacity. At the tables, plexiglass dividers have been implemented in order to separate seats. Furthermore, slot machines are switched off every so often to maintain distance between players.

Thus far, it seems patrons are following both mask and social distancing guidelines.

New Jersey Residents Respond Positively

Despite videos emerging from major retailers like Walmart and Costco of confrontations between customers and staff over their anti-virus measures, the same scenes have not played out in Atlantic City.

On the contrary, visitors to the casinos of Atlantic City have responded positively to the changes.

Tony Revaman from Atlantic City says he used to visit the casinos twice a week before the March 16th shutdown. He said, “It’s great to be back. Only thing is you can’t smoke. I’m a smoker and I’m trying to find some way around this.”

Patrons of Atlantic City’s casinos were almost universal in their desire to follow the rules as long as they could gamble again.

Mike McLaughlin of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, said, “Accept, adapt, and have fun. I’m a gambler; this is what I do.”

Borgata Finally Removes its Resistance to Reopening

Eight of the nine Atlantic City casinos reopened their doors at the start of July, with three holding out for an extra day to give their high rollers a chance for a one-day head start, and to test out the new coronavirus measures in place.

The city’s largest and most profitable casino, the Borgata, decided against reopening. Indoor dining, drinking bans, and smoking bans within casinos encouraged the Borgata to reverse its reopening plans.

The Borgata has, finally, set a tentative date of July 26th for reopening. It remains unclear as to whether Governor Murphy will ease any of the coronavirus restrictions currently in place. However, the Borgata has been largely forced into a corner and has been forced to reopen in order to protect its position as the local market leader.

Will the Reopening Last for Long?

Anyone who has been reading the latest news regarding coronavirus will know that the number of infections throughout the US has exploded again. A spike in deaths in the coming weeks is widely expected. New Jersey has already experienced a major outbreak in cases.

This will leave Atlantic City’s nine casinos wondering whether they will be forced to reclose their doors and cause more disruption to their businesses.

The decision will likely rest on not New Jersey but on Atlantic City itself. If a major outbreak occurs within the city, another lockdown for the state’s casinos is likely.

For now, though, casinos are doing what they can to ensure that no clusters of coronavirus are traced back to their casinos or the city.

Gambling In Atlantic City Covid

Atlantic City casinos remain closed because of the coronavirus

After years of ups and downs, Atlantic City's casinos are facing another setback. All nine of them remain closed because of the coronavirus and most of the people who worked in them have lost their jobs.

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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – After years of ups and downs, Atlantic City’s casinos are facing another setback.

All nine of them remain closed because of the coronavirus and most of the people who worked in them have lost their jobs.

“It’s very quiet out here,” said Scott Heath, a food server at Caesars.

Heath said he’s worked in the city’s casinos for 40 years, but he’s not used to seeing the area so desolate.

“There’s no traffic. On a day like this, you would have traffic. You would have the jitneys operational going both ways. Yeah, it’s very eerie,” Heath said.

Scott Heath has worked in the city's casinos for 40 years.

The casinos have been closed for nearly nine weeks – the longest closure in Atlantic City’s history.

“When we closed in the past, it’s been for a short time. When we closed for [Hurricane] Sandy and the state budget not being approved, we were closed for less than a week,” said Steve Callender, the president of the Casino Association of New Jersey.

According to the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, over 26,000 people worked in Atlantic City’s casinos as of March 1, and most of them have been laid off.

“Certainly, the most unique time in my 40-plus-year career,” said Jim Allen, the chairman of Hard Rock International and CEO of Seminole Gaming.

Allen said it could take a while for the city to recover financially.

All nine casinos have been closed for nearly nine weeks – the longest closure in Atlantic City’s history.

“It’s going to be a very, very slow and gradual process of coming back. I do think that the long-term recovery could be close to a year,” Allen said.

The American Gaming Association estimated the casino closures have been costing Atlantic City $540 million a month.

Casino Atlantic City Map

But, according to Allen, safety has remained the top priority. “This is not about just making money; this is about being very cautious. We are dealing with human life here.”

With no reopening date in sight, industry experts have been preparing for the future once the state gives casinos the green light to open their doors.

Hard Rock Casino Atlantic City Covid 19

“The casino is going to be much different than people are used to seeing it,” Callender said. “If you’re playing slots or tables, you won’t sit next to someone you that don’t know. The employees will all be wearing masks.”

And, forget those casino crowds.

Atlantic City's casinos remain closed with no reopening date set.

“It literally could be anywhere from 20 percent of capacity, but certainly no greater than 50 percent,” Allen said.

Heath asserted that he’s used to change in the area. “There’s been a lot of ups and downs.”

Atlantic City Casino Covid Restrictions

Showboat Casino Atlantic City

This was the fifth time the casinos in Atlantic City have closed.

Hard Rock Casino Atlantic City Covid 19

“We always come back, and I am confident that we will, that we will persevere. We’re pretty strong here,” Heath said.