Mississippi Coast casinos could reopen before Memorial Day amid COVID-19, Reeves says
Gov. Tate Reeves said he’s confident that casinos in Mississippi will be open by Memorial Day.
Speaking at his Thursday afternoon press conference, Reeves said the casinos won’t be the same as when they closed March 16, since social distancing will be required and changes will need to be made to table games.
“I think they know that. They’re comfortable with that,” he said of the casino operators.
Reeves said he’s received reopening and operations plans from the casino industry and the Mississippi Gaming Commission.
“We have been in contact with both,” he said.
They still have work to do on making it safe for people to play card games and handle chips, he said.
John Ferrucci, general manager at Silver Slipper in Hancock County, was listening when the governor made his announcement. Memorial Day Weekend begins Friday, May 22, and Ferrucci said the casinos could use a few days to get up and operating before then.
“We’re excited about it and I’m glad the word is getting out today,” he said.
Not all the employees will be called back all at once, he said, since Silver Slipper will reopen in stages.
“We’re not going to have table games probably the first weekend,” he said. The casino buffet, one of the property’s biggest draws, will be among the first things to open, but not as it was when it closed.
“None of the guests will touch any of the utensils,” he said. Instead extra staff will dish whatever food customers want onto their plates. Customers will still build their own salad from ingredients that will be separately portioned out and the self-serve ice cream machine will be staff served.
“What a great weekend to open for our industry,” said Larry Gregory, director of the Mississippi Gaming and Hospitality Association, who also listened to Reeves’ press conference and quickly sent notice to all the casino operators in the state.
“We put together what we thought are good procedures,” he said, and employees are ready to return to work and get the casinos ready for their customers.
He said it will be extremely important for staff and employees are safe when they return. “Customers know when them come back our casinos are clean and safe,” he said.
“Opening a casino is something we’ve done on a regular basis,” Allen Godfrey, executive director of the Gaming Commission told the Sun Herald.
The casino industry employed more than 16,500 people statewide in February, and their return will help reduce the more than 150,000 people who Reeves said have applied for unemployment since the pandemic began.
This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 3:32 PM.
