Seminole casinos and other casinos in Broward County will reopen Friday. NBC 6’s Alyssa Hyman has more on what you can expect the next time you visit.
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, the rest of South Florida's Seminole casinos and casinos in Broward County will be reopening Friday after months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Hard Rock, Seminole Casino Coconut Creek and Seminole Classic Casino are all set to open at noon on Friday. Broward County officials also moved up the date for all its casinos to reopen by Friday.
A number of safety and social distancing measures will be in place at the Seminole casinos. They include:
- Temperature checks for all guests and team members prior to entry. Any guest or team member with a temperature above CDC guidelines will not be allowed entry.
- A requirement that all guests wear masks or cloth face coverings that meet CDC guidelines, without exception. Masks will be provided to guests, as needed. Numerous alternating slot machines will be turned off, to help ensure social distancing on the casino floor.
- New Plexiglass barriers will divide players at poker games, customer service areas and most table games.
- Signs will be posted throughout the complex to encourage social distancing and help ensure adherence to Safe + Sound program guidelines.
- Numerous team members will be part of a new "Safe + Sound Clean Team" to focus on cleaning and disinfecting surfaces throughout the complex, with special emphasis on high-touch surfaces and common areas.
- Hand-sanitizing stations will be available on the casino floor, at the entrances and throughout the property.
- Constant purification and disinfecting of the air flowing into the complex through the AtmosAir™ bipolar ionization system designed to destroy virus particles in the air and on surfaces.
- An overall 50 percent reduction in guest capacity throughout the property.
"Hard Rock and Seminole Gaming have made a tremendous commitment to sanitary protocols and a safety-first mentality for both guests and team members," said Jim Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming and Chairman of Hard Rock International. "We are making sure our resorts are Safe + Sound so our guests and team members have peace of mind when they return."
Though dining areas will be open, they'll feature limited seating. The Guitar Hotel pool will be open to guests only.
Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock and The Pavilion at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek will remain closed until further notice.
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The Seminole Tribe of Florida closed all of its casinos in Florida back on March 20. At the time of the closings, the Tribe said they employed nearly 14,000 people in the state.
The mayor of Hallandale Beach Joy Cooper took a tour and had a city camera with her to show some of the changes expected at some of the local casinos like The Big Easy Casino, including thermal imaging cameras at the entrance.
“We want to get back to the new normal and remind everyone that we want to support our local businesses,” Cooper said. “I'm comfortable here today and am very impressed with the measures they’re taking to ensure that everyone can have a great safe experience.”
Daniel Adkins, the president of Gaming at the Big Easy Casino, explained some other changes, like the poker tables will have fewer players and sanitizing stations. And every other slot machine will be turned off to space out players.
“We’ve done a lot in here and I think the people are going to be really excited to get back here and see the changes,” Adkins said.
