More states across US see multiple casino closures due to coronavirus outbreak

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is temporarily closing from Wednesday through March 31, becoming the latest hotel-casino on the Strip to shut down over fears of the spreading coronavirus. Several other states across the US have also seen more temporary closures in the recent hours, adding to the ones reported Monday by Yogonet.

Station Casinos plans to keep its 20 Southern Nevada properties open but is enforcing new policies to help curb the spread of coronavirus, according to a letter shared with employees Monday and reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Spokespeople from Caesars Entertainment Corp., Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Boyd Gaming Corp. also said the companies plan to keep their Nevada properties open at this time.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board ordered Monday the six Pennsylvania casinos that remained open to begin closing procedures so that all gaming activities and entry to patrons is concluded by 6:00 a.m. Tuesday. The regulators added that while the closure of the casinos is temporary, there is no specific indication of when reopening will occur.

In Washington, the Suquamish, Puyallup, and Tulalip tribes announced Monday afternoon they are shutting down their casino operations for two weeks. More casino closures around Western Washington are expected. The Snoqualmie Tribe said it will close Snoqualmie Casino through the end of the month beginning Wednesday. The Muckelshoot Casino announced it will close Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m., with no indication of when it might reopen. Angel of the Winds Casino is also shutting down Tuesday, but says it plans to reopen April 1.

In Oklahoma, all Cherokee and Creek nation casinos, including the massive Hard Rock and River Spirit properties, closed from today until the end of March to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the tribes announced Monday. The Cherokee announcement came half an hour after the Chickasaw Nation declared early Monday afternoon that it was closing its casinos until at least the end of March. The Creek decision came Monday evening. All three tribes will continue to pay casino employees, officials said. The Osage and Choctaw nations did not announce any casino closures on Monday.

All twenty casinos across the state of Louisiana closed Monday midnight amid the COVID-19 coronavirus emergency. Louisiana Gaming Control Board chairman Ronnie Jones says they will be closed for a minimum of 14 days. This is subject to an extension, if necessary. Governor John Bel Edwards said he plans to reevaluate the decision one week prior to April 13.

Just hours after MGM announced that the Gold Strike Casino in Tunica would temporarily close due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Mississippi Gaming Commission has ordered all casinos in the state to shut down by midnight Monday night. The casinos will remain closed until further notice and the closure will be evaluated daily to determine a reopen date.

Maine's two casinos announced Monday afternoon that they will be suspending operations for the next two weeks. These are Oxford Casino & Hotel, and Hollywood Casino Hotel & Raceway in Bangor.

In Minnesota, Grand Casino announced that starting at 4 p.m. Monday, it temporarily closed Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley. In a news release, the company said that it plans for a 14-day closure, but will assess conditions before a firm reopen date is announced. It also said that there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 at either casino.

Canterbury Park in Shakopee also announced that it was temporarily closing all of its operations beginning at noon Monday. Fortune Bay Resort Casino in Tower announced on Monday that it is temporarily closing its pool, sauna, fitness center, arcade and its North Star Lounge/Live Entertainment. All of those are closed until further notice.

Michigan’s Four Winds Casinos announced late afternoon Monday the closure of all four locations amid the outbreak of coronavirus. The Pokagon Gaming Authority will close all four locations of Four Winds Casinos beginning at 3 a.m. Tuesday, according to a press release from the casinos. The casinos, with Michigan locations in New Buffalo, Dowagiac and Hartford as well as South Bend, Indiana, will be closed until March 30. Officials will reevaluate at that time, the release said. Employees will continue to be compensated during the closure, the release said.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis ordered for casinos, theaters and gyms to close statewide on Monday afternoon, ahead of expected St. Patrick’s Day crowds. The order is for the next 30 days. Century Casinos already announces the temporary closure of its Colorado casinos for that period. Penn National Gaming said it will temporarily suspend operations at Ameristar Black Hawk Casino Hotel in Colorado starting Tuesday.

Prairie Meadows in Altoona is among multiple Iowa casinos and resorts that are suspending their gaming, hotel and/or racetrack operations indefinitely. The facility was to be closed beginning at 5 p.m. Monday. Joining Prairie Meadows in temporary closure Monday were three Elite Casino Resorts properties in Iowa: Riverside Casino and Golf Resort in Riverside, Rhythm City Casino Resort in Davenport, and Grand Falls Casino Resort in Larchwood.

The casinos stressed that there has been no known case of COVID-19 on their properties. There are 19 licensed and regulated casinos in the state under the purview of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. Q Casino, in Dubuque, and the privately managed Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel in Tama will also soon be moving to a temporary suspension of operations, said IRGC administrator Brian Ohorilko.

Two South Florida casinos, Calder Casino and The Casino at Gulfstream Park, are closing voluntarily as the CDC counsels against gatherings of 50 or more and the novel coronavirus pandemic keeps hitting South Florida. Magic City Casino said it would close at 11 p.m. Monday and take things day-by-day. 

On Monday, Delaware Gov. John Carney also ordered gambling to cease at the state’s three casinos as of 8 p.m., essentially closing the large businesses. For two of the casinos, closing was already a reality before the announcement.