Milwaukee's Potawatomi Hotel & Casino lifts COVID-19 restrictions

Potawatomi Hotel and Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin will be returning to many of its normal operations as the City of Milwaukee pandemic health order lifts many of its COVID-19 protocols, effective Tuesday, June 1. However, the property will remain smoke-free, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The property, which is operated by the Forest County Potawatomi tribe, was not included in the statewide indoor smoking ban that went into effect in 2010. However, guests will now only be able to smoke in designated outdoor areas near the Northern Lights Theater and near entrances.

The resort will no longer require guests to wear a mask, but it will encourage those that are unvaccinated to wear one. Nevertheless, the staff will continue to wear face masks. The casino and hotel will also stop asking guests COVID-19 related questions upon entering the building as well as taking a temperature screening.

The interim CEO/general manager of Potawatomi Hotel and Casino Sheryl Schnering, said: “As vaccinations continue being administered and infection rates fall in the area, we are following the lead of health experts and local leadership in lifting some of the COVID-19 protocols we’ve had in place for almost a year. This is a positive step in getting back to pre-pandemic operation levels.”

Until now, the casino has been operating just half of its slot machines, however, starting Tuesday it will operate all of its slot machines.

Potawatomi, which was closed from mid-march until the beginning of June last year due to the pandemic, said other operations will reopen when it hires enough workers. However, bingo, table games, and other gaming amenities will remain closed.

The restaurants will continue to operate as carryout-only establishments with dining areas available. The hotel and casino are currently hiring for more than 100 positions in its food and beverage, security and hotel operations.