New Jersey casinos are set to reopen next month.
New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy has announced that casinos in the Garden State will be permitted to reopen at a limited capacity from 2 July.
This news comes more than three months of being closed due to coronavirus pandemic.
Casinos in the state of New Jersey were closed on 16 March as part of a ban of gatherings of up to 50 people in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Reopening measures
Murphy announced that casinos in the state will be allowed to reopen from 2 July, just before the Fourth of July weekend, with a maximum capacity of 25%.
Restrictions on gatherings in New Jersey are gradually being eased, with a new executive order being signed by Murphy that allows indoor gatherings of up to 100 peoples, or 25% of a room’s capacity.
Outdoor gatherings of 250 people are now also permitted.
Murphy said: “While we are still in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the common-sense public health measures that New Jerseyans have been complying with are now allowing for us to expand capacity limits.
“We will continue to evaluate and make reopening decisions based on data, science, and facts.”
Murphy said that more information on health and safety guidelines will be released in the coming days. However, Murphy explicitly said if any visitor refuses to comply with safeguards, they will be escorted out of the casino property.
In a tweet, Murphy said: “We’re not going to tolerate any knuckleheads trying to ruin it for those who wish to enjoy themselves responsibly.”
More US casinos reopening
New Jersey is the latest state to announce plans to reopen its casinos with some health and safety measures being put in place.
When casinos reopen in July, the Garden State will join the likes of Colorado, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
Last week, Caesars Entertainment reopened its Paris Las Vegas casino in Nevada. At the time of writing Caesars has reopened several of its Nevada venues, including Caesars Palace, Flamingo Las Vegas and Harrah’s Las Vegas.
Century Casinos resumed casino operations at Century Casino & Hotel Cripple Creek in Colorado on 15 June and at the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort in West Virginia last week.
Penn National Gaming has also reopened 30 of its 41 US casino properties across 13 of the 19 states it operates in.
