Niagara casinos preparing to reopen under Stage 3
With Niagara possibly going to Stage 3 of reopening as soon as next week, Niagara Falls' two casinos are getting ready to open their doors again.
While Casino Niagara and Niagara Fallsview Casino do not have a confirmed date to restart operations, Niagara Casinos president Richard Taylor says both are currently reviewing the reopening requirements and restrictions for Stage 3."
Among those requirements, it appears, is a 50-person limit.
According to Ontario's Framework for Reopening our Province' page, Stage 3 will allow casinos, bingo halls and gaming establishments to reopen, but with a gathering limit of 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors, not including staff.
Taylor did not indicate how this would affect the city's two casinos, or whether the province would provide an exception for them.
Both casinos closed their doors to the public March 16 in response to the pandemic, and the gaming floors have been silent since.
It is the first prolonged closure for Fallsview Casino, and just the second time Casino Niagara was forced to close following a six-day stretch in the summer of 2003. That was in response to then-premier Ernie Eves calling for Ontario to conserve energy in the wake of the Aug. 14 blackout.
Following the recent closure, Niagara Casinos said its 4,000 employees would be put on temporary leave in order to quickly access employment benefits from the government, and that all employee benefits would continue during the shutdown.
Unlike most of the province, Niagara is still in Stage 2 of reopening, as determined by the provincial government. That prohibits casinos and theatres from operating.
As it anticipates reopening soon, Taylor says Niagara Casinos is working with Niagara Region public health and infectious disease prevention experts to implement new health and safety protocols for staff and customers.
They include face coverings for all staff and patrons; physical barriers and plastic partitions installed where effective and possible"; and employee health screening tools, including temperature kiosks.