Just when you thought it was safe to venture out into the sea of slot machines at your favorite Illinois casino, new COVID restrictions have been announced. It happened on Thursday, November 19 when the state set a record of sorts. It reported a total of 14,612 new COVID-19 cases which made that the third-largest single-day total of positive cases since the coronavirus was identified as a pandemic in March 2020. The high number of COVID cases in the state forced Governor JB Pritzker to take action to reduce the spread of the deadly virus.
Governor Tries To Keep It Simple
The new restrictions, which went into effect November 20, include the mandatory closures of casinos, museums, and theatres. There were also tighter limits imposed on retailers although a stay-at-home order was not released. Pritzker stated that the new wave of restrictions is based on a very simple principle – if you don’t need to do it, don’t. The details of the Tier 3 lockdown impact big-box retailers such as Walmart and Target who are now limited to 25 percent of normal capacity. Traditional size grocery stores and pharmacies are to stay at the 50 percent capacity limits that were earlier imposed.
More Details On Casino Closures
The first closure of casinos in Illinois occurred on March 15 when the entire state was locked down by the Governor to flatten the curve of COVID-19 cases. Casinos remained closed until July 1 and had several limits imposed along with additional COVID guidelines before they could reopen. The guidelines included mandatory mask-wearing while gaming and casinos were to operate at no more than 50 percent of capacity. As you can imagine, with land-based gaming off the table for three and a half months, revenues took a serious gut punch. Reports released from the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) verify this saying that casinos in the state generated $269-million in revenue in Q3 2020. That figure is down significantly from the $342-million generated in the same time frame during 2019. With casinos closed again for an undetermined number of weeks or months, revenue figures in Q4 2020 are expected to look much like they did in Q2 2020 during the first shutdown.
The Bet Is On A Family Christmas
The Governor made it clear when announcing the second casino closure which also includes many other large venues. “The more we can avoid gatherings, especially indoors with people that we don’t already live with, the more likely we are to be able to celebrate the December holidays with less risk to our loved ones and ourselves.” Other restrictions that remain in place include the banning of indoor dining and bar service although outdoor and ventilated tent services are still allowed. Gyms are allowed to stay open but group classes are banned. Salons, barber shops, and other personal care serves are still open provided clients and employees wear masks and that capacity is reduced to 25 percent. Scheduled individual workouts are okay. As for hotels, only hotel guests can enter and there are limits in place for any type of gathering – no more than ten to a group. Plus, all members of that ten should already know each other by either family ties or are part of the same bubble of friends, family, and acquaintances.
What About Other State Casinos?
That is an excellent question. Illinois is not alone in restricting activities at casinos. Remember, the main purpose of the casino shutdown is to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and that is viewed as possible by either eliminating or controlling crowd numbers. Other states are doing the same, some with variations on the theme. For example, in New Jersey, indoor dining is limited, casinos in Ohio must close overnight for cleaning, Michigan and New Mexico closed down all casinos, with the exception of tribal casinos which are left to their own discretion as to close or not.
The Illinois Closure Is Only Temporary
We know what you are thinking, but that is the plan out of Des Plaines, Illinois. Governor Pritzker is hoping to keep this new closure limited to a 14-day stretch although we already hinted above at a much longer closure. The length of time is significant in that symptoms of COVID-19 generally require two weeks incubation time to be noticed. But breaking the pattern of spread by removing gathering places, it is hoped that a drop in positive cases results. This does not mean that the state will be going back to normal anytime soon, but by reducing the number of cases, some facilities will be allowed to reopen with restrictions. Casinos can be one of those places provided everyone follows the COVID protocols in place when they are out and about away from home.
The Casinos Impacted
There are a total of ten casinos in the state of Illinois. Each of them will close as part of this second lockdown. Here is a list of the venues impacted by this closure:
Argosy, Alton
Casino Queen, E. St. Louis
Grand Victoria, Elgin
Harrahs, Joliet
Harrahs, Metropolis
Hollywood, Aurora
Hollywood, Joliet
Jumers, Rock Island
Par-A-Dice, East Peoria
Rivers Casino, Des Plaines
Online Sports Betting Is Not Affected
Governor Pritzker has continued to support online sports gambling within the state by extending the deadline for bettors in Illinois to register the online wagering accounts. Residents now have until mid-December to remotely register to participate in online sports gaming at their preferred online sportsbook. With casinos shut down once again, sportsbooks will be extremely busy. The last recorded monthly handle from sports betting was in the $305-million dollar range, an all-time monthly record since sports gambling had been legalized in Illinois.
In Conclusion
A temporary shutdown of casinos in Illinois is intended to break the pattern of positive COVID cases in the state. The plan at the moment is for a 14-day closure, but depending on the numbers, it could be extended. For those hoping to spend Christmas with family, following the COVID protocols could result in family holidays. Only time will tell.
