By
Jerry Smith
Staff Writer Updated: 09/26/2020
Jerry’s greatest advantage is his extensive experience on the casino floor. His time as a casino manager taught him everything about what makes a player tick. Besides being a skilled poker player, he has deep knowledge of all live table games and gambling regulations in the US.
Casino Table Games
It has been announced that casinos in Gilpin County, Colorado will once again be able to offer table games at their venues. Casinos in the area, as with the rest of the country, were closed for several months from March due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. They reopened in June but with limited amenities and facilities.
When the casinos reopened in June, they were permitted to operate slot machines, but no table games were allowed. Slot machines were considered viable because they involve a single person at a machine. However, the interaction around gaming tables meant that these were prohibited when the venues opened.
This has now changed, and three counties have been allowed to move to the Protect Our Neighbors level of operating. This means that the rules have been eased slightly for casinos in the three counties, which includes Gilpin, along with Rio Blanco and Mesa. The announcement was made several days ago by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The news has been welcomed by county officials and casino operators in Gilpin. This is largely down to the fact that 85% of the budget for the county comes from gaming.
When casinos were closed down during the peak of the pandemic, casinos and the county as a whole lost a huge amount of money. While the ability to reopen in June was welcomed, the requirement to operate without table games meant ongoing financial issues.
Now that the casinos can once again offer table games to patrons, many will be looking forward to seeing revenue increase. However, some officials believe that the announcement has been a long time coming. A Gilpin County commissioner, Ron Engels, said:
One of the things that was a little disappointing coming from the [state] was that in that initial variance, it had a few extra things, like, ‘In two weeks, we’ll revisit opening table games.’ Two weeks came and went, and then nothing.
The decision to ease restrictions was finally made because the three counties had achieved specified goals in relation to testing, healthcare, and the number of infections.
Although casinos in the three counties will start offering table games again, casino officials have said that they will be different from pre-pandemic operations.
David Farahi from the Monarch Casino in Black Hawk said that while table games had been off the menu, casinos had been developing new practices and putting into place new measures ready for their return. It means that they can now operate table games more safely than before and can restrict contact when it comes to things such as touching cards and dice.
At Monarch, some table games will not return just yet because of the difficulties in restricting contact. This includes pai gow poker. All tables will have hand sanitizer, and this must be used by players before they start a game. In addition, with games such as craps, the dice will be sanitized before being handled by each player.
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