Miami-Dade Casinos Forced to Close Their Doors Again

By Mike J. Davies Editor in Chief at Casinos.US Updated: 07/20/2020

Mike J. Davies Editor in Chief at Casinos.US See Full Bio

Mike is our Senior Editor and experienced gambling strategist. A former hockey player, he transitioned to the casino industry after finishing his B.A. in English. Blackjack systems, online casino guides, gambling terms, and more – Mike is familiar with all fine points of gambling.

Closed Sign

Just weeks after opening their doors following the COVID-19 lockdown, casinos in the Miami-Dade area are being forced to close their doors for a second time. The casinos were closed for three months since mid-March due to the global pandemic, with many only allowed to reopen to customers over the past few weeks.

However, a sharp rise in infection rates in the Miami-Dade area has led to entertainment facilities, including casinos, being closed for a second time until further notice. This will come as a huge blow to the casinos, which were hoping to try and get back on track after months of huge financial losses.

Curfew and Closures Implemented by Mayor

As a result of increased infection rates in the area, the Miami-Dade mayor, Carlos Gimenez, signed an order late last week. Because of this, there is now a 10pm curfew in place across the area, and a variety of businesses have been told to close their doors again. These are non-essential businesses including the recently reopened casinos. The mayor said:

I am rolling back the reopening of entertainment facilities, such as movie theaters, arcades, casinos, adult entertainment, concert houses, bowling alleys and other (indoor) establishments that have recently had their plans approved by the county.

Casinos have put a huge amount of work into making their properties safe for patrons and employees, following new rules and guidelines relating to social distancing and cleaning, among other things. However, with the infection rate going back up, officials cannot afford to take any chances even with enhanced safety measures in places.

Gimenez said that he was hoping to reverse the increase in infection rates by implementing the curfew and closing down certain facilities. He stated that his aim was to protect the residents of the county.

On Thursday, there were more than 10,000 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed, with Miami-Dade leading the way with the highest number of confirmed cases in the state. The figure was a new record for the state, which causes further concern. Beaches in the area were also closed over the July 4th weekend in a bid to try and curb the increase.

Tribal Casinos Not Affected

There are four commercial area casinos that are affected by the new order, and these are Casino Miami, Calder, Magic City, and Hialeah Park.

While the mayor has given the order to casinos across the county to close again along with some other non-essential businesses, this does not apply to the tribal casinos in the Miami-Dade area. Officials do not have the authority to close tribal casinos, and the tribal casinos have no plans to close their doors again at present.

The Seminole Tribe has three casinos in the Miami-Dade and Broward County areas, and these are the Seminole Classic Casino, Casino Coconut Creek, and the Seminole Hard Rock Casino. All these casinos will remain open for now.

Officials from the tribal casinos said that they are confident that they can continue to protect employees and patrons with their new measures.