New Mexico Casino Opens After Being Closed for a Year

By Jane Shaw Senior Editor Updated: 03/27/2021

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New Mexico Casino Opens

A New Mexico casino has opened its doors again recently after being closed for almost a year. The Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino closed its doors on March 15th, 2020 as a result of the global pandemic, which was quickly sweeping the nation. It remained closed until March 5th, 2021, just ten days away from being closed for exactly one year.

The global pandemic has caused chaos for casinos and other entertainment and hospitality venues. While many casinos closed for several months last year before being allowed to reopen, many others were forced into reduced capacity. In addition, the opening hours and other operational aspects of many casinos were limited after reopening.

Loss of 98 Percent of Revenue

After being closed for 355 days, the Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino has lost 98 percent of its revenue over the past year. Also, many of the employees that were laid off due to the closure found other jobs, which means that the venue has lost many of its experienced employees over the course of the year.

Officials from the casino said that a range of safety and protective measures have been implemented, and these have all been put into place during the lengthy period of closure. They said that the casino had been made as safe as possible in the current climate.

One casino spokesperson said:

We’ve invested in both thermal cameras in multiple locations in the facility to make sure people who are entering and exiting our building are of the approved CDC level temperatures.

He added that the venue also had automated people counters in place to ensure there was no risk of exceeding the recommended number of people within the building at any one time.

Patrons Pleased with New Measures

When the venue reopened on March 5th, many patrons were eager to enjoy some entertainment and gaming thrills. Many also said that they were very happy that new measures had been put into place to help protect both them and other people inside the venue.

One gambler who attended on the opening day said that he felt very safe about visiting the venue to enjoy some gambling. Another said that they had received their COVID-19 shots and felt that this also helped to boost confidence when it came to safety at the venue.

A range of measures will be enforced by staff at the casino to help ensure the safety of patrons and employees. These include ensuring all guests and workers wear facemasks, making sure social distancing is being adhered to and making sure everything is regularly cleaned and sanitized to boost hygiene levels.

At present, the racetrack, along with indoor dining facilities, will remain closed. These will be reassessed once the number of COVID-19 cases in the area drops. The casino itself can only operate at 25 percent capacity, so there will be far fewer patrons than its pre-pandemic days.

This reduced capacity will impact the number of employees required in the short-term, although this will change once capacity levels are increased.