Gateway Casinos & Entertainment is ready to greenlight daily operation at its brick-and-mortar locations in Ontario, as the casino leader recently revealed. October 8 is scheduled to see the official reopening of almost all of its casino locations to the delight of Ontario’s gambling fans ready for the thrill of in-person gaming.
The Canadian casino leader recently made an announcement that its venues will be able to resume operation this Thursday following more than six months of lockdown. Almost all of its casinos are ready for their reopening, welcoming back patrons with all safety and health protocols in place. There will be one casino remaining close at this stage of the reopening plan and that will be Casino Rama Resort.
Ontario Reopenings
The province of Ontario is one of the careful provinces that approach the situation in its unique manner. Back in the summer, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation made it clear that casinos could reopen but they will have to do so with a 50-patron limit on their daily operation. Gateway Casinos also took its time to prepare for the official reopening and which will take place this week in two major steps.
October 8 is scheduled to see the first phase of this plan, with a total of four venues reopening for the first time in more than half a year. Those will be Playtime Hanover, Gateway Casinos Woodstock, Gateway Casinos Clinton, and Gateway Casinos Chatham. These gambling hotspots will work with special hours of operation, at least for the time being, allowing the staff to thoroughly clean the casino floors after each busy day of work.
The first three venues will work between 9 a.m. and 1 a.m., whereas the fourth one will be open between 10 a.m. and 2 a.m. individuals interested in gambling there should wear face masks at all times and respect the physical distancing guidelines.
New Schedules
October 10 is projected to bring the second wave of casino reopenings for Ontario. A total of seven casinos are expected to relaunch operation this Saturday, making it possible for even more Ontario residents to gamble in-person. These venues are going to be Starlight Point Edward, Gateway Casinos Sarnia, Gateway Casinos London, Gateway Casinos Sudbury, Gateway Casinos Sault Ste. Marie, Gateway Casinos Thunder Bay, and Gateway Casinos Innisfil.
Each of those will come with its own hours of operation allowing players to gamble up until midnight, 1 a.m., or 2 a.m. Casino Rama Resort will remain the only casino location closed. Some of the casino operators hesitated to launch daily operation, as the number of patrons entering would be insufficient when it comes to gaming revenue. Great Canadian Gaming Corporation made it clear that it does not expect a financial benefit from these first weeks of operation.
Meanwhile, Dr. Abdu Sharkawy, an infectious disease specialist with the University Health Network, recently pointed out that Ontario’s government should consider a second closure of casino locations, shopping malls, and cinemas. The dynamically changing situation is projected to change over the upcoming weeks.
