Odds not looking good for reopening Ohio's casinos anytime soon

SANDUSKY — All bets are off for trying to figure out when Ohio's four casinos could welcome back gamblers. "I do not have any information at this time regarding reopening," Jessica Franks, a spokeswoman with the Ohio Casino Control Commission, told the Register. The commission ensures integrity with all state-based casino gaming, skill-based amusement machines and virtual contests, such as fantasy football, through licensing, regulating, investigating and enforcing state laws. "The Ohio Casino Control Commission is part of an advisory workgroup advising on the best practices for reopening Ohio's casinos and racinos," Franks said. Through his stay-at-home order, which went into effect in mid-March, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine mandated casinos, normally 24/7 operations, to close. As of Wednesday, he's given no indication when they could reopen. A new look for casinos When Ohio's casinos open back up, expect them, like virtually every other business, to follow social distancing guidelines. Why? To prevent the spread of COVID-19. The commission, however, hasn't indicated what measures — be it possible, temporary or permanent — could be implemented in Ohio's casinos. But they might follow suit with pilot programs happening across the nation, including in Nevada. The governor recently announced casinos statewide, including in Las Vegas, will reopen on June 4. While casino operators have mostly kept their plans hush-hush, they'll likely prohibit traditional gambling scenes from playing out. For instance, they might forbid people from crowding around a craps table and frown upon them high-fiving one another after a shooter makes the point. One image leaking out from Live! Casino & Hotel in Maryland, near Baltimore, shows a plastic, see-through barrier wrapping around a blackjack table. Slots cut out of the bottom allow a player to reach through and grab cards or slide chips through. Across the nation, casino operators could incorporate this very tactic at the blackjack, poker and roulette tables. Operators might also strictly enforce, or considerably downsize, capacity limits to maintain social distancing. It's not known if gamblers would need to wear masks, but anticipate employees, at least in the onset of reopening, doing so. When Ohio's casinos do reopen, all of their amenities and attractions might not. This would include the popular all-you-can-eat buffets, deemed by health experts as "breeding grounds" for germs and bacteria. Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this news story. Making sense of the dollars and cents The Ohio Casino Control Commission provided figures to give some gravity as to how detrimental a shutdown truly is for casinos, employees and others depending on them as revenue sources: • 4,000: The approximate number of casino employees, with a vast majority now on unemployment or forced to work elsewhere • $280 million: The amount of casino-generated tax dollars generated in 2018 and distributed in 2019 to local governments. These governments — which include Erie, Huron, Ottawa and Sandusky counties — receive and then spend these funds on vital services, such as road repairs and law enforcement operations. • $851 million: The amount of revenue produced through gaming at casinos in 2019.