The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc throughout the sports world, which in turn has had a major impact on sports betting and the casino industry. Casinos in Colorado have been ordered to shut down, effective Tuesday, March 17.
Be sure to check back with PlayColorado as we will update this article when new information becomes available.
March 19 — Fees reduced for Black Hawk casinos
According to a report from 9News.com the city of Black Hawk is waiving nearly $700,000 in fees from casinos to lessen the hardship faced from the current 30-day shutdown.
March 17 – Casinos closing down
On Monday afternoon Colorado Gov. Jared Polis ordered bars, restaurants and other larger gathering places across the state to shut down for the next 30 days. The order means that all Colorado casinos will be closed starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
“When it’s safe, we want to celebrate in bars and clubs. We want to dine out. That day is not today, it’s not tomorrow, it’s not likely to be next week or the week after,” Polis said during his press conference Monday.
Ameristar announced they plan to pay their nearly 800 team members their wagers and benefits through the end of March. They also will be donating perishable food times to local food banks.
Meanwhile, the hotel in the Lady Luck Casino remains open for business and its Dash café is open for take-away orders.
The Mardi Gras also supported Gov. Polis’ decision and added that during the closure it will, “work diligently to implement additional protective measures for our customers upon reopening.”
Polis said he understands the strain these measures will put on businesses across the state, but stressed, “We are saving lives, and we are minimizing the medium- to long-term economic damage to businesses and workers in our state.”
March 11, 10 p.m. — First cancellation
Mardi Gras, Golden Gates and Golden Gulch casinos
Due to concerns over the COVID-19, the March Colorado Poker Championship Spring Series event was canceled. It was scheduled to run from March 12-April 1. The next event is slated for May, and the casinos are hopeful it will be played as scheduled. Depending on how things unfold, the casinos also will try to add special events in April and June.
Last week
As of noon March 15, most casinos in Colorado are fully functioning as usual, though many have released statements regarding increased efforts to keep the public safe:
Ameristar — Penn National Gaming, the owner of 41 properties across the county, including the Ameristar, is “consulting guidance from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as state and local public health authorities.”
Century — Century Casinos’ general manager Daniel Hedges releases a statement saying their properties across North America are “analyzing the developments and information provided by health agencies” and that COVID-19 is a “top priority for us.”
Dostal Alley — Dostal Alley representatives affirmed in a Facebook post that they would remain open and their staff will exercise extra precautions (frequent cleaning, sanitizing and extra hand-washing) going forward.
Double Eagle — Like many other casinos, the Double Eagle is reminding employees to wash their hands and clean high-touch surfaces more frequently, according to a statement posted at the bottom of its homepage.
Isle Casino and Lady Luck Casino — Both properties are owned by Eldorado Resorts, which will “closely monitor and analyze developments and statements from local, national and international health agencies.” The statement also said the Eldorado properties would be “taking actions to comply with their directives which are based on facts and medical science.”
