Rivers Casino Philadelphia will close on Friday, Nov. 20, and not reopen until at least Jan. 1, 2021, as a result of a series of changes to the current restrictions by the City of Philadelphia to slow the surge of coronavirus cases.

• Pa Casinos Shutting Down
• Casinos Closed In Pa

Also, fans may no longer attend games at Lincoln Financial Field. Under the “Safer at Home” order, gatherings cannot exceed 2,000 people in any outdoor space.

“We may be tired of COVID, but COVID’s not tired of us,” said Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Tom Farley.

22, 2019 photo shows stacks of gambling chips at the Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City N.J. As of Monday, March 16, 2020, casinos in at least 15 states had shut down due to the. Some casinos in Pennsylvania plan to reopen their doors on January 4, following a mandatory three-week shutdown of their gaming operations ordered by Gov. Wolf yesterday confirmed that casinos will be permitted to resume gaming business on Monday at 8 am ET. Casinos can open up their gaming floors and welcome in guests by up to 50 percent occupancy of their listed fire code. Rivers Casino in Philadelphia was forced to close November 20 on city orders. Now, the other 12 gaming venues in the Keystone State will shut down, too. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board instructed the six casinos that remained open in the state to begin closing procedures so that all gaming activities and entry to patrons be concluded by 6 a. Gatherings are limited to 10 people inside and 50 outdoors. WENY 474 Old Ithaca Rd. Horseheads, NY.

New restrictions for Philadelphia

In a press release that detailed the new “Safer at Home” restrictions,casinos fall under the category of “business and activities that are not allowed.”

Currently, Rivers Casino Philadelphia is the only casino within Philadelphia city limits. Live! Casino Philadelphia is scheduled to open in early 2021. The South Philadelphia Race and Sportsbook, according to the orders, will also have to temporarily close.

During a Monday afternoon press conference, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney pointed out that the average number of reported COVID-19 positive cases has jumped at least 700% in less than two months. The average number of new cases reported per day last week was higher than the number of reported cases during the worst week in April.

“Strains on our hospitals are already showing,” said Kenney, who added that hospitalizations have jumped 600% in the last seven weeks.

Pa Casinos Shutting Down

“We do not take any of this lightly. Believe me, more than anything in the world, I wish none of this was necessary. But there is no doubt these changes are necessary. We need to act now to reduce the rate of increase and flatten the curve once again.”

The City of Philadelphia reported 2,564 new coronavirus cases and eight new deaths on Monday.

Rivers Philadelphia road to reopening

Rivers Casino Philadelphia voluntarily closed in March when the coronavirus pandemic hit Pennsylvania. It remained shuttered for four months and reopened on July 17. That marked the longest coronavirus-caused closure of any brick-and-mortar casino in PA.

Upon reopening, all casinos in PA followed health and safety guidelines from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

In addition, Rivers Casino Philadelphia conducted temperature checks, operated at 25% capacity (50% was the limit at other casinos) and upgraded its HVAC system to include airPHX, a patented technology that continuously disinfects indoor air and eliminates coronavirus on surfaces. The casino also has AtmosAir, an indoor air quality purification system that has proven to neutralize coronavirus by more than 99.9%.

Will other casinos in PA close again too?

On Friday, Play Pennsylvaniaasked the PA Department of Health if the rising numbers meant a return to the color-coded phases and possible temporary closures for casinos in Pennsylvania.

A representative responded:

“There is no plan at this time to return to the red, yellow, green mitigation steps and stay-at-home order that occurred in the spring.”

During Monday’s press conference, Farley urged surrounding counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to join Philadelphia in enacting similar measures.

The closest casinos to Philadelphia (with Rivers closed) include:

• Harrah’s Philadelphia (Delaware County)
• Valley Forge Casino (Montgomery County)
• Parx Casino (Bucks County)

Atlantic City is about an hour drive from Philadelphia.

Fans barred from the Linc again

In mid-October, the Philadelphia Eagles got the green light to allow fans back at Lincoln Financial Field. The stadium occupancy was 7,500 people, which included players, coaches, team and stadium personnel. It allowed for 5,500 to 6,000 fans to be in attendance.

Mayor Kenney said the new orders will be in effect until “at least January 1.” The Eagles’ last home game is Jan. 3 against the Washington Football Team.

Note: This is a developing story and will be updated as additional information is released.

Casinos Closed In Pa

Lead image credit: AP Photo/Rich Schultz

The Keystone State, just like many other states across America is still reeling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Things seemed to have been getting back on track for a moment but that was short-lived thanks to a surge in infections.

Last week, Pennsylvania’s Governor Tom Wolf who had at about the same time tested positive for COVID-19 announced some new far-reaching restrictions on various businesses across the states. The mitigation order is part of the state’s efforts to contain the new wave of infections and one of its most notable takeaways is the ban of commercial gambling.

All 12 casino operators in the state closed and halted all of their activities from midnight on Saturday, December 12. They will then remain closed for at least three weeks with the earliest possible reopening set for 8:00 am on Monday, January 4.

The activities that have now taken to the sidelines until January 4 include indoor entertainment, in-person dining, bars, gyms, and fitness facilities. For some kinds of indoor and outdoor events, the government of Pennsylvania will be introducing new capacity limits.

According to the governor, the decision is very necessary especially because it is “a bridge to a better future in Pennsylvania.

“With these measures in place, we hope to accomplish three goals. First, stop the devastating spread of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth. Second, keep our hospitals and healthcare workers from becoming overwhelmed. And third, help Pennsylvanians get through the holiday season — and closer to a widely available vaccine — as safely as possible.”

Thankfully, other forms of gambling that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) regulates will not be affected. These include online casino-type games, fantasy contests as well as sportsbooks.

Some Hopes Thanks to the Vaccine

Perhaps the biggest development in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic is the new COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer. The wait is finally over as the much-anticipated vaccine has finally made its way to the United States.

Pennsylvania, like all of the other states in the country, already has plans in place – this is clearly outlined in a COVID-19 Interim Vaccination Plan that has been crafted by state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine. First in line for the vaccine will be health care workers, first responders, critical workers, people in long-term care facilities, and people with high-risk conditions. Eventually, everyone else will be able to get the vaccine after the supply increases in the coming weeks or months.

Needless to say, this brings back some hope regarding when things will get back to normal and some businesses can go back to operating as they did before the pandemic.

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