Arkansas Casinos Set to Reopen on May 18th

By Jane Shaw Senior Editor Updated: 05/16/2020

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Grunge Textured Flag of Arkansas on Vintage Paper, Photo by www.123rf.com

Since mid-March, casinos across the United States have been forced to shut as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic. This has resulted in huge revenue losses for brick-and-mortar casinos, although the popularity of online casinos has rocketed during the lockdown period.

Many casinos across the United States are now eager to reopen, albeit with new measures in place including social distancing, enhanced hygiene, and fewer patrons.

Casinos in many states will not be able to open during the initial phases of lifting lockdown. However, it has been revealed that the three casinos in Arkansas will be able to reopen from May 18th, with some new restrictions in place.

Reopening to be Closely Monitored

Speaking from Texarkana last week, Gov. Asa Hutchinson provided an update in his daily briefing, which was his first to be held outside of Little Rock. He said that the three casinos in the state would be able to open from May 18th, although this would be with a lot of restrictions in place.

Hutchinson said that the casinos had put forward plans on how they would safely reopen, and this included measures on effective social distancing. In addition, they would have to operate at just one-third of normal capacity.

Dr. Nate Smith from the Department of Health added that the reopening of casinos in the state would be very closely monitored. The health department is said to have been working very closely with casino industry officials to ensure the reopening goes as smoothly as possible and that new measures are effective.

Mixed Views on Reopening Casinos

The lower cases of COVID-19 infections and deaths in Arkansas compared to surrounding states has prompted the governor to give the go-ahead to casinos. This is a decision that has been supported by many in the state, as they look to return back to normal. One resident from West Memphis, Katherine Gray, said:

I think that if they open and spread them out maybe every four places. I think that would be fine and if they wear masks that would be fine.

However, another local resident, Jeffrey Wilburn, was less optimistic, concerned that there will be additional outbreaks in the state linked to the reopening of casinos. This is a concern shared by many in the state, as well as throughout the country.

Moving into Phase Two

Unlike most other gambling states, Arkansas is including the reopening of casinos as part of its first phase of lifting lockdown restrictions. However, Hutchinson has made it clear that things could rapidly change if there is a fresh spike in COVID-19 cases.

He said that the reopening of casinos and other businesses had to be handled with great care and needed to be monitored carefully. Hutchinson added that this was the only way in which the state could look towards entering phase two of the exit strategy.

The governor said that the state would need to go at least two weeks without any fresh cases before considering moving into the second phase.