Niagara Falls Casino Reopening
Patrons will have access to a limited number of slot machines, there will be no table games and food and beverage service options will be reduced when Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino reopens on June. — Seneca Resorts and Casinos announced Monday it will move to 24-hour operation at the Seneca Niagara and Seneca Buffalo Creek locations starting this Wednesday, July 1, at 10 a.m. Mohegan Gaming is currently mulling over its reopening plan when it comes to the casino resorts it oversees in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Casino Niagara and the Fallsview Casino are two of the hotspots in the region and they have been closed over the past more than ten weeks. Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara are temporarily closed. A re-opening date for Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara has not been confirmed. Niagara Casinos is currently reviewing the re-opening requirements and capacity restrictions and continuing to work with Government and Public Health Officials on our re-opening plans. Niagara Falls, Ontario is among the affected regions without casino operation and the Mayor wants to see this change soon. Close Work with Provincial Officials. Mayor Jim Diodati recently pointed out that the time for a change has come and the two casino locations are currently working on their respective reopening plans.
- Niagara Falls Casino Reopen Date 2020
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NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK—BUFFALO, NEW YORK—SALAMANCA, NEW YORK: (June 9, 2020) After 15 weeks of closure due to the novel coronavirus crisis, Seneca Resorts & Casinos is pleased to announce Phase I of its return to operations will begin Thursday, June 18 with the opening of Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino.
Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino is the only Seneca Resorts & Casinos property to open at this time, with strict protocols in place to protect the health and safety of guests and team members alike, including limited slot machines, no table games and minimal food and beverage service and seating to promote social distancing. Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino’s phased opening is set for Thursday, June 25 with Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino opening the following week on Thursday, July 2.
“After this unprecedented and unsettling time in our community, we look forward to welcoming back our dear guests and friends,” said David Sheridan, Interim CEO and CFO, Seneca Gaming Corporation. “The health and safety of our team members, guests, and their families continues to be our highest priority.”
During this closure, which began on March 16, the Seneca Resorts & Casinos team has established a comprehensive plan informed by public health experts and CDC guidance to adapt all front-facing and back-of-house procedures to maintain a safe and fun environment. The plan, which can be accessed in full here SenecaNiagaraCasino.com includes protocols for social distancing, disinfecting measures, and wellness screenings for both team members and guests.
“We are confident in opening Seneca Resorts & Casinos in phases while implementing the most comprehensive steps across all of our departments to ensure an effective return to operations while protecting everyone in the facility,” Sheridan said. “We look forward to reconnecting with our extended Seneca family…from a distance.”
“In addition to all of our guest communications, we are outlining all of our new internal procedures and protocols to our team members through extensive training,” said Lori V. Quigley, Chairwoman, Seneca Gaming Corporation Board of Directors. “We will be closely monitoring these procedures and protocols, and we will take a measured approach as we expand our offerings after successfully opening this initial phase.”
Highlights of the Phase I reopening plan include:
- Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino will operate at reduced capacity in order to maintain social distancing for guests and employees.
- Hotel operations as well as the spa and salon will remain closed.
- Most restaurants will remain closed. Morrie’s, now temporarily located in the hotel lobby area, will provide grab-n-go options only, no sit-down dining. Blues Burger will also offer grab-n-go options and socially distanced sit-down dining.
- Odds & Ends will be the only retail open.
- Some slot machines will be open to allow for appropriate social distancing. There will be no table games available at this time.
- STIR and The Lobby Bar are closed. Aces bar and the former KENO bar (near the Sports Lounge) will serve non-alcoholic drinks with strict social distancing measures in place. No alcohol will be offered. Beverage service - including water, soda, coffee and tea - will be provided.
- The Sports Lounge will be open for placement of wagers at kiosks only; no counter service will be available.
- Resort hours of operation will also be limited to 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.
Before you arrive, please visit our website SenecaNiagaraCasino.com for “what you need to know before you go” and a message from Seneca Resorts & Casinos. Guests will be expected to adhere to a variety of new regulations established to keep them as safe as possible during their visit.
Seneca Resorts & Casinos will continue to provide updated information on the phased reopening process on its website. Please check back regularly at: www.senecaniagaracasino.com, www.senecabuffalocreekcasino.com, and www.senecaalleganycasino.com.
Seneca Resorts & Casinos consists of three Class III premier gaming and resort facilities, which include Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino in Niagara Falls, NY, Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino in downtown Buffalo, NY, and Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino in Salamanca, NY, as well as the awardwinning championship Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Course in Lewiston, NY. Across all three resort properties, guests can indulge with 20 delicious dining destinations, 12 exciting bars, over 5,200 slots, over 140 table games, and 2 AAA Four Diamond award-winning hotels with over 1,000 deluxe rooms and suites. All of the resorts & casinos are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. More information is available by calling 1-877-8-SENECA (1-877-873-6322) or visiting SenecaCasinos.com.
Seneca Resorts & Casinos…NOTHING ELSE COMES CLOSE!
After more than six months of forced closures due to COVID-19, some of Ontario's biggest casinos have finally been given the green light to reopen.
Operations resumed at 11 Great Canadian Gaming Corp. sites across the province this morning at 10 a.m. Half an hour later, at 10:30 a.m., Ontario reported the highest number of new cases it had seen in one day — 700 new infections — since the pandemic first hit.
Eek.
While in no way connected to casinos reopening, the spike is raising questions about whether or not lifting any restrictions makes sense right now.
The reason casinos didn't reopen alongside other venues as part of Stage 3, after all, is because table games are considered to be 'high-risk activities' for virus transmission.
This is ridiculous. Prioritizing the opening of casinos as Ontario enters second wave is irresponsible and an unnecessary public health gamble. https://t.co/eMMYWzHb8m
— Mike Layton (@m_layton) September 28, 2020Casinos were technically allowed to resume operations under Stage 3, with restrictions including a ban on all table games in place, but hadn't until today due to pending approvals from the AGCO.
'Any plans for re-opening must be independently reviewed by a health and safety subject matter expert and submitted to the regulator, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO),' explained Rob Mitchell of Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited to blogTO in July.
Gateway has resumed operations at some of its restaurants, but has not yet announced reopening dates for its casinos, nor have the operators of two popular casinos in Niagara Falls.
Caesar's Windsor will reopen on October 8 with AGCO-approved restrictions in place.
Wow. 700 new cases in Ontario today AND we're reopening casinos? You know who likes going to casinos right? Old people. @fordnation
— June Shoji (@littlehobo1a) September 28, 2020Niagara Falls Casino Reopen Date 2020
Table games at casinos and gaming establishments remain banned at all casinos, per Stage 3 guidelines, regardless of whether the AGCO has approved their reopening plans.
As of this morning, Great Canadian Gaming Corp. patrons can book appointments to play slot machines for up to two hours at a time.
Hand sanitizers have been placed throughout the 11 major casinos reopening today and only 50 people are permitted inside each venue to comply with current social gathering limits.
Casino Woodbine's website shows that all possible time slots for the next five days have already been booked.
Coincidentally the same day the Ontario government re-opened casinos. What the hell is the second wave response plan? The Ford government is being way too reactive and not proactive, and they're putting profits over people. Their incompetence making things worse. #onpoli#COVID19https://t.co/PgQTOFxFM1
Niagara Falls Ny Casino Reopening
— Matt Müller (@Historian_Matt) September 28, 2020Capacity limits and hand sanitizers are all well and good, but are the measures being taken by casino operators enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19?
They haven't been for some popular downtown Toronto bars and restaurants, at least five of which were either closed down or warned by health officials over the weekend for failing to follow pandemic protocols.
With new cases surging and Ontario public health officials confirming that a second wave has hit, many people think that allowing casinos to reopen at all is a dangerous move.
'I can't believe it's right to reopen Ontario's casinos in the midst of a pandemic. Up to 50 people gathering unnecessarily, including seniors, goes against everything we've learned,' said Toronto city councillor Josh Matlow Monday morning.
'I know our economy is under pressure, but the price of gambling with public health isn't worth it.'
Today in Ontario as the planet burns and we face the biggest single day increase of COVID cases since the pandemic started and you can’t get a COVID test because we still can’t meet demand but at least you can at visit a casino again. Capitalism is killing us.
— Jihan Abbas PhD (@JihanAbbas) September 28, 2020Niagara Falls Ontario Casino Reopen
Some are also confused and concerned to see casinos open just days after all strip clubs were been ordered by the province to close and bars given a new last call time of 11 p.m.
'To recap what's going on in Ontario: Strip clubs are closed but casinos just re-opened, and restaurants now have an 11 p.m. last call for alcohol,' wrote one resident on Twitter today.
'There doesn't really seem to be much rhyme or reason to any decisions. It's mostly just penny-pinching with some optics.'
Meanwhile, the provincial government has yet to reveal what it calls a 'comprehensive plan to prepare the health system for a second wave of COVID-19.'
Ontario started rolling out details pertaining to its fall COVID-19 preparedness plan last week, including an aggressive flu shot campaign and the expansion of testing to 60 pharmacies, but has yet to put forth any official documents as of Monday afternoon.