Living Life During a Pandemic - Casino Gambling Edition

Welcome to the second in my series of "How has life changed in the midst of a pandemic"

Today, we continue on with having fun, by trying out two area casinos. In Ohio casinos were allowed to open on June 19, and while I didn't race right there, it didn't take long as I went on June 20.

I started the day early in the morning at Jack Cincinnati (which is undergoing a transition to Hard Rock Casino).  I entered through the parking garage and as soon as I entered the elevator lobby, I knew things would be different.  In addition to Jack signage being covered replaced with Hard Rock signs, a greeter met me right inside the door.  He offered me hand sanitizer and a mask.  I had a neck gaiter on, so I asked if that counted as a mask.  The greeter wasn't sure so he handed me a mask just in case.  I then proceeded to the elevator, they have a rope and stanchion barrier and social distancing markers forming lines for the lifts.  Once in the elevator they limit each car to 4 people, and you are to stand in the corners, as indicated by the floor markers.  The inside of the doors double as a giant copy of the safety warnings.  

Once at the casino level, you enter the queue to enter.  There are floor markers, and several new steps have been added.  A second greeter asks you to remove your mask, and look at the camera.  I believe the camera is taking both your photo and getting a thermal scan.  He then tells you that you are to put your mask back on after you clear security.  After the thermal scan, they have added metal detectors.  Once through the metal detectors, you can replace your mask and enter the casino.  During my visit I did note a few people pulled aside and checked with a regular thermometer, and some of those turned away.  Oh, and turns out a neck gatier does meet the requirements. 

Ok, once inside the casino, the first big change you will notice is a lot of the slot machines have been placed Out of Service.  To make it clear they have also put a big sticker on the screen or over the reels that "This slot machine has been disabled for your safety" The idea is that if there are rows of slot machines right next to each other, at least every other one is turned off.  So in a row of 3 or 4 only the two end machines will be on. In longer rows they alternate.  In slot carousels alternating machines in the circle may be off depending on the radius and distance between seats.  Not only are the machines off, their chairs have been removed.  Now, it does look like some though was put into this process, as machines have been rearranged.  Some have been totally removed, other groups have been rearranged to allow for distancing.  Also, they said they changed out machines and there are 75 brand new ones among the mix.  But what I really mean by thought was put into this is it looked like in some areas they moved an unpopular machine next to a popular machine.  That way the unpopular machine could be "Sacrificed" as one of the games turned off for social distancing.  

Okay, but what about machine cleanlines, well every machine has a sign saying that every machine is sanitized regularly, but it also states that you can request to have any machine sanitized before you sit down. To this end there is a crew in hi-vis green t-shirts that are going around cleaning anything and everything.   During less crowded times, it seems as soon as you get up from a game they are over to wipe it down. If not they are on some kind of pattern to make their way around their zones.  For other parts of the slot machine experience, social distancing markers have been placed to form lines for the ATM/Ticket Redemption/Bill Breaker machines, and when there are two together there are physical barriers between machines.    The promotional kiosk have been set at angles, and the self serve player card machines, the center one in the banks of three have been turned off. 

Ok, so what about table games.  For some games like roulette and craps, the games remain much as they were with limited players at a table, with social distancing markers (Craps and Roulette).  For the card games at the traditional fan shape tables, hey have devised a pretty obnoxious looking physical barrier.  It effectively puts each player in an isolation booth.  There is room for a chair, a drink holder, and a place to rest your chips.  Between players there is a physical barrier, and in front of the player is another physical barrier separating you from the dealer.  At the bottom of this front barrier is an opening so you can pass money, player cards or chips under the barrier.  The opening is tall enough that you can manage your bets.  and stick your hand through to make hand signals to the dealer.  It seems as though a table that may have seated 6 now seats 4 with these barriers. I do like how the barriers here have guitar neck graphics on the outermost edges for visibility. Poker, to this point remains closed.  

Of course hand sanitizer stations abound, and enlarged distanced queue areas have been setup for the cashier and players club area. I was offered hand sanitizer when cashing in chips.  

How about the rest of the property - well as I said they are in the middle of a big transition from the local Jack Casino to becoming a Hard Rock,.  Right now the former party room is closed (this is rumored to become a Hard Rock Cafe, the casino has confirmed they are getting one, they just haven't revealed where.  Prism Steakhouse and Piano Bar remains, as does Basil Leaf which is one of those rapid pizza concepts combined with a deli.  They have greatly expanded their queue area, distanced of course.  It now goes from Basil Leaf, up through the former buffet exit, back around therough the buffet entrance area, and through the former buffet VIP queue area.  

What about the buffet?  Well, for now it is done for.  It's a sit down restaurant, you still go to the buffet counters, but they now serve you and for the ultimate gotcha, it is ala carte.  Instead of a pay one price all-you-care to eat concept, every item comes with a price tag.  Side dishes are $3 each, and it goes up from there.  It's new name is the Cincinnati Food Hall, and you would do well to forget it was ever a buffet, it is now a cafeteria.  . 

The Synergy gaming area (think semi live table games, where you bet on a terminal while live dealers run the games - so say you were interested in blackjack, every person in the Synergy Gaming arena would play the same hand.  The dealer will continue to hit the player hand as long as any player hits, you get paid out depending on what the player total was when you stood.  But limits as low as $3 at slow times make this popular. Alternating terminals in the arena are out of service. 

Continuing on the next major change is Bobby's Burger Palace is gone, the casino states that Bobby's Burger Palace decided to walk away during the shut down.  It is now a Mr. Luckys.  - its a casual service restaurant where you order at a counter, and then the meal is served to you..  They did little  to remodel the property in fact it still looks like Bobby Burger except for the menu.  So for the communal dining counters Bobby's was famous for, they put physical barrier shields up between parties.  These are portable and can move to allow for various party sized. While my platter was served on real china, the utensils were those imitation look like silver but they are not high end plasticware, and the drink was served in a carry out plastic cup.  One thing that did surprise me, was the drinks were still self service, using the same soda fountain that's always been there. I made sure to get a top off at the end of my meal as waitress service on the gaming floor was abysmal.  

Comtinuing along, Starbucks and the gift shop remain, valet parking is closed, and he valet lot is being used as a high roller self parking area.  Also closed is coat check but then it always closed in the summer due to lack of demand, 

Back to gaming, when you were fortunate to have a cocktail waitress actually bring you a drink, it comes in a plastic cup with a lid, if you want a straw those are available by request and are plastic wrapped. For those wondering how cocktails and masks work together, as the recording they play every so often states.  "Masks are required to be worn except in our dining rooms (while seated at your table), passing through security, or while enjoying your favorite cocktail at your table or slot machine.  When drinking on the gaming floor, please only lower your mask to take a drink,and wear your masks between sips"  The exception to this would be the Parlor - which is the casinos smoking room.  See, Ohio casinos are all non-smoking by state law, but they found a loophole.  If they put slot machines outside, they are not in a building.   So our casinos traditionally have a covered terrace outside with metal grates forming at least 2 walls.  They do climate control the areas as much as possible, but you are outside.  For this Hard Rock has substaintial grills, so except in the brighest of suns, glare on the game screens isn't an issue.  It seems the Parlor is now also a No Masking Zone, after all I can't mask if I have a cigarette in my mouth.  

One last detail is that in the Men's lounge, every other urinal is blocked off, so yes the unwritten social contract of the Men's room is now official law. Also every other sink is blocked off.  Social distanccing markers are in place in case a line develops.  

But wait, I said I went to two casinos!  I did, my uncle met me at Hard Rock, and then we moved on to Belterra Park (operated by Boyd Gaming) on the pretense of betting the Belmont as they have a race book.  We never made it to the race book, and the self servce racing terminals seem to have been removed from the gaming floor.  Now, in Ohio racetracks are allowed to offer VLT's (which look suspiciously like slot machines, and they have all your popular titles same as the casino), video keno, the state's networked statewide live Keno game, and race book.  The state was astute and banned them from having video poker from the start, as that has been the gateway to table games in other States. I think Racino is the term.  

Here things are much more laid back. We arrived, entered the building, at the top of the escalator (the whole building is on stilts due to the constant threat of Ohio River flooding) and were met by a greeter. The greeter just asked us "Have you had any of the symptoms listed on this sign in the last 14 days"  We don't really even look at the sign and say "No", "Okay, go on in!" As if anybody is going to say Yes.  The greeter is passing out masks but notes they are not required.

We get to the security podium and are asked to drop our masks as we enter, and can put them back on once we clear security.  Players Cub which doubles as the Cashier here, has expanded socially distanced waiting areas.  Here the same thing with every other slot machine, or the middle machines in rows of 3 and 4 have been turned off, here they also have huge stickers on the closed off machines stating that "This machine is social distancing!" Unlike Hard Rock they don't seem to have taken the effort to rearrange games to shift less popular games into the out of service positions, and they were more conservative when it came to closing off games on slot carousels, even pretty big carousels.  Here sme f the cash out machines were disabled for your safety, and in other places physical barriers were installed, without any kind of graphic on the outer edge to make the barriers more apparent.  This casino was more crowded, but even with a lot of the games off, we never really had trouble getting on machines we wanted.    There are signs throughout the casino with advice on slowing the spread, and stating that all guests should wear a mask.  Note the word should, not must.  We would estimate about maybe 30% masked. For this reason alone, I didn't feel as safe there, my concerns were further spread when I noted the self service beverage stations were open.  Yes, they have signs asking no refills please, please take a new cup for each drink.  

Also in the property, the gift shop is like it was, as is Stadium (sports bar/ casual dining) they have redone the bar so it has an organized distanced waiting area for walk up drinks, and have also opened the Favorites steak house bar for beverage service, although the steak house remains closed.  The buffet is also closed, and 2/3 of the buffet tables are available as tables for added seating for Burger Bros. (which had a tiny dining room) and the other 1/3 being used to enlarge their VIP lounge. for distancing.  As for the VIP lounge, the mini buffet has been replaced with a pre-plated courtesy meal.    I did not hit the restrooms here, so I can't say how they were, but I will note the valet and coast check were closed.  We also didn;t make it over to see how things were at the racetrack.  

I feel like I must give credit where credit is due at the end, Belterra Park is no longer a 24/7 operation.  The gaming floor closes at 4pm every night for a deep cleaning.  From Monday to Thursdays the first hours are reserved for high risk patrons.  

And there it is - getting your casino gambling fix in during a Pandemic