Its been over nine months since Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City close down its live poker operations due to the coronavirus pandemic. This disrupted the gaming industry in a number of ways. Things have, however, began to get much better thanks to all of the efforts that have been put in place to prevent the further spread of the virus. That said, poker enthusiasts in Atlantic City can look forward to being able to enjoy some live gaming action before the new year rolls out. We should expect to have two operations poker rooms in Atlantic City before the year ends.
Spearheading these live poker developments in Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City which is set to reopen its World Series of Poker-branded poker room on December 26. This makes it the second live poker room in the city to bring back live poker operations after the shutdown earlier this year. The first operator to reopen its poker room was Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa back in October.
Keeping Everyone Safe
Naturally, the gaming and entertainment operator had to put in place several measures to ensure the safety of its employees and customers.
“We’ve spent the last several months ensuring we had enhanced health and safety measures in place, so both our players and team members can feel confident when they play at Harrah’s while allowing us to take an important step forward in responsibly returning more of our table games product to the market.”
Ron Baumann, senior vice president, and general manager of Harrah’s and Caesars Atlantic City.
Among the restrictions that have been put in place to ensure the safety of everyone at the facility are the seating restrictions. Each of the poker tables at the facility will only be seating a maximum of eight people. Each of the tables will also have plexiglass installed to separate the players. In addition to that, all the players will have to use masks or other kinds of face coverings to protect themselves and everyone else at the casino.
What About the Other Poker Rooms?
Apart from the poker gaming spaces at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City and Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, there are two other poker rooms in Atlantic City. These are owned and operated by Tropicana Atlantic City and Golden Nugget Atlantic City. The reopening of the first two live poker rooms may conjure up some optimism that live poker will make its way back to all the other venues.
However, this is not the case. There are currently no plans to reopen any of the two remaining poker rooms. We will still be keeping an eye out for any developments. Stay tuned for more updates.