Grand Casino Adapts Safety Procedures During June 1 Reopening

On May 31, the company initiated the soft opening of the Mille Lacs with its shareholders.

Casinos adapted new health and safety measures

Before the reopening, the management of the casino ensured the guest’s safety by developing the Grand Casino Health, Safety, and Sanitation plan served as the basis for the operation of the Grand Casino properties. The casinos declared the properties smoke-free after careful analysis of the operations for the new development plan.

Joe Nayquonabe, CEO of Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, the parent company of Grand Casino, said that the sudden shifts, they have experienced in such a short timeframe due to this pandemic, allowed them to question critical assumptions about how they operate. It also helped develop new best practices about safety measures for their returning associates and Guests.

He also added that in good conscience, they couldn’t build the best health and safety plan to do their part to help mitigate the spread of illness, which hinders respiratory function, while continuing to operate just like before.

The company is studying the possibility of building smoke lunges in casinos for people who wanted to smoke. In the meantime, Grand Casino plans to use the bingo halls of the casinos for the purpose. Gamblers are allowed to smoke outside of the gambling venues.

The reopening is in the first phase of the company’s reopening plan. The company plans to adapt social distancing practice in the whole property, and its health and safety measures included frequent cleaning and sanitation protocols during the operation. The company will provide masks for guests and employees and ensure that associate health checks are done continuously before entering the gambling venue.

Other changes in protocol

Grand Casino will only allow guests to enter through a designated guest entrance separated from the entrance for employees. Before entry, guests must submit themselves for thermal scans while associates’ temperatures will be taken before their shift.

Anyone with temperatures higher than 100 degrees will undergo a secondary screening, and if the same result appears, they are restricted from entering the gambling venue. The company assured that their responders are trained in handling people with symptoms.

Some parts of the casino remained closed during the reopening. On the development plan, the casino will limit the players at card games. Bingo, poker, and pull tabs will remain closed during the first phase.

The same scenario was seen during the reopening of the other casinos. Industry regulators urged casinos to develop a health and safety plan before getting the signal to resume operations. Casinos have the autonomy to decide when to resume operations.

Many companies gambled to reopen their doors because they fear further losses because of their near-zero revenue. Casinos halted operations for months because of the stay-at-home government mandate, aimed at flattening the curve of coronavirus cases.

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