Mississippi lifts all casino restrictions, including face masks
Posted on April 29, 2021, 7:58 PM
Last updated: April 29, 2021, 12:25 pm.
Mississippi casinos will no longer be subject to any state-ordered COVID-19 operating restriction starting tomorrow. Restrictions lifted at 5:00 p.m. CET on April 30.
The Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC) announced today that 26 commercial casinos will be able to operate at 100 percent capacity. Face masks will no longer be required for employees or visitors.
Casinos in Mississippi were up to 75 percent of their fire code as of March 4. Casino patrons and staff were required to wear face hats, and slot machines and game tables had to be cleaned at least once every two hours.
While many other states required a pandemic to ban indoor smoking, this was not the case in Mississippi. When casinos were allowed to operate, visitors were allowed to smoke a cigarette or vape while gambling.
Only one commercial casino in Mississippi - Gulfport's Island View Casino Resort - has voluntarily become smoke-free.
Other cleaning protocols
The casino operators have donated Sun Herald While COVID-19 legislation is lifted, sanitation schedules implemented during the pandemic will remain in place.
Golden Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta recently said his casino business is unexpectedly good. His centers are hitting record numbers, he said, with the billionaire citing significant pent-up demand for people who leave home and find pleasure and entertainment after more than a year, largely locked up at home.
The Mississippi casinos have been open since May 21, 2020. They were forced to shut down on state orders in March 2020, shortly after the first positive COVID-21 cases were confirmed in the state.
At the end of last month, the state of Mississippi 26 commercial casinos jointly offered 20, 210 slot machines and 703 board games. All 26 casinos also support sports betting.
The gross revenue from casino games in 2020 was $ 1. 79 billion last year. That was almost a 19 percent drop - or 410 million $ - from the 2019 state-of-the-art gaming industry win of $ 2.2 billion.
The introduction of the vaccine
According to the latest health data, only 23.2 percent of adults in Mississippi are fully vaccinated. It ranks third last in the country. Only in Utah and Alabama fewer residents receiving both doses of Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or Johnson & Johnson single vaccine.
Maine is a leader in the vaccine race, with 38 percent of adults in the vaccinated state. Connecticut ranks second at 49.2 percent and Vermont ranks third at 36.3 percent.
