CINCINNATI — When gamblers return to casinos on Friday, they’ll notice several new regulations in place.

All Ohio casinos must have specific hours for people who are more at risk of contracting COVID-19, and casinos can only operate at 50% capacity.

Some casinos are requiring masks, and others are not. At the future home of Hard Rock Casino, everyone has to wear a mask, and guests and employees have to get their temperatures checked upon entering. The casino will only operate at 20% capacity.

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Belterra Park in Anderson Township is recommending masks, but they are not required.

Thousands of slot machines are turned off in order to achieve social distancing, according to George Goldhoff, president of Hard Rock Cincinnati.

Ohio Casinos and Gambling Business takes a $28 million November hit at Ohio’s casinos, racinos amid the spike in coronavirus and overnight curfew 22 days ago Rich Exner, cleveland.com 10 city. Governor DeWine announced Ohio's casinos and racinos are permitted to reopen on June 19, provided they follow protocols for the health and safety of employees and guests.

'We don't just have every other slot machine turned off, but we've ensured that our banking strategy ensures there's 6-foot distance between any two slot players,' Goldhoff said.

Belterra Park also has social distancing requirements in place.

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Casinos with table games are limited, which means there are no poker tables. Craps and black jack tables will be limited to three to four players, and plexiglass barriers are in place to keep players separated from each other and the dealer.

Goldhoff said cleaning crews will be working around the clock to keep high-touch areas like screens, buttons, chips and cards sanitized.

'One of the items we're using is called an electrostatic atomizer, which sprays very fine mist and wherever that mist lands, it disinfects that surface. So you can cover a large square footage of the casino in a very short period of time,” he said.

But some regulations at gaming facilities have been lifted. At Belterra Park, guests will be able to watch racing, according to vice president of marketing Blair Bendel.

'Guests will be able to watch racing both inside in our OTB and outside, so we've been approved to allow spectators to watch racing,” Bendel said.

Belterra Park will close for several hours each night for deep cleaning. Hard Rock will remain open as crews clean.

WARREN — Revenue at Ohio’s four casinos was off 20 percent in November, a slide that’s likely due in large part to the state curfew meant to slow the spread of the surging viral outbreak.

“It’s hard for us to say with absolute certainty, but I would say that is definitely going to be a factor into what we saw,” said Jessica Franks, spokeswoman with the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

The latest report from the commission shows the $59.5 million in revenue the casinos brought in is $15.2 million less than October, a month the casinos experienced a bit of a rebound after a two-month period of falling numbers.

November’s revenue was 15.5 percent less than the $70.4 million in November 2019.

All of the casinos — Jack Cleveland Casino, Jack Cincinnati Casino, Hollywood Casino Toledo and Hollywood Casino Columbus — experienced losses of at least $2 million. The least decrease was in Toledo, where the impact may have been diminished some by gamblers traveling from Michigan due to some casino closures there.

Ohio Casino Control

The rising number of cases also could be keeping people away.

“Some folks could just be choosing to stay at home and not go out even if it is before 10 p.m.,” Franks said.

Toledo Ohio Casino News

As cases in Ohio accelerated, the Ohio Department of Health on Dec. 8 put into place a three-week curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. that expires today. It’s expected, however, the curfew will be extended.

In response, casinos limited their hours. Jack Cleveland and the Hollywood casinos mirrored their hours against the curfew while Jack Cincinnati is open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to their websites.

Table games last month generated $17.8 million in revenue and slot revenue was $41.7 million compared to $22.3 million and $52.4 million in October, decreases of about 20 percent.

In November 2019, table games generated $23 million and slots, $47.3 million, according to the commission. Those numbers are 22 percent and 12 percent greater than last month.

The casinos notched an all-time revenue high of $86 million in July, when they reopened following Ohio’s discontinued stay-at-home order during the early part of the viral pandemic. After the high-water mark, revenue fell to $77.3 million and $71.8 million and in August and September before bouncing back to $74.7 million in October.

rselak@tribtoday.com

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