CONCHO, Okla. (KFOR) – As Oklahoma continues to reopen, it’s up to each tribe when they will resume gaming.
Officials say there are going to extra steps taken at casinos to try to protect guests and staff.
The Lucky Star Casino near El Reno has been closed since March 19. When it finally reopens, things could look a lot different.
“Some may open this weekend so we are going to take a little more precaution and open on the 15th,” said Reggie Wassana.
The Governor of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes says changes will include gloves and masks on all employees, guests will be encouraged to wear them too. Crews will constantly be cleaning and disinfecting the machines, the tables, and the chips.
“We want to make sure that were not going to have a high risk of anyone being infected,” said Wassana.
Wassana also says they are installing thermal cameras at the entrances to basically take people’s temperature as they walk in the door.
If they are over 100 degrees…
“Tell those people for the good of the public and health of the rest of the players they need to stay home for a few more days,” said Wassana
Another change: slot machines will be tweaked to shut down after a player finishes and come back online only after it’s been cleaned- and when a person starts playing on a slot, the machines on each side will lock up.
“We would have distancing between machines,” said Wassana.
Another big change could be clear plastic dividers between the slots and between players at the table games.
“If we could get them in a decent amount of time we would definitely look at installing them instead of turning off every other machine,” said Wassana.
Right now, they are being made by a sign company in Las Vegas, NV.
“We built a little cubical area thing that is non-invasive, does not have to be screwed into the table. Its real easy to assemble. Its inexpensive, its just a temporary solution for them to get thru until everything can go back to normal again,” said James Swanson of Screaming Images in Las Vegas.
Officials say of course hand sanitizer will be available all over for customers.
The Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes say their casinos will stay closed thru May 15th, but Seven Clans has an invitation only event scheduled for Saturday.