Gateway Casinos & Entertainment recently greenlighted in-person gambling in almost the entire Ontario, reopening its casino facilities and gambling halls to the public. Individuals interested in gaming following months of closure now have the chance to do so in many communities across the province, the only exception being Orillia.
Nearly seven months have passed since Ontario lottery and Gaming Corporation announced that the province will have to shut down in-person gambling for the players’ good. Safety of both the casino staff members and patrons has always been of utmost importance for the casino operator overseeing each casino location. Gateway Casinos needed all safety and health protocols in place before it was confident enough to launch operation in Ontario.
Ontario Gambling
The past few days have been quite eventful for the province of Ontario, as they witnessed the official return of casino locations that have remained closed for nearly seven months. October 8 was scheduled to see the first phase of this plan, with a total of four venues reopening. Those were Playtime Hanover, Gateway Casinos Woodstock, Gateway Casinos Clinton, and Gateway Casinos Chatham.
Individuals hailing from those regions were eager to give their luck a try and see everything available right now. The casino venues and gaming halls are expected to work with special hours of operation and offer a limited range of gambling products, at least during this first phase of the reopening. Ontario is in its Stage 3 of the business reopening plan mandating that each casino welcomes up to 50 individuals on its premises at all times.
Various approaches have been considered by both Gateway Casinos and Great Canadian Gaming Corporation when it comes to the province and its 50-patron limit on all casinos and gambling halls, and each casino operator came up with the most appropriate move for its own operation. The two-phase reopening of Gateway Casinos venues is one of those.
Casinos Reopen
The casino operator eyed October 10 as the second important date for the province, bringing even more casinos back to life. As many as seven casinos and gambling halls relaunched and those were Starlight Point Edward, Gateway Casinos Sarnia, Gateway Casinos London, Gateway Casinos Sudbury, Gateway Casinos Sault Ste. Marie, Gateway Casinos Thunder Bay, and Gateway Casinos Innisfil.
Casino employees have been returning to their workplaces over the past few weeks, as they had to go through the training in relation to the new safety and health protocols in place. United Steelworkers Local 8748 is the labor union representing about 100 individuals working at Gateway Casinos Sault Ste. Marie. Albert Williams, President of the labor union pointed out that the reopening news caught them by surprise.
The dynamically changing situation in Ontario mandates flexibility across all businesses. He pointed out that only two employees refused to go back to their daily work at the casino location. Locals were quick to make their way to the gaming hotspot. Some of them have resorted to bingo gaming in Garden River as an alternative.
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Author: Yolina
Yolina has followed closely the latest development on the Canadian gaming scene over the past years, monitoring the land-based, lottery, and online offerings up for grabs. The dynamic nature of the local lottery and casino fields, as well as the opportunities lying ahead of Canada fire her enthusiasm for what is to come. A sports betting enthusiast, in her spare time Yolina could be found in her natural habitat – turning the pages of biographies and catching up on the latest stand-up comedy podcasts.