Casinos In Pa Closed
Mohegan Sun Pocono 1280 Highway 315 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702 General Information and Hotel Reservations: 1.888.WIN.IN.PA. For assistance in better understanding the content of this page or any other page within this website, please call the following telephone number 1.888.WIN.IN.PA. Pennsylvania Casinos That Are Closing Due to the Coronavirus Harrah’s Philadelphia in Delaware County Harrah’s Philadelphia has released a statement saying that in accordance with Governor Tom Wolf’s order to close public facilities, Harrah’s Philadelphia will voluntarily close its doors effective 6AM March 14th.
Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf has ordered the closure of various businesses including casinos in an effort to slow down the out-of-control spread of the coronavirus in the Keystone state.
The closure is set to take effect on Saturday, December 12, 2020, at 12:01 a.m. and will end on January 4, 2021, at 8:00 a.m. The orders are the most drastic since Wolf shut down all non-essential businesses last March at the onset of the pandemic. Aside from casinos, the order also covers indoor restaurant dining, sports activities, gyms, museums, bowling alleys, theaters and other entertainments venues. Likewise, all businesses serving the public will be limited to 50% capacity only.
In a statement, Wolf said:
“With these measures in place, we hope to accomplish three goals. First, stop the devastating spread of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth. Second, keep our hospitals and healthcare workers from becoming overwhelmed. And third, help Pennsylvanians get through the holiday season — and closer to a widely available vaccine — as safely as possible.”
COVID-19 Spread
As in the case with many other states in the U.S., Pennsylvania is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. With its shutdown, Pennsylvania becomes the third state to declare full casino shutdown. Last November 18, Michigan closed all casinos in a move that was first said to be good for three months but now has been changed to indefinitely. Two days after the Wolverine state, Illinois also declared an indefinite shutdown.
One of the fears in Pennsylvania is that the hospitals and health care workers could get overwhelmed. As of Thursday noon,there were a total of 5,877 people hospitalized with COVID-19, the most since the pandemic started. Gov. Wolf is hoping that the three-week shutdown of will slow down the numbers.
Pennsylvania Gaming Was Doing Well
Pennsylvania gaming were doing well despite the earlier restrictions. During the third quarter of 2020, the gross gaming revenue (GGR) from land-based casinos, online casinos, and brick-and-mortar sports betting shops totaled $891.3M which is 3% more than the July-September 2019 figures. Requiring them to shut down again will affect whatever gains they had.
There are a total of 12 Pennsylvania casinos and racinos with a total gaming revenue of $3.38B in 2019. The Philadelphia gaming market ranked 7th among the United States gaming industry’s top markets, per the American Gaming Association’s 2019 State of the States report. Rivers Casino, the only casino within the Philadelphia limits, has been closed since November 20. With the governor’s new orders, the other Philadelphia area casinos including Parx and Harrah’s Philadelphia will now be closed as well.
Published December 19, 2020 by Sol FHAll of the states brick and mortar casinos have been forced to close until at least January 4th.
There are 12 licensed, land-based casinos in the state of Pennsylvania and they have all been forced to close until at least January 4th. With a surge in the number of COVID cases in the state including Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D), the second-term governor immediately announced sweeping coronavirus limitations on a number of businesses across Pennsylvania.
“With these measures in place, we hope to accomplish three goals. First, stop the devastating spread of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth,” Wolf commented. “Second, keep our hospitals and healthcare workers from becoming overwhelmed. And third, help Pennsylvanians get through the holiday season — and closer to a widely available vaccine — as safely as possible.'
Rivers Casino in Philadelphia was the first to close and was enforced on November 20 by the municipality. Now, the remaining casinos in the state must follow suit. It was especially tough news for Live! Casino Pittsburgh, which opened its doors on the 24 of November.
Land-based gambling is big business in Pennsylvania and it is the third-largest gaming market in the US. Pennsylvania is only behind Nevada and New Jersey in size. During the closure, the state's online casino and sportsbetting will continue on desktop and mobile.
Governor Wolf stated that the earliest date on which the casinos will be allowed to reopen is on January 4. There will be a lot of money in lost tax revenue for the state and revenue for the operators and their investors but this is a massive attempt to shudder the COVID cases that are ravaging the US.