NJ halts indoor dining restart, citing mask use, distancing



New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday postponed the resumption of indoor dining, and banned drinking and smoking at Atlantic City's casinos as they reopen this week, causing one casino to scrap plans to reopen anytime soon.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday postponed the resumption of indoor dining, and banned drinking and smoking at Atlantic City's casinos as they reopen this week, causing one casino to scrap plans to reopen anytime soon.

Murphy said he acted because of a lack of compliance over the use of face masks and social distancing as the coronavirus outbreak continues to rage in many parts of the country.

The decisions had an immediate effect: Atlantic City's top-performing casino, the Borgata, dropped its plans to reopen soon. It had planned to hold an invitation-only “soft opening” on Thursday and open its doors to the general public starting July 6.

Now, neither of those things is happening for the immediate future, and it was unclear late Monday whether the one-two punch of a smoking and drinking ban would cause other casinos to postpone their reopenings as well.

“No smoking is very bad for casinos,” said Steve Callender, head of the Tropicana casino and president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, told The Associated Press. Asked Monday night whether the smoking ban could be a deal-breaker that could cause additional casinos to choose not to reopen under such restrictions, Callender said, “I very well think it could.”

Murphy revealed the smoking ban in a press release emailed to reporters shortly before 10 p.m. Monday. The release also confirmed verbal reports from earlier in the day that the administration was prohibiting the serving of alcohol on the casino floor when casinos reopen.

In fact, the executive order was even more draconian, prohibiting the serving of any beverages or the consumption of any food inside the casino.
Atlantic City tried a smoking ban in 2008, but quickly dropped it after just 20 days when casino revenue plunged and gamblers complained. Since then, smoking has been restricted to no more than 25% of the casino floor.

The Borgata's parent company, MGM Resorts International, said in a statement the conditions just aren't right for them to reopen.

“Our guests expect a special experience when they come to our property and if we cannot provide that level of hospitality, we feel it best that we remain closed until such time that the governor lets us know it is safe to offer food and beverage,” the company said. “The health and safety of our employees and guests are at the center of all that we do, and we regret that, at this time, we are unable to welcome back the thousands of employees who are anxious to return to work. We look forward to a time when it is safe to welcome everyone back.”

The Borgata was the first casino to react to Murphy's cancellation of indoor dining, and the Ocean Casino Resort said it planned to stick to its scheduled Thursday reopening. Executives at most other casinos said they were waiting for additional information from the state before announcing whether their reopening plans would need to be changed.
Murphy cited the spike in other states as well as reports in New Jersey of people not correctly wearing, or failing to wear, face masks as well as maintain distance.


This article is a reprint from WFMZ.com. To view the original story and comment, click here


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