Casino Rama is set to move into its next phase of re-opening.
According to a confidential email sent to employees and obtained by OrilliaMatters, Casino Rama’s hotel is scheduled to open on Aug. 19, The Weirs restaurant will open the following morning on Aug. 20 and the spa will open on Sept. 1.
In the next week, employees should be prepared to receive a call about returning to work, noted the memo.
Robert Mitchell, the director of communications and public affairs for Gateway Casinos, which operates Casino Rama and several other casinos, says the hotel's opening is a step in the right direction to getting the casino back to being fully open.
“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback on the gaming floor opening and we’ve had many folks express that they would like to stay overnight, and now that option will be available to them,” he said.
Mitchell was unable to say how many employees will be returning to the casino in this next stage of re-opening.
“With each increment in opening, we bring back more staff. Ultimately, when we are out of the woods and can open the entertainment centre and start hosting live entertainment, then we will be able to bring back even more employees,” he said.
When the hotel opens next week, guests and staff will be asked to follow strict COVID-19 protocols.
“We will be hyper-vigilant in terms of housekeeping and doing thorough cleanings before we open rooms to new overnight guests,” Mitchell said.
“The health and safety protocols are much the same as they are on the gaming floor. Patrons will have to be masked when they come into the resort when they check in.”
When the hotel opens the gaming floors hours of operation will follow the current structure that is in place.
“We will see how demand works out, we are basically open 24/7 now anyway,” Mitchell said.
“We will respond to customer demand, but so far it’s looking very good. There is a lot of interest from our guests with the hotel's re-opening, a lot of them have My Club reward points, so, they are very interested in taking advantage of the points they have earned.”
Mitchell says Casino Rama has been running a "brisk business" since opening the gaming floor two weeks ago.
“Our patrons have been wonderful with coming in prepared, wearing a mask, social distancing, and following all health and safety protocols,” he said.
“Our patrons are filling out their contact tracing before arriving which has allowed us to avoid any lineups. So far it’s been really good and our guests have been very respectful and understanding.”
Casino Rama is currently open for 1,000 guests at a time, leaving no shortage of play.
“There is a very good flow on the gaming floor, there is no difficulty in that regard, and everybody seems to be enjoying themselves,” Mitchell said.
“It’s actually surprising how quickly things have gone back to business as usual in a way. Despite the masking and sanitization stations, it’s pretty well back to normal.”
