Parx Casino and Wind Creek Bethlehem Ready for a Restart in PA on June 29

The next Pennsylvanian casino properties to restart are the Parx Casino and Wind Creek Bethlehem. Both casinos are reopening on Monday, June 29 with enhanced safety and health protocols in place and mandatory face masks required from patrons and members of the staff.

Parx and Bethlehem Join Reopening Push in Pennsylvania

Two more casinos in Pennsylvania are set to return on Monday, June 29. The Parx Casino in Bensalem and Wind Creek Bethlehem will be the next properties to reopen at the turn of the week, joining other established properties in the state. The first properties to reopen were the Meadows Racetrack & Casino and Rivers Casino Pittsburgh.

Parx Casino will restart operation at 9:00 a.m. local time on Monday with numerous enhanced safety measures in place. Employees and staff members will have to observe social distancing guidelines and health measures issued by the CDC, the Pennsylvania Health Department (PHD) and the state gambling regulator, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB).

The casino will shift the layout of gaming tables and slot machines to ensure social distancing between patrons and face masks will be mandatory for both members of the staff and customers.

Parx Casino will work through 3 a.m. local time. All guests will have to use the designated entrances to enter the property with employees opening the doors for them or the doors remaining open to avoid further contact with surfaces. The reopening plans so far exclude the poker tables and will see a limited number of food and drink options available.

Should Parx Casino reach the designated occupancy rate, guests will need to wait outside while still keeping social distance. Prior to walking into the gaming lounges, all guests will have their temperatures checked and anyone registering 100.4F or above would need to step into a special section for a second check.

Parx has cautioned that unless all protocols are met in full, casino guests would not be allowed to enter the inside of the venue.

Wind Creek Bethlehem Next to Reopen

With Parx Casino definitely an important milestone in Pennsylvania’s reopening plan, Wind Creek Bethlehem will be joining the Bensalem casino this Monday. According to Bethlehem general manager Kathy McCracken, the casino has put a reopening plan in place that uses a unique gaming reservation system.

McCracken and Bethlehem will use this system to manage casino capacity and ensure regular sanitization of the gaming plan to uphold state and health authorities’ standards. Starting today, June 24, patrons may visit the Bethlehem official website and make a reservation.

Earlier this month, Wind Creek Hospitality CEO and President, Jay Dorris, clarified that no specific reservation would be required to visit the casino, but said that such an option would be necessary. Wind Creek Hospitality is Bethlehem’s parent company. 

Measures on site will include temperature checks, mandatory face coverings, and regular sanitization of high-traffic areas. The casinos will be allowed to reopen as they fall within the 13 counties that Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and health authorities have deemed code green, meaning that the novel coronavirus infections there were under control.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania lawmakers voted on a new bill that would legalize gaming machines in specific venues earlier this week.