Poker Is on the Cards for Detroit This Friday

The Michigan Gaming Control Board approved Detroit’s three casinos to open their poker rooms. On Wednesday MGM Grand Detroit sent out an email to its customers, that its poker room will be open on Friday.

Detroit Poker Is Back on the Table and It Is Official This Time

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) officially approved for Detroit’s three casinos to open their poker rooms. This Friday one will open at the MGM Grand Detroit.

Poker rooms were closed for months during the pandemic. Last September, MotorCity announced that poker is back on the table and so did Greektown that poker rooms are ready to restart operation, although not specifying when. However, the MGCB had not elaborated any safety framework for their reopening.

Last year in March, Detroit’s casinos closed with the uncertainty as to when they will be able to function again due to the global situation. They were allowed to open for a short period of time in August, but without poker. When Detroit casinos reopened in December, poker was excluded again. The MGCB didn’t have the safety plans at that time.

The poker community was left to look for means to play elsewhere. Currently, in Michigan, online poker is not legal but it is expected to go live in the next months, notwithstanding any regulatory delays. Presently, Michigan is about to launch mobile sports betting. However, Detroit casinos officially have the green light to bring live poker back and the message is already out, amid falling revenues.

MGM Grand Detroit Opens up 5 Poker Tables with 8 Seats per Table

Detroit is going to see its poker tables functioning for the first time after 9 months. This Wednesday MGM Grand Detroit sent out an email to its customers that this Friday the poker room will open, following the instructions and requirements for the capacity of people sitting at the tables. Keith Franker, the manager of poker operations, wrote an email stating that the health of the guests and employees comes first.

MGM Grand Detroit will open five poker tables with eight players per table, which is one short of the usual nine. The tables will be spaced out according to the rules and there will be a plexiglass divider between each player.

The room will be open 24-7, but no food and beverages will be allowed indoors. Every player will have to wear a mask. The dividers, chips, and cards will be sanitized frequently.  The MGM Grand jackpot is set to $106,000 but no tournaments and games are going to be offered yet.

Casinos were allowed to restart on December 23 following the latest shutdown, fearing that prolonged shutdowns could have cost millions to the city budget.