Riverside casino incorporating safety measures after reopening

RIVERSIDE - Casino goers are sure to have noticed big changes at the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort since reopening to the public June 1. With the COVID-19 pandemic still prevalent, staff have taken many precautions to ensure safety of guests.

General Manager Dan Franz said the measures were put in place before the opening and include a number of things such as Plexiglas barriers between slot machines and masks required for all guests.

'In general, when we opened up we had 6-foot social distance between each slot or a Plexiglas barrier between slot machines that may be closer than 6 feet,” he said.

Since opening back up to the public June 1, the casino has followed all of Gov. Reynolds guidelines, he said. Originally, table games were closed but due to a small change in wording in the proclamation, they were allowed to open once more.

'We were able to open up our table games on the 12th of June,” he said.

Employee dealers must all be in face shields and all guests in masks.

The added protection is to help keep guests and employees safe as there are more than 900 slot machines in the casino. Putting up that many sheets of Plexiglas would make more for staff to clean, so the company got creative in how it handled the issue.

'We wanted to put the least amount of Plexiglas up that we could and have strategically located certain barriers to make sure some slot machines that are sitting right next to each other can be opened up,” he said.

Roughly 70 percent, 639, of the casino's machines are available for play, he said.

Despite the safety measures, the casino has not bounced back to the numbers it saw pre-pandemic, he said. However, gaming is up due to patrons saving and waiting for an opportunity to be back.

'There's still some of our patron base that's not comfortable yet with coming back in,” he said, mentioning older folks and those with underlying health conditions who may be more cautious. 'I think there's certainly some of that happening.”

Sports betting has taken a hit with all activities being shut down due to the novel coronavirus.

'We were closed from March 15 to June 1 so from a retail sportsbook, we had zero revenue,” he said.

The casino had a small online presence, but with activities being limited to things like Korean baseball and table tennis, very few were placing bets. However, Franz is optimistic things will turn around again in August as sports begin to pick back up and those with a pent-up interest begin to place bets once more.

'It'll pick up again provided football happens,” he said.