Gateway Casinos and Entertainment has recently issued a statement about its Casino Rama in Ontario. The company expressed its optimism that it will be able to renew operations at the gaming hotspot by the end of this month and again welcome back its patrons in a safe environment. However, it remains to be seen whether the two-week lockdown will be lifted.
Starting from Wednesday, January 5, 2022, at 12:01. a.m. Casino Rama had to close doors, as Ontario moved into a modified version of Step Two of The Business Reopening plan. According to this, all indoor social activities such as casinos, restaurants, and gyms must close down. The new order is set to expire on January 26, 2022.
Fingers Crossed
In the press release, this week, spokesperson for Gateway Casinos and Entertainment Rob Mitchell commented that the company has outlined January 27, 2022, as a potential reopening date for the reopening of the gaming property. As on that day, the provincially mandated shutdown is on schedule to be lifted, however, this could be subject to change and the period could be further extended.
Mr. Mitchell made it clear that the gaming conglomerate is still optimistic about the restart of the businesses at the end of the month. He is hopeful that the government can successfully distribute the booster shots against the unprecedented situation, and thus decrease the number of cases of the virus across the province. If it transpires, the company will be able to relaunch its east of Orillia gaming amenity.
The recent shutdown has come as one more hit on the company’s plans for the casino as in November it announced its intentions of restoring back to work its entertainment centre after almost two years of being closed down. The company has even announced a schedule of several riveting live shows for patrons to enjoy, unfortunately, plans were put on hold.
Back in November, Glenn Trickey, Vice-President of Operations for the central region, explained that the reopening of the 5,000-seat venue and a buffet would guarantee an increase in visitors. This would have then triggered the return of approximately 200 additional jobs back to the site. However, the casino previously announced that it will be postponing most of the events to later dates.
Always Changing Scenery
As already mentioned, Casino Rama has prepared some quite exciting live performances to take place at the venue’s entertainment centre. Last month, the property added Canadian rock icons Kim Mitchell and Honeymoon Suite to its schedule. Their concert was scheduled for January 22, 2022, but it has been postponed. Tickets can be either refunded or used for the new date.
Casino Rama suffered a difficult time after the first major closure of casinos in Canada in March 2020. The property remained closed down for almost 16 months. During the off-time, it had to make some rearrangements to its gaming floor so it can comply with social distancing protocols once it restarts. Over 400 slot machines and 20 table games were removed. However, no staff members were laid off.
Source: Matys, Frank “Casino Rama ‘optimistic’ about reopening in late January: Gateway”, Simcoe.com, January 13, 2022
