Oneida Indian Nation casinos reopen following pandemic shutdown

VERONA, N.Y. — Oneida Indian Nation gaming properties resumed operations for regional residents on Wednesday.

Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, Point Place Casino in the Bridgeport area of Sullivan, and Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango (or YBR Casino) opened for gaming activity Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. The venues had been closed since March 16.

The reopened casinos are functioning under new health and safety measures and follow planning and coordination with neighboring municipalities, the Oneida Nation said.

The Oneida Nation says it has implemented new safety protocols under a plan it calls “Safer Together.” It also “enhanced” cleaning policies, trained staff on additional precautionary protocols, and has introduced certain restrictions during phase one of its reopening process.

The Oneida Nation says it developed its health and safety plan in consultation with public-health experts and neighboring county officials. The plan incorporates input from discussions with the National Indian Gaming Commission and the New York State Gaming Commission.

Plan elements

As outlined in “Safer Together,” the Oneida Indian Nation is introducing newly added health measures.

The venues are limiting access to guests who travel from within 120 miles within New York with valid New York State issued driver’s license or non-driver identification (ID).

Face coverings are “mandatory” for all employees and customers, as a condition of entry, even in administrative areas.

All employees are required to have daily screenings, including temperature checks. Employees who handle commonly touched items with guests are required to wear gloves, including in all restaurants, at registration desks and on the gaming floors.

The measures also include guest and employee entry and ID verification protocols that allow for contact tracing, “if necessary.”

The casinos are instituting occupancy limits and distancing in all restaurants, lounges, and smoking areas.

The measures also include “enhanced” cleaning measures, which include new technology that alerts guests with an on-screen notification of the exact time the slot machine was last sanitized. The new automated game sanitization system also notifies the casino cleaning staff when a guest finishes playing on a machine so the slot machine can be cleaned.

Also, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) air changeover levels will be maintained at “significantly greater” capacity and will exceed those required by the standard commercial code.

Additional cleaning measures include increased touchless hand-sanitizer dispensers placed at every guest entry point and throughout the properties, including at table games, slot machines, and every registration desk.