GGRAsia – Both Singapore casinos back July 1 to top guests, levy play

Both Singapore casinos back July 1 to top guests, levy play

Jun 29, 2020 Newsdesk Latest News, Singapore, Top of the deck

The casino at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore will reopen on Wednesday (July 1) to “selected” customers and with extra safety steps in place, as will some attractions at the resort’s ArtScience Museum, and the Sands SkyPark Observation Deck, said a Sunday press release from the complex’s promoter.

Across the city-state, the casino at Singapore’s other gaming resort, Resorts World Sentosa, run by Genting Singapore Ltd, will also reopen on July 1 to select clients and with safety protocols, said the firm in a press statement.

The casino at Marina Bay Sands – a venue promoted by Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd, a unit of United States-based Las Vegas Sands Corp – and the casino at Resorts World Sentosa, had respectively been closed since April 7 as part of countermeasures by the city-state against Covid-19.

Some non-gaming attractions at each of the city-state’s casino resorts had reopened on June 19, as Singapore entered phase two of exit from its so-called circuit-breaker measures against the pandemic.

At Marina Bay Sands, the casino reopening on July 1 is for “Sands Rewards Club members holding Gold status or higher, and/or existing annual levy holders,” said Sunday’s notice, referring latterly to Singapore citizens or permanent residents currently required to pay SGD3,000 (US$2,153) for a 12-month pass to enter either of the city-state’s casinos.

The casino will reopen at “reduced capacity” to the selected patrons mentioned, and the gaming areas would “abide by strict safe management measures,” stated Sunday’s release.

On Sunday also, a press release by Genting Singapore said that Resorts World Sentosa would be “adopting a cautious approach” to its gaming facility, which will “operate at a reduced capacity.”

The release added: “It will be open but limited only to existing Genting Rewards members and/or annual levy holders. The casino will also abide by strict safe management measures.”

The website of Resorts World Sentosa, carried a message om Sunday saying that its theme park Universal Studios Singapore would reopen on a part-time basis from Wednesday until Sunday this week, and then four days per week afterwards. The press release clarified the reopening would be “except for shows and street entertainment”.

The resort’s website said the on-site S.E.A. Aquarium would restart business four days per week from July 4.

Safety steps

The Genting Singapore release said that in preparing to reopen the casino, the resort had been “working with medical experts to introduce new safety features.”

These included: “rigorous measures” to provide “as much fresh air circulation as possible to maintain optimal air quality”. It said such steps exceeded “commercial facilities’ standards”. Other measures include: mandatory face masks, limiting the number of players per gaming table, and antimicrobial-coated acrylic “safety shields” installed at all gaming tables and gaming machines for protection of guests and dealers.

Genting Singapore added that it would increase the “frequency of cleaning and disinfection of all common areas and high touch points,” and would “not accept bets by standing patrons”.

At Marina Bay Sands “there will be limitations on the number of patrons at each gaming table, while seats at the electronic gaming machines and slots will be at least 1 metre [3.3 feet] apart,” added that resort’s Sunday announcement.

Paul Town, Marina Bay Sands’ senior vice president of resort operations, was cited in Sunday’s release as saying: “Even though we have earlier restarted some of our operations, we continue to adopt a cautious and measured approach as we reopen more of our facilities and limit access at this initial stage.”

He added that restrictions might be “progressively eased” as the “Covid-19 situation improves”. The aim was to instil at the time of reopening “a greater sense of comfort and reassurance” for customers.

The complex’s promoters stated in the announcement that some of circa-800 resort workers dubbed “Safe Distancing Ambassadors” would make sure there were “no bystanders” in the gaming areas. A further 250 resort staff would act as “Safe Management Officers” to ensure safety measures are “adhered to” by the resort’s workforce.

Staff dealing with casino customers would “don masks and face shields, and will sanitise their hands before and after shifts at gaming tables”. Players would also have to “wear their masks at all times” and observe “safe-distancing markers” denoting 1-metre physical separation.

To get into the Marina Bay Sands complex as a whole, visitors are already required to have a body-temperature screening and to register for tracing purposes, the resort promoter has previously said.

At Marina Bay Sands’ casino, “high-touch areas and equipment will be cleaned and wiped down on a frequent basis, while more than 800 hand sanitiser stations will be placed across the gaming floor, including at every table and high-touch area,” said Sunday’s announcement.

“Deep cleaning of gaming pits, furniture and fixtures, including chips and gaming equipment, will be carried out on a regular schedule,” it added.

The Singapore government has said that in phase three of circuit-breaker exit a “new normal” would apply, featuring “safe distancing” including public transport commuters being required to wear a face mask “until an effective vaccine or treatment for Covid-19 is developed”.