Casinos can open their doors on Thursday, June 4 as part of phase two of Nevada's reopening plan. The Peppermill Reno will reopen their doors at 9 a.m. They've been preparing for this day for months.
"I think all of us have gone through something unprecedented," said Stephen Ascuaga, Corporate Director of Business Development. "Pretty much the day we were shutting down we were sitting down to start the discussion of, okay, what is it going to look like when we open back up to the public. I don't think we knew it was going to be pushing 3 months, but we're very encouraged. We have a great team that has been preparing a methodical plan and a process and we feel very good, very encouraged about the June 4 date."
There will be some changes starting out, but he says the company is confident they can offer guests a safe, quality experience.
"This is an industry where we're highly regulated, very systems-driven, so I think the gaming industry is going to come out and really make the state proud in how we implement this in a safe way for our employees and our guests and move forward," Ascuaga said.
Gaming floors and restaurants will be at 50% capacity for the time being. Employees will be wearing masks, and guests will be asked to adhere to social distancing protocols. Plexiglass dividers have been set up, table games have limited seating, and the pool and spa will have new policies in place. Most of the resort's employees will be returning to work in the coming weeks.
"It's been an adjustment, but we're seeing the majority of people coming back," Ascuaga said. "Some might be in different positions because not all departments are fully up to speed, but we feel very encouraged and we're seeing great attitudes. I feel like everyone is excited to come back. It's great seeing coworkers we all said goodbye to months ago."
All of the resort's employees have been tested for the virus and there are new thermal cameras have been installed on guest and employees entrances.
"We will not be stopping people one by one, we will have a thermal camera system in place," Ascuaga said. "As they flow in, it will be monitoring temperatures. In the hot weather we may get some positives and we have protocols in place for that to pull them aside and retest 15 minutes later."
At this point it's unclear how long the new guidelines will be in place, but Ascuaga says it's an encouraging step forward.
"I think everybody is excited," he said. "We're not at 100% normalcy yet - whatever that is- but I do think we're all excited to just see these are great signs. People are getting back to work, and when people are ready to come back here, we can offer them a quality, safe experience. When they're ready, we're ready."
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