Borgata Opens its Doors to The Players, All Atlantic City Casinos Are Back in The Business

Atlantic City is fully up and running! All nine of the casinos located in this famous New Jersey town have reopened after nearly 4 months long shutdown.

Luxurious Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa opened its doors to the invited guests on Thursday but it will be welcoming the general public starting 10 a.m. Sunday. Although certain restrictions are in place given the global health situation, early visitors of this betting hub said they were excited to be back.

“Borgata is my happy place,” said Lucille Haley, of Woodbridge, Middlesex County, who was on a day trip with some friends. Haley said she “absolutely” felt safe while playing slots Thursday afternoon. “I just think they went above and beyond,” she said.

Borgata, one of the most popular New Jersey land-based establishments, is operating with reduced capacity and indoor dining as well as smoking or drinking on the gaming floor are not allowed. Guests’ temperatures are being taken upon the arrival, masks must be worn by everyone on the property, and social distancing guidelines need to be followed (there are polycarbonate dividers at the table games and every other slot machine is turned off).

Patty Fitzpatrick, of Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, also referred to Borgata as her “happy place,” while playing video poker inside the recently renamed BetMGM Sportsbook & Bar. Fitzpatrick said she visited another Atlantic City casino this month following the Independence Day weekend reopenings but has been waiting to come back to Borgata.

“Borgata has always been my favorite,” she said. “It’s always so clean … but now I see more cleaning people, more hand-sanitizing stations. They have masks available (when you walk in). It’s just immaculate. You can tell the people have been working so hard.”

Health and Safety First

“Health and safety come first,” said Borgata President and Chief Operating Officer Melonie Johnson.

Earlier this month, after Gov. Phil Murphy reversed course on allowing indoor dinning just days before casinos were set to resume operations, Johnson declined to reopen. He said that it was important for them to provide their guests with the experience they have come to expect from Borgata and MGM.

“It was never our intent to open first in the Atlantic City market,” Johnson said on Thursday. “We wanted to make sure that when we opened, we opened safely, for our employees and our guests.”

MGM has come up with a seven-point plan…

…that is used across their entire network and protocols encom things such as touchless food and beverage menus, no valet service, and two handwashing stations on the casino floor.

Almost all outdoor space at the establishment has been utilized for food and beverage offerings. For high-rollers, the brand transformed the indoor pool and adjacent garden into a player’s lounge with covered outdoor seating.

“We took the time to reassess and strategize, and what we’ve come up with — I have to give kudos to the food and beverage department — what we have right now to offer our guests is amazing,” Johnson said.

Source:

“Borgata is Back, last Atlantic City Casino to reopen”, pressofatlanticcity.com, July 23rd, 2020.