Florida casinos are some of the best casinos in the south. The state was the first to legalizes the lottery and pari-mutuel betting in form horse and greyhound racing. Florida, also known as the Sunshine State, is known for its fantastic weather and beaches.

• Gold City Casino Online. Casinos Card Playing Rooms.
• All Three South Florida Seminole Casinos Open Friday, Hallandale Beach Casinos On Monday.

It was business — and life – as usual on the gaming floor at South Florida casinos this weekend as guests and staff fingered chips, dealt cards, and pushed and pulled on slot machines as if the world outside was not in the grip of a deadly virus spread by human proximity and touch.

“I guess we’re gambling,” said retired school teacher Rick Barry, with a laugh, outside the Casino @ Dania Beach on Saturday.

While entertainment activity was shut down by concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus, gaming rooms remained open in casinos across South Florida.

That included the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, Seminole Classic Casino, the Casino @ Dania Beach, the Big Easy Poker Room in Hallandale Beach, Isle Casino Pompano Park and Hialeah Park Racing & Casino.

At Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, thoroughbred races were run in front of empty stands, but the casino was open.

Meanwhile, a growing list of casinos were closing nationwide in response to coronavirus concerns, including some in Las Vegas; Yonkers, N.Y.; Massachusetts; and Rhode Island. The Illinois Gaming Board ordered all 10 casinos in the state to close for two weeks.

The Seminole Tribe has no plans to suspend gambling operations at its three South Florida properties, Seminole Tribe spokesman Gary Bitner said. Statements from other casinos said they would act on the recommendation of public health officials.

To be sure, South Florida casino properties, with older customers and tourists, took extra precautions. Intensive cleaning protocols were enacted for high-touch features, from gaming tables to elevators, and hand sanitizer was more available, both to guests and staff.

Seminole Gaming CEO James F. Allen sent a note on Saturday to elite XCard members at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino detailing new measures the company was putting in place and reassuring them that the tribe was following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control.

“Here is my promise to you: the health, safety and well-being of our employees and guests is our top priority,” Allen wrote.

Bitner said the tribe is communicating and cooperating with local health officials, as well as the CDC. The ultimate decision on whether to suspend gaming in its casinos would rest with the tribe, a sovereign entity, Bitner said.

'Shame on us’

It’s been two weeks since Patty Marrero, of Delray Beach, has gambled at Hard Rock Hollywood, where she has been a frequent visitor. She’s not sure what it will take to lure her back.

“I’m not going anywhere near there,' she said. 'To me it’s the quickest place to catch a disease. It’s a germ farm.”

Rick Barry, 64, and wife Kathy, 65, recently moved from suburban Boston to Seminole, near Tampa. They spent Friday at Hard Rock Hollywood and Saturday afternoon at the Casino @ Dania Beach. Saturday night would include a visit to the casino at Gulfstream Park.

The Barrys are regulars at the Hard Rock in Tampa and said the sparse crowd at the Hollywood casino was noticeable.

“It was Friday night and there were a lot of machines available, which you don’t usually see at the Hard Rock,” Kathy Barry said.

Casinos In South Florida Lauderdale Fl

Speaking as they walked to their car, where they had a supply of disinfectant wipes, Kathy Barry said casinos are notoriously “dirty.” Heightened attention to hygiene isn’t a bad thing, she said.

“Shame on us that we never did this before, but it’s a little more concerning now,” Barry said.

‘No big deal’

Inside the Casino @ Dania Beach, which implemented an “enhanced cleaning and sanitizing regimen,” customers on Saturday poked at slot machines with disinfectant wipes, others with pencils and pens. Most used their bare fingers.

Upstairs, thoroughbred fans watched races from around the country, punching in their bets on digital touch screens at group kiosks, no hand sanitizer in view.

At a Texas Hold ’Em table, the dealer and a customer exchanged cards and chips in a standard manner. The dealer did appear to avoid touching her face with her fingers while brushing her hair out of the way.

Hands resting on an electronic roulette machine, Chelsea Connelly, 29, of Tom’s River, N.J., didn’t give coronavirus a second thought. She’s a frequent visitor to Atlantic City, where her boyfriend has gigs with his band.

“It’s no big deal. Just like a bad flu. It’s all the media,” Connelly said.

At Hard Rock Hollywood on Saturday, the crush of visitors that seemed to clog every corridor and table since the expanded property’s reopening in October, was noticeably reduced on Saturday night. Hand-sanitizer stations could be found in high-traffic areas, and each blackjack table had at least two hand-sanitizer dispensers visible at the dealer’s station.

At one slot machine, Ellis Herring, 28, of Aventura, positioned the new coronavirus as more inconvenience than threat.

“Hey, I smoke. This is probably more of a threat,” he said, smiling, a cigarette simmering between his fingers.

———

©2020 the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com

Casinos In Florida With Slot Machines

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.