Over the past few months, casino gaming has looked quite different depending on where you are in the United States. Some casinos are fully open for business at a smaller capacity while others are closed. When it comes to poker gaming, you may or may not have access to tables. In many states, poker has been lacking due to the high number of positive coronavirus cases. As people continue to test positive, the casinos have been unable to offer services that have a higher rate of social interaction. In Detroit, an announcement was just made that poker is coming back, with the MGM Grand the first to begin offering services again.
Bringing Back Poker
On Wednesday, the MGM Grand Detroit provided an email update to players, letting them know the poker room will be back in action this Friday. There will be capacity restrictions of course, due to the ongoing issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The opening announcement comes just after the Michigan Gaming Control Board announced that the casinos could start offering this service once again.
In the email, poker operations manager Keith Frankel commented that it was his pleasure to announce the reopening of the poker room. As the venue reopens, the health and safety of guests and employees will be at the forefront of operations.
The poker room will offer five tables and each will be spaced out from the other. Only eight players can be seated at a table at one time. This is one less than the usual nine-handed tables. Each player will be separated from the others via dividers.
The venue will be open 24-7 but will not offer food and beverage service. Right now in the state, regulations do not allow beverages or food to be consumed indoors. Players will have to wear masks at all times while in the poker room.
The staff members of the space will sanitize the plexiglass dividers of the tables often. The cards and chips will also be cleaned regularly. There will not be any tournaments on offer but the poker room will provide plenty of cash game action. There is also the bad beat jackpot which is at over $100,000 currently.
When Will the Other Poker Rooms Reopen?
Detroit is home to three casinos: the MGM Grand, MotorCity, and Greektown. It is unclear as to when the remaining two casinos will start offering poker services again. In reports, the Greektown has said that it will open in a few weeks. Any attempts by news outlets to reach the MotorCity Casino have not been responded to.
Players will have to wait sometime still before all three casinos will be providing poker gaming. Hopefully, it won’t be too long, but in the meantime, at least the MGM Grand will be in operation.
Online poker gaming should launch in the state sometime soon as well, which will give players an even more convenient way to play the game. It is expected that the online gambling industry will start in the state within the next few months, if not weeks.
