One of the most challenging years in the history of gaming industry is finally over. In Las Vegas, they said farewell to the old year with a blast – by blowing up a sign saying 2020.
Among the reasons why 2020 will stay in bad memory of Nevadans is the Las Vegas casino shutdown that lasted 78 days, bringing the state’s economy to its knees.
Although the COVID-19 still remains a threat, the end of the pandemic is on the horizon. Good days are bound to return, and one of the signs of that is the reopening of all of Pennsylvania’s 14 casinos.
After three weeks of being closed for business, casinos in the Liberty State are coming back this Monday (January 4, 2021). More good news for gaming afficionados is that some of the best US online casinos have decided to treat the players with bonuses more lucrative than ever before.
In other news, Circa Casino in Downtown Vegas was named the Most Intriguing Newcomer by Forbes in the inaugural Vices Awards 2020.
Pennsylvania Casinos to Reopen on Monday
Pennsylvania’s casino industry might be one of the biggest success stories in this part of America. Since gambling became legal in Pennsylvania in 2014, the Commonwealth’s 14 casinos have been turning in huge profits.
Almost every year, Pennsylvania’s casinos have generated at least $1.5 billion, more than most other gambling-friendly states in the US. And in 2019, Pennsylvania harvested more tax money from casinos than any other state, Nevada included.
But then, the COVID-19 pandemic came, wreaking havoc on Pennsylvania’s casino industry, which employs more than 20,000 people. All of those people had no work to do over the last three weeks. Since December 12, all casinos in Pennsylvania have been shut down.
However, Governor Tom Wolf most recent orders say that casinos are allowed to return to business this Monday. Of course, it’s not going to be business as usual. Instead, in order to operate, casinos will have to enforce some special measures.
New Anti-COVID-19 Measures in Pennsylvania’s Casinos:
- Face mask wearing – Everyone inside needs to wear a face mask; otherwise, it’s the duty of casino staff to remove them from the property.
- Temperature checking – In order to be permitted to enter, visitors and staff members need to pass a temperature check.
- Social distancing – Casinos are required to ensure social distancing through the use of Plexiglas dividers between machines and gaming tables.
- Reduced capacity – Casinos in Pennsylvania can only operate if the capacity does not go over 25%.
- Air filtration – All casinos need to have working air filtration systems based on ozone technology.
- Cleaning – Casinos need to adhere to strict sanitation protocols that involve UV sanitation; they also need to make sure hand sanitizers and cleaning wipes are at the patrons’ disposal.
To make sure all of the above-mentioned measures (and many others) are in order, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) and state police need to have 24/7 presence in the casino. Surveillance cameras are going to be used to help out with control, which will make Pennsylvania’s casinos the only customer-facing businesses to operate under this type of accountability.
Even though the measures might seem strict, no one seems to mind. In fact, people involved with Pennsylvania’s gaming industry are determined to ensure another casino shut down does not happen.
Las Vegas Says Farewell to 2021
Casinos in Pennsylvania had to keep their doors closed to visitors over the holiday season. However, the same was not the case in all the other places in America. In fact, casinos in the biggest gaming hub in the country were open for New Year’s Eve.
Still, it wasn’t Las Vegas casinos that got into the spotlight on December 31 – real party was taking place on the streets of Sin City. Although the celebrations were nowhere near those Nevada remembers from years gone by, there were still plenty of people gathered on the Strip. Actually, there was a much bigger crowd than Nevada’s Governor had hoped.
Here’s another video from the Las Vegas Strip last night, taken near the Bellagio fountains between 11:30 and midnight.
Helps give more of an idea of how packed it was.
Further south there were far fewer people. But it got very crowded by the fountains. pic.twitter.com/euKdjZuei5
— Michael Scott Davidson (@DavidsonLVRJ) January 1, 2021
Thousands of revelers hit the streets of Las Vegas, despite a plea from Nevada’s Governor Steve Sisolak. It’s estimated that there was as much as 200,000 celebrating the end of 2020.
Circa Casino in Downtown Vegas Wins Forbes Vice Award
Forbes recently came up with the concept of Vice Awards, which celebrate “people and products that helped ease the pain of 2020.” Among the winners of the inaugural Forbes Vice Awards are cannabis product manufacturers, sex toys makers, and casinos.
As this is MobileCasinoParty, we’re going to focus only on the casino award. The award in question is the Most Intriguing Newcomer, won by Circa Casino.
Since its launch a few months ago, Circa has made a huge impact on the gambling landscape of Las Vegas. First of all, the casino was launched in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, at the time when other casinos were shutting down.
Furthermore, Circa’s location also makes this casino special. When it launched in September, it became the first new casino to open in Downtown Las Vegas in four decades.
Circa has a total gaming space of 7,000 sq ft, with thousands of gaming machines and gambling tables. It also has a stadium-like sportsbook, which has a larger capacity than any other sportsbook in the city. Unfortunately, Circa won’t be operating at full capacity for at least a few more months.
Online Casinos Release a Bountiful of Bonus Offers for January
Internet casinos want to help the players forget about 2020. To do that, they’re giving them a chance to start 2021 with some quality gaming action. Some casinos are giving away welcome bonuses that go up to several thousand dollars.
For example, Sloto Cash Casino has come up with a bundle offer of two deposit bonuses worth $2,500 in total. In addition to bonus, this casino is also giving away 150 free spins to be used on two super-popular online slot games, namely Swindle All the Way and Santastic.
This deal is exclusive to MobileCasinoParty visitors, who need to enter the promo codes JOLLYPACK-1 and JOLLYPACK-2 (in that order) to claim these offers.
Apart from deposit bonuses, there are also plenty of no-deposit bonus offers to grab in January. Some of the best deals include the following:
- Desert Nights Casino – 50 Spins on Thunderbird – Exp. Jan 14 (PROMO CODE: HAPPY-2021)
- Uptown Aces Casino – 21 Free Spins on IC Wins – Exp. Jan 3 (PROMO CODE: ICWINS21)
- Red Stag Casino – $10 Free Chip – Exp. Jan 10 (PROMO CODE: HNY10)
- Miami Club – 50 Free Spins on Funky Chicken – Exp. Jan 20 (PROMO CODE: FCMD30)
For more information about the latest bonus offers, make sure to come back to MobileCasinoParty!
