Manitoba casinos shuttered as COVID-19 lockdown grows By: Malak Abas Posted: 3:49 PM CDT Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2020

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/03/2020 (1703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As Winnipeg continues to shut down in hopes of slowing the spread of COVID-19, some still were willing to try their luck and play the slots one more time.

On Tuesday — one day after the chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said there were no plans to close provincial casinos — Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister announced the temporary shuttering of all six gambling centres, beginning at midnight.

Casinos had recently been rolling out coronavirus preventative measures: McPhillips Station had shut down all table games “due to the COVID-19 virus concerns” and bingo had been halted until further notice; food service staff were wearing gloves.

On the last day of the north Winnipeg casino’s foreseeable future, the building was far emptier than usual, but not without activity. While there were empty gaming machines everywhere — and some closed, possibly to encourage social distancing — around 50 people were in attendance, and shuttles from parking to the building were still in service.

Tina Johnson was there to celebrate her 70th birthday, and had planned to come back Wednesday to pick up her $10 birthday credit, but said it was “just as well,” when she heard about the provincial order.

“Everything else is closed, I shouldn’t be here, I know that,” she said. “Nobody should be here. It should be closed. I’m happy it’s closing.”

Johnson, who said her experience Tuesday at the casino felt like “a ghost town,” added she was impressed with how few people were visiting:

“People are being smart and staying away. Better to do that than get sick.”

Amid the ongoing community concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson also raised some regarding the cleanliness of the casino. While there were some employees spraying down machines with disinfectant, she said there was not enough being done.

“I didn’t see one person cleaning when I was there,” she said. “I saw them cleaning at the coat check when I walked in, but nobody goes through the coat check. None of the machines, I didn’t see anyone at any of the machines.

“That’s where I feel they should be… If they’re walking around doing nothing, if you see someone get up from the machine, go and wipe it down.”

David and Marilyn Normand said they were visiting McPhillips Station to “try $20,” and felt they needed to get out. While neither had heard the plans to shut down casinos until further notice, both were not worried about the move.

“We don’t come very often,” Marilyn said, adding they had noticed cleaners around the casino. One had asked to clean a machine before the couple used it — a procedure neither had seen be practiced before the spread of COVID-19.

“I think procedures were being done,” David said.

While the novel coronavirus has been at the forefront of people’s minds the last few weeks, both said they had no anxieties attending the casino Tuesday.

“We didn’t think of it at all,” Marilyn said.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_