CHITTENANGO, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The Oneida Indian Nation chose to close its casinos back in March when the coronavirus struck Central New York. Now, they’re getting ready for a phased reopening of those facilities.
June 10 is the date they are eyeing and the reopening involves all three of their casinos, including the Yellow Brick Road Casino, Point Place, and Turning Stone. They’re calling this process “safer together” and it will rely on health and safety data in Central New York.
The Oneida Nation plans to open its gaming areas, hotels, and restaurants, but there’s a couple of new rules guests need to know about:
- No guest will be allowed in if they’re traveling more than 120 miles and you may need to provide information for contact tracing if necessary
- No concerts or shows until mass gatherings are safe
- Face coverings for employees and guests
- Temperature checks of employees
- Must stay six feet apart in restaurants and bars (no buffets or self-service options)
NewsChannel 9 caught up with a couple of people Tuesday night to see if they’d feel safe coming to a place like this in a few weeks.
“I think it is way too soon for them to open up. Hopefully, they will take a lot of precautions because I think things are opening too soon period,” said Sally Boss.
“I think they can do that as long as they continue to do it safely,” William Kinny said.
Officials in Oneida and Madison County have shared their support for this phased reopening and will be working closely with the Oneida Nation to make sure they pull back if the data changes. The Oneida Indian Nation hopes this will allow them to start opening other properties in other regions of the state.
