We know that Texas is slowly reopening and getting back to business. But what about Oklahoma and New Mexico? You know, our neighbors with the casinos! Unfortunately, we don't have casinos here in the Lone Star state, so we have to watch neighboring states closely to see when we can hit the blackjack table or spin the slots again. The good news, some casinos are starting to reopen, you just need to know the new guidelines before you make the trip.

In Oklahoma, Luck Star Casinos have announced they are open with a new "Play It Safe" program in place. They say it is comprehensive measures to ensure the health and safety of guests and employees at all six of the Lucky Star Casinos. Before they opened up, they tested every single casino and tribal employee to catch any asymptomatic cases before allowing anyone back to work, a total of 890 people. Unfortunately, an employee tested positive for the Covid-19 virus. They conducted contact tracing and implemented self-quarantine policy for everyone who came in contact with the infected individual. This created a staffing issue and regulatory concerns. Therefore, they kept the Watonga and Canton locations closed. However, their locations in Concho, Clinton, and Hammon are open. Since there is a limit on the amount of people can be in each facility at one time, they recommend you call ahead before making the trip to see how long the expected wait could be.

The new Golden Mesa Casino in Guymon, Oklahoma has announced on their Facebook that they are not planning to reopen right now, but are reevaluating when they think will be the best, and safest time to open. Meanwhile, they are very active on social media with fun activities to play at home. They said any updates will be posted on their social media channels.

In New Mexico, casinos remain closed as the state was hit hard in some areas with Covid-19. The state has just started some basic business re-openings, and right now, casinos are not included. A bright spot at the New Mexico casinos, however, is what they have been doing during the pandemic. At Buffalo Thunder, they have been using their parking lots to offer Covid-19 testing as well as distributing food and supplies to those in need. There is now word on when the casinos can expect to reopen.

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