With more than $60,000 already spent, the property was preparing to test another 400 people for next phase of Delaware’s reopening. It wasn’t cheap-around $100 per employee for the Covid-19 test. We had two positives, out of over 600 people.” As the June 1 reopening approached, the casino made one more safety-related decision: “We made everybody, including the slot vendors and the state employees that work to regulate us on the floor, take a Covid test, on us,” Fasy said. So, really, it was a short period of time where they wouldn’t have gotten paid, (but got) unemployment.”ĭelaware Park’s plan allowed the property to avoid having to borrow money to maintain liquidity. “By our calculation, that got us to the third week of May,” Fasy said. And then the third week, we made it a choice-you can take some paid time off, be it personal or vacation time, that you have built and accrued.”ĭuring the third week, officials decided to allow employees who had used their paid time off to accrue additional time off more quickly than normal upon return. “Employees who depended on tips got what they normally would get for the first two weeks, over and above their regular benefits.

“We paid all the employees an extra two weeks of pay, including tips,” Fasy said.

We just want to make sure we understand what you’re going to do.’”īy the time the closure order came for March 16, Delaware Park’s preparation was evident, in a plan to help employees survive an extended shutdown while preserving liquidity and avoiding debt. “We talked to the governor before he even announced that we were going to close,” recalled Delaware Park President William Fasy in an interview with GGB News. In fact, the reopening plan for Delaware Park began even before Governor John Carney ordered the closure of all casinos due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In March, at the very start of the forced 10-week hiatus for Delaware racinos, the owners of the Casino at Delaware Park were planning for the industry’s reopening. The reopening went smoothly by all accounts, thanks to plans that were in place long before any of the three racinos knew exactly when a return to business would occur. The early news was good, with brisk business despite the fact that active slot machines, by order of the state, must be 8 feet apart. Delaware’s racinos were back in business as of June 1, at 30 percent floor capacity.

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