Local musicians have continued to play at the resort’s bars and restaurants. That’s a different seating option than is available at the casino’s new concert venue, where shows have been postponed, Bitner said. Slot machines are not arranged in continuous rows that create a canyon of machines with one center aisle, but include spaces between smaller banks of several machines. That said, Seminole Hard Rock management believes the expanded 245,000-square-foot casino is laid out so that patrons can put some distance between themselves if they wish, especially during off-peak hours. The Tampa casino is popular with retirees, and it’s not unheard of to see a gambler with a motorized scooter or a portable oxygen tank on the casino floor. She last went about three weeks ago and said she always takes a bottle of Purell with her to clean the button on the slot machine.īy allowing thousands of people to pass through the place, the virus could quickly be passed to people who could spread it to their families and in the community, and “it would be worse than it is now,' she said. “They need to close that place,” said Millie Conard of Tampa, who goes to the casino to play slots about once a month. On Monday, a couple of patrons said they think the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa should follow the lead of other businesses.

Meanwhile, casino operations have been suspended or curtailed in Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

The Los Angeles Times reported that companies that own more than a dozen hotels and casinos in Las Vegas announced they were closing for two weeks starting Tuesday.

Centers for Disease Control recommended that gatherings of 50 or more people be suspended or cancelled. The company said turning off slot machines aims to create social distancing between players. The steps follow Seminole Hard Rock Tampa decisions last week to postpone concerts, shows and pool parties at the casino near Interstate 4 east of Tampa because of the spread of the coronavirus.

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