For nearly three months, casinos in the Buckeye State were forced to close between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. Earlier this week DeWine announced the curfew would end on Thursday, Feb. 11.
Immediately, casinos returned to full hours, which they hope will boost diminishing gaming revenue.
Ohio’s 11 casinos and racinos saw revenue drop to $153.4m in January, an 8% drop year-on-year. Three properties reported increased revenue y-o-y; they were JACK Thisletdown Racino, Hollywood Casino Toledo and Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway.
Gaming venues in the state had been operating under a curfew since Nov. 19, when non-essential businesses were forced to close during overnight hours.
Covid cases and hospitalization rates have been falling incrementally in Ohio over the last month, leading DeWine to lift the curfew. Bars and restaurants are among the other indoors businesses allowed to return to full hours of operation.
Upon word from the governor, Ohio casino operators immediately announced they would be open for business 24/7.
“We are enthusiastic to once again offer non-stop gaming entertainment and excited that it coincides with the opening of 3,000 square-feet of brand new gaming space at JACK Thistledown Racino, as well as our continued offerings of the newest slots and live table games at JACK Cleveland Casino,” Mark Dunkeson, Chief Executive Officer of JACK Entertainment, said.
David Tsai, President of the Midwest Group, MGM Resorts, which oversees MGM Northfield Park, said, “We’re excited to expand our hours of operation and welcome more of our team members back to work.”
