Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening
- Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Center
- Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Today
- Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Department
- Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Menu
Osage Casinos will reopen its Ponca City location on Friday after closing in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Osage Casinos in Tulsa, Sand Springs, Bartlesville, Skiatook, Hominy and Pawhuska will reopen on May 15, but not without new strict health guidelines. The Osage Casino in Ponca City became the first of the branch to resume operations, with a limited opening that began Friday. The Osage Casino Hotel Ponca City, 64464 SH 60, had been closed for.
Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Center
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By: Amy Kauffman
Some Casinos in Oklahoma have already reopened but more are planning to reopen later this week.
The Osage Casino North of downtown Tulsa is planning to reopen Friday 15th, but they said they’re still working out details of their grand reopening.
They said it will be similar to the opening of their Ponca City location, but said they even plan to add some additional measures from what they’ve learned during their grand reopening there.
In Ponca City, they reopened gaming immediately but left the hotel as well as food and beverage closed until further notice.
Officials have not said if they plan to keep those closed in Tulsa yet, and they also haven’t released any information regarding reopening their pool.
However, they said they plan to do everything they can to enforce social distancing of at least six feet while in casinos.
Officials said they want to continue minimizing and avoiding any unnecessary contact between guests and Osage team members while people are on site.
They’re also encouraging guests to wear personal protective gloves and masks while they’re visiting the casinos.
They are also encouraging anyone over the age of 65 to follow the state’s Stay at Home recommendations.
They said they are still working out the details on a time to reopen but hope to release more information later this week.
Osage Casino in Ponca City reopened on Friday morning with a reduced capacity and hours. The casino has been closed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Today
Only one entrance and exit is open at the Ponca City location, both on the south side of the property. Security is monitoring how many guests are allowed on the casino floor, which will be approximately 25 percent of capacity.
Byron Bighorse, CEO of Osage Casinos, was at the reopening on Friday and was thrilled one of the properties could open. “The Ponca City location was ready and willing to step up to reopen. I can’t say enough about the fantastic team we have here at the Ponca City location.”
“We are going to see how the demand goes right now,” said Bighorse. “There is no hotel, no food service and no table games. The convenience store is open. Our top priority is to keep our patrons and employees safe.”
Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Department
The bar area at Osage Casino is open. “The area is open but we have removed some tables and chairs at the bar. We want to encourage social distancing. Obviously if someone is sitting with their significant other there isn’t a problem there. We will have a problem when crowds gather to watch something on television. If I see things are getting out of hand, I won’t hesitate to shut things down.”
As part of their reopening guidelines, all employees are required to wear masks until further notice. “Guests will be strongly encouraged to wear a mask and we will make them available, but we will not ask anyone to leave if they do not wear a mask,” said Bighorse.
Every other machine is also turned off inside the casino as a way to promote social distancing.
The Ponca City location will be open from 10 a.m to midnight daily and until 2 a.m. on the weekend.
Osage Casinos were closed on March 18 at all of its locations. “Obviously we thought the closure would only last about two weeks but then things continued and we went through the entire month of April,” he said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has absolutely devastated the tribe.”
Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Menu
Employees of the Osage Casino locations were paid for approxiately two weeks until the casino had to stay closed longer and employees were furloughed.
“We have applied for the PPE program and have been funded $9.1 million to help us cover payroll and other expenses for the next couple of months,” he said.
The Osage Casinos in Tulsa, Sand Springs, Bartlesville, Skiatook, Hominy and Pawhuska will reopen on May 15.