Century Casino adapts to coronavirus challenges

Poker players at Century Casino Cape Girardeau are having a hard time these days reading facial expressions of the other players at their tables.

That's because face masks are hiding their faces, and while the masks' primary purpose is to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, they also keep players from giving away certain "tells" that might let others know what sort of hands they're holding.

Face coverings are just one of the coronavirus safety measures in place at Century Casino, designed to keep staff and customers safe during the ongoing pandemic.

"We're taking every precaution that we can to make things as safe as possible for everyone," said casino manager Lyle Randolph as he described some of the safety measures Century Casino has taken since reopening three months ago on June 1.

Protocols and partitions

Century Casino Cape Girardeau employee Curtis Chiles uses a fogger to sanitize slot machines on the casino's gaming floor.Jay Wolz

It wasn't long after Century Casino, as well as all other gaming facilities in Missouri, closed in mid-March that Randolph and his staff began making plans to reopen. Those reopening plans would include everything from temperature checks for all staff and guests to acrylic partitions between all slot machines and development of new safety protocols for continuous cleaning and disinfecting of just about everything in the building — including chairs, counters, cards and casino chips. Even the dice at the craps table are sanitized and changed for each shooter.

Casino table games manager Dave Hart explained that every night, when the casino closes, every rack of chips is disinfected and then rotated off the floor.

"We have a process to make sure chips that were cashed in today by customers aren't the chips customers would get tomorrow," he said. "And as for our card decks, right now, we're not drilling any for the gift shop or to give away. They're all getting destroyed and we use fresh decks every two hours."

And because "clean hands are lucky hands," Century Casino gives customers small "keychain bottles" of hand sanitizer.

The casino acquired materials from Cape Paint & Glass for the custom-designed table game partitions and Select Plastics in Scott City for the dividers between all slot machines. Many of the partitions were designed and fabricated in house by the casino staff led by facility manager Randy Powders.

Morgan Williams serves a beverage through a opening in an acrylic barrier at the Century Casino Cape Girardeau video poker bar recently. Although she says the barrier can make it hard to hear customer orders, she appreciates the additional safety protection it provides for her and her customers.Jay Wolz

"There wasn't a guidebook of what we were supposed to do," Randolph said. "We worked with all kinds of materials (for partition designs) trying to determine what would work best in each situation. I think what we've come up with has been a pretty good solution."

So good, in fact, that other gaming operations have begun copying Century Casino's partition designs.

"We've got some very talented people here," Randolph said, adding that work is underway to design and build new table game partitions to accommodate four players.

A normal table game configuration has enough seating for seven players, but by only allowing four players per table, the casino would be able to maintain some social distancing.

"The Missouri Gaming Commission says we can use every other spot," Randolph said. "What we've done as far as the barriers is not required, but it's something we do for extra protection. If you go to other casinos in the state, you might just see three people sitting at a table with no barriers or other modifications."

John Meininger of Murphysboro, Illinois, has his temperature checked as he entered Century Casino Cape Girardeau recently. The temperatures of everyone -- customers and staff -- are checked before they are allowed to enter the facility.Jay Wolz

With about 300 partitions between each of the casino's side-by-side slot machines, Century Casino has been able to keep them all operational.

"We're probably one of the few casinos around that has been able to keep 100% of their games in operation because of the barriers," Randolph said. "If you go to a St. Louis casino, most of what you're going to see are machines turned off with space in between the machines that are operating. For us to be able to have all of our machines in operation is highly unusual. I don't think you'll see that in many other locations."

Not only are the table games, craps table and slot machines outfitted with Plexiglas barriers, but so, too, are the casino's video poker bar, cash cage, customer service counter and other areas throughout the venue.

"Originally, a lot of the things we're doing we thought were going to be short term, maybe just for a couple of weeks," Randolph said. "Now we're going back and reevaluating processes and saying, 'OK, if this (the pandemic) is going to be here for a longer period of time, whether that's months or even beyond that, then how do we need to modify whatever we're doing?'"

Mask challenges

Century Casino Cape Girardeau facility manager Randy Powders bends a component for one of the casino's acrylic table-game partitions. Watching is Lisa McMahan, marketing director for the Century Casino locations in Cape Girardeau and Caruthersville, Missouri.Jay Wolz

In a noisy environment such as the floor of a casino, Randolph said the barriers have sometimes made it difficult for staff and customers to hear each other, especially when their voices are muffled by face masks.

"It's been a little bit of a challenge," Randolph said, "but people are becoming used to it."

For the most part, customers have complied with the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center's order requiring that face masks be worn in all public places, but Randolph says the mask mandate has impacted business.

"We have had customers who fundamentally don't like the idea of being forced to wear masks and we've had people that, when they come in and we tell them they have to wear a mask, they say, 'Well, I'm leaving,'" he said. "We don't try to make it an issue, but it's a requirement and it's how we have to operate, so we're trying to get people to cooperate as best we can."

Compared to Century Casino's sister property in Caruthersville, Missouri, where face masks are only required when playing table games, Randolph said he believes masks have "had a negative impact" on gaming activity in Cape Girardeau.

Signs such as this one can be found throughout Century Casino Cape Girardeau, reminding guests and staff to practice proper hand hygiene.Jay Wolz

"They don't have a mask requirement in Pemiscot County and we can definitely tell the difference," he said.

Marketing and rebranding

Although the gaming floor is fully operational, Century Casino has intentionally limited its marketing efforts, at least for the time being.

"We're not trying to bring in large groups of people, which has given us a whole new (marketing) perspective," Randolph said. "We still want to engage with our customers without giving away a car and having a thousand people crowded into one area."

In addition to rethinking the casino's marketing strategies, Randolph said rebranding plans are in the works for the gaming operation's three food and beverage venues, which were formerly known as Keller's, Farradays and Lone Wolf. Eldorado Resorts retained those brands when it sold the property to Century Casinos last year.

The former Lone Wolf, he said, has reopened and is being renamed Red Star Grill. The other food venues remain closed and are going through a rebranding process.

"We don't want to launch new brands when people can't enjoy everything," he said. "We're looking forward to reopening those venues and getting back to normal, or at least as normal as we can."

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