Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening
- Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Center
- Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Department
- Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Today
- Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Menu
Photo caption: Osage Casinos to reopen Ponca City location on May 8. Pictured is the Osage Casinos gaming floor in Ponca City in 2015. Osage News File Photo. Osage Casinos will reopen its Ponca City location on Friday after closing in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. 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 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.
sage Casinos will Oreopen 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.
“Properties will reopen with occupancy restriction, only one entrance and exit will be allowed, and security will monitor how many guests are allowed on the floor,” said Byron Bighorse, Osage Casinos CEO. “We will open the gaming floors only when we reopen. We are going to bring our hotels online after we open, and we can determine the demand. No food service at this time but we will offer pre-packaged beverage service. Self-service beverage stations will not be utilized until further notice. We will offer limited alcoholic beverages and we are working through our bar areas to determine safe distancing. No banquets or events until further notice.”
“I anticipate these coming back as soon as further public restrictions are lifted. Guests 65 and older will be recommended to shelter in place per the state and CDC recommendations. Guests will enter the facilities at their own risk as this virus is not going away and we will all be on safety protocols until further notice,” he said.
The reopening will be guided by a 13-page “Health & Sanitation Program” that closely monitors government policy changes, CDC guidelines, government mandates and public health advancements, he said. Casino management will continue to make changes as necessary or appropriate to the protocols as they monitor the casinos.
According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, as of May 7, Osage County has seven active cases of COVID-19 and Ponca City has three active cases.
Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Center
Bighorse said as part of their reopening guidelines, all employees will be 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,” he said.
“Every other machine will be turned off to promote social distancing. These are just some highlevel protocols that guests will see when they come to the properties.”
He said Osage Casinos officials are working with their regulators, the Osage Nation Gaming Commission, to ensure all compliance requirements are met and maintained.
The Ponca City Osage Casino will be open from 10 a.m. to midnight daily and until 2 a.m. on the weekends.
The Tonkawa Hotel and Casino opened on May 1. First Council Casino opened on May 2.
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.
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.”
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.”
Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Department
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.
Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Today
Every other machine is also turned off inside the casino as a way to promote social distancing.
Osage Casino Ponca City Reopening Menu
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.”
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.