Elements Casino to open on Friday
Brantford’s Elements Casino will reopen on Friday.
The Great Canadian Gaming Corporation said the venue is among 11 casinos that will resume operations after the province’s announcement on June 16 that Ontario is moving to Step 3 of its plan to reopen during the pandemic.
The decision was based on continually improving public health and health care indicators and the provincewide vaccination rate surpassing targets.
Some employees at Elements Casino returned to work over the past few weeks in anticipation of the province allowing the facility to reopen. Chuck Keeling, executive vice president of stakeholders relations and responsible gambling for the Great Canadian Gaming Company, said they initially expected to open around July 26.
“I’m very excited that the province has reached this milestone, and that Great Canadian is in a position to have thousands of team members return to work,” Terrance Doyle, the company’s interim chief executive officer, said in a news release.
Under the provincial restrictions, casinos can open with a capacity limit of 50 per cent.
Elements Casino in Brantford had about 570 employees prior to the COVID-19 pandemic being declared in March 2020. It has closed and re-opened several times, with the last closure on March 21 of this year.
Other venues that will open on Friday include Casino Woodbine, Great Blue Heron Casino, Casino Ajax, Elements Casino Mohawk, Elements Casino Flamboro, Elements Casino Grand River, Shorelines Casino Belleville, Shorlines Casino Peterborough, Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands and Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs.