Aussie casinos juggle pandemic limits as Blackstone eyes struggling Crown

Australian casinos continue to frantically revise their pandemic operating conditions, while the embattled Crown Resorts is once again the subject of takeover talk.

This weekend, casino operator SkyCity Entertainment Group announced that its Skycity Adelaide property would reopen Sunday (22) on a limited basis following the South Australian government lifting certain restrictions imposed last week due to a new COVID-19 cluster in Adelaide (sparked by a pizza worker’s lies to local officials).

For the time being, SkyCity Adelaide is restricted to the company’s Premier Rewards membership tiers and only 100 members will be allowed onto the gaming floor at any one time. The property is also imposing the standard physical distancing measures, including limits on the number of gaming machines in operation and the number of people allowed at each gaming table.

Meanwhile, next door in the state of Victoria, Crown Melbourne announced that new Restricted Activity Directions issued by state officials will cap the property’s total capacity at 1,000 patrons, with each indoor space limited to 150 patrons or one person per four square meters, whichever is less.