DOVER — Now under new management, Dover Downs has closed its poker room.
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Been going here for years, new ownership as of 2 months ago. They closed down the poker room, fired everyone without notice, jacked up the prices of ever food venue, eliminated all the promotions, turned a very nice casino/hotel into an empty garbage pit. The slots stopped paying at all, the table games are as close to criminal as you can get. 'Dover Downs, Inc. Is cooperating fully with Governor Carney's directive to temporarily close Dover Downs Casino. On March 16 we had suspended operation within the casino, with our hotel and select restaurants fully operating.
The casino, which became part of Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc. at the end of March, moved its poker tables to the casino floor last week.
Despite rumors the entire poker staff had lost its jobs, only one person was laid off, according to casino management.
'Today is our first day of poker on the floor, so we do have poker! There will be NO poker room on the third floor anymore. The Poker tables now on the Casino floor answer to table games and no longer operate as a separate entity,' Nicholas Polcino Jr., the new vice president and general manager, said in a statement Friday.
'All other personnel (Poker Director is no longer with the company) that could be transferred to table games were transferred. The employees that only had poker experience have been given the opportunity to learn other games as well so they are able to transfer between various games if they desire.'
As a result of the closure poker tournaments were canceled several weeks ago, according to casino staff.
Located on the third floor, the room formerly used for poker once served as a place for individuals to watch simulcast horse racing.
A spokeswoman for Twin River initially denied the poker room was closing. A second spokeswoman later confirmed the room would no longer host table games.
The deal with Twin River, a Rhode Island-based company that operates casinos and hotels in Rhode Island and Mississippi and a horse track in Colorado, was announced in July just weeks after lawmakers approved tax relief for the state's three casinos.
The merger included Dover Downs' 500-room hotel and banquet hall. Dover International Speedway remains owned by Dover Motorsports, which split off from the gaming company in 2002.
Supporters said the changes — lowering the slot tax rate 1 percent, cutting the table game tax rate almost in half and suspending the $3 million table game license fee — were necessary to help protect jobs and the nine-figure sum the state annually receives from the casinos.
State Sen. Trey Paradee, a Dover Democrat who was one of the chief backers of casino tax relief, said Friday he would be disappointed if layoffs follow the merger but believes the legislation approved last year was good policy.
'We really put them in the position (where) they were just treading water,' he said.
The casino, the only public corporate gambling establishment in Delaware, lost money in two of the last five years and made a net profit of $30,000 in 2018.
At the end of 2018, Dover Downs had 1,388 employees, 906 of whom were full-time.
Several top executives with Dover Downs were let go or retired earlier this spring.
Staff writer Matt Bittle can be reached at 741-8250 or mbittle@newszap.com.Follow @MatthewCBittle on Twitter.
Last updated Dec. 14.
The uncontrollable spread of COVID-19 has made it very difficult for the US casino industry to function in most states. Across the country, casinos are limiting the number of customers on their floors or are closing their doors to casual and experts bettors in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Casinos were particularly hard hit in the spring, when most were forced to shutter. On March 19, the American Gaming Associationissued a release on the crisis. AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said:
With a spike of coronavirus cases in the fall of 2020, casinos are once again being forced to shut down in many states. Most casinos remain open in some respect, but that will likely change.
Though many gamblers will turn to horse betting, online casinos and online poker, our staff at PlayUSA wants to keep you up to date with a list of casino properties that have suspended operations in the wake of this global pandemic.
Alabama casinos
Wind Creek casinos in the state are open with some restrictions.
Arizona casinos
Most Arizona casinos are open subject to general COVID restrictions in the state. Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort is currently closed, and Casino del Sol closed for the rest of 2020 starting on Dec. 7.
Arkansas casinos
Arkansas casinos are open, with some restrictions.
Latest report on Arkansas casinos here.
California casinos
California is currently under a stay-at-home order and capacity restrictions in most regions. However, most California tribal casinos are currently open with a variety of restrictions that don't always line up with state guidelines. More on that here.
Card rooms closed on Nov. 30 for three weeks
Colorado casinos
Casinos in Colorado mostly remain open, but some such as Ute Mountain Casino Hotel have opted to close temporarily. Table games are shut down in some other casinos. More on that at PlayColorado.
Connecticut casinos
The state's two casinos, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort, are both open with restrictions. As of the week of Dec. 1, Foxwoods announced even further restrictions and temporary closing of some hotel areas.
Latest report on casinos in Connecticut here.
Delaware casinos
The three Delaware casinos are currently open with some restrictions
- Delaware Park
- Dover Downs
- Harrington Casino and Raceway
Florida casinos
All of Florida's casinos are currently open with varying restrictions.
Idaho casinos
Most Idaho casinos remain open.
Illinois casinos
All casinos in Illinois are closed as of Nov. 20 under an order from Gov. JB Pritzker. Visit PlayIllinois for more updates.
Indiana casinos
Indiana casinos mostly remain open, with some restrictions. Visit PlayIndiana for more updates.
Iowa casinos
All Iowa casinos are currently open, but with restrictions.
More on casinos in Iowa here.
Kansas casinos
Kansas casinos remain open for now.
Kentucky racing
There are no casinos in Kentucky.
Louisiana casinos
Most Louisiana casinos remain open, but at limited capacity.
More information here on casinos in Louisiana.
Maine casinos
Maine casinos are open but must close earlier than usual. More on casinos in Maine here.
Maryland casinos
Maryland casinos are open, with restrictions. However, infections in Maryland via casinos have drawn some scrutiny.
Massachusetts casinos
Massachusetts' three casinos — Plainridge Park, MGM Springfield, and Encore Boston Harbor — are all open, with restrictions. More from PlayMA here.
Michigan casinos
Michigan's three commercial casinos are currently closed:
- MGM Grand
- Greektown Casino
- MotorCity Casino
Some tribal casinos have also closed their doors for now.
Minnesota casinos
Native American tribes with casinos remain open for now, with restrictions. More here.
Mississippi casinos
All 26 of the state's casinos remain open.
Missouri casinos
Missouri casinos are all open, with varying restrictions.
Montana casinos
Some of Montana's tribal casinos are closed. There are restrictions that limit capacity in casinos in the state.
Nevada casinos
Casinos in the state and in Las Vegas remain largely open, but at reduced capacity. These include Palazzo, for example, where rooms are closed seven days a week but the casino floor remains open. More from PlayNevadahere and more on Las Vegas specifically can be found here.
New Hampshire casinos
There is no word yet on when casinos in New Hampshire will reopen.
New Jersey casinos
Atlantic City casinos continue to stay open, with restrictions. Of course, online casinos in New Jersey, are still running.
New Mexico casinos
Worsening conditions in New Mexico have led to almost all casinos being closed. More here.
New York casinos
All New York casinos, both commercial and tribal, remain open for now.
North Carolina casinos
The only two casinos in North Carolina, Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort and Harrah's Cherokee Valley River Casino are currently open.
North Dakota casinos
Tribal casinos are generally open in North Dakota, although it is on a case by case basis.
Ohio casinos
Ohio casinos remain open, but are subject to a curfew.
Oklahoma casinos
Almost all Oklahoma casinos are currently open.
Oregon casinos
Most tribal casinos in Oregon remain open, with restrictions. Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City is one that has closed temporarily.
Dover Downs Poker Room Closed Room
Pennsylvania casinos
PA casinos are temporarily closed for a three-week pause that began Dec. 12. Updates From PlayPennsylvania here.
Worsening conditions in New Mexico have led to almost all casinos being closed. More here.
New York casinos
All New York casinos, both commercial and tribal, remain open for now.
North Carolina casinos
The only two casinos in North Carolina, Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort and Harrah's Cherokee Valley River Casino are currently open.
North Dakota casinos
Tribal casinos are generally open in North Dakota, although it is on a case by case basis.
Ohio casinos
Ohio casinos remain open, but are subject to a curfew.
Oklahoma casinos
Almost all Oklahoma casinos are currently open.
Oregon casinos
Most tribal casinos in Oregon remain open, with restrictions. Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City is one that has closed temporarily.
Dover Downs Poker Room Closed Room
Pennsylvania casinos
PA casinos are temporarily closed for a three-week pause that began Dec. 12. Updates From PlayPennsylvania here.
Rhode Island casinos
The two Rhode Island casinos, Twin River Casino in Lincoln and Tiverton, closed for two weeks starting Nov. 30.
South Dakota casinos
Many South Dakota casinos have closed because of worsening COVID cases in the state, but a few remain open.
Texas casinos
Texas casinos are currently open.
Washington casinos
The state's tribal casinos all remain open with restrictions.
West Virginia casinos
All five of West Virginia's casinos remain open, with restrictions.
Wisconsin casinos
Tribal casinos are open or closed on a case by case basis. More here.
Wyoming casinos
Dover Downs Poker Room Closed Point
Wyoming casinos are currently closed.
