Akwesasne Mohawk Casino and Resort Reopens

By Mahlon Smoke

August 28th marked the re-opening of the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino to the community after six months of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During that time the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino staff have been hard at work to ensure the safety of every guest who enters the building. Now that the Casino has re-opened, staff members were glad to be back in business and adjust to the 'new normal'.

Following New York State and Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe mandates, the casino has a mandatory mask policy and clients must adhere to social distancing guidelines. There are temperature checks as people come into the Casino for extra safety and one of the newest features is a device that will scan your body temperature instantly. Security guards will also check your driver's license to ensure that everyone coming into the Casino is within the 100 miles radius. Anyone with ID showing they reside outside of the 100-mile radius will politely be asked not to come in.

The gaming floor is also very different. As of right now, the Bingo Palace and gaming tables will remain closed. All casino gaming is done on approximately 700 machines strategically placed throughout the floors. Along with maintaining social distancing and heightened cleaning measures all slot machines are monitored and as soon as a member's club card is pulled out of the machine or a player moves, the cleaning staff is notified, and the slot machine is cleaned and sanitized. There are sanitation wipes next to the machines for extra safety and security.

Only the Tavern and Sticks Sportsbook and Grill are open for guests. Sticks added a kiosk to their restaurant and The Tavern eliminated the bar section of their restaurant.

They have also eliminated the smoking designated areas and relocated it outside for guests wanting a smoking break.

"We are in Phase One of the operations, and Phase Two will come where we will open the gift shop, Phase 3 will be the hotel and table games," said Emily Lauzon, Assistant General Manager of the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino and Resort.

"We are trying to make it safe for this community. Our goal is to keep this community safe because this Casino is right in the middle of our reservation. So that's the most important part, to make sure our community remains safe." Lauzon continued as she explained all the changes and how the Casino will accommodate the changes needed to protect the community from Covid-19.

According to Lauzon, they received all their information on how to proceed through the CDC guidelines, information from local doctors to help monitor possible symptoms on guests and employees and were constantly revising and reviewing plans for re-opening until it was approved by everyone involved on the team.

"All our management is coming onto the gaming floor to make sure the masks are on and social distancing is maintained," Lauzon said with regards to how the management is making sure everyone complies and are following the rules.

The Casino also took this long to slowly reopen as they wished to monitor and communicate with other Casinos to see how their openings went, taking in everything on what to do and what not to do and not wanting to open up prematurely before everything was ready.

Lauzon mentioned that she, along with the rest of the management, wanted to wait and take time before finally allowing themselves to reopen as safely as possible. The last few days before opening employees have been testing the food and doing practice runs for the new procedures to make sure all the employees adjust and have a say in the new menu items available.

Some Akwesasne community members are opposed to the reopening of the casino so soon being concerned COVID-19 would find it's way back into Akwesasne. The Akwesasne Mohawk Casino and Resort has taken many precautions for their official opening to ensure the safety of the entire community. Lauzon wants to reassure the reopening the Casino was done as slowly as possible to ensure the safety of everyone involved.

The management and employees are happy to see the people and open up their operation again for the community to play again.