PAGCOR waiting for the approval to reopen land-based casinos.

[harizen]

Fortunately for me, I have all membership cards in the big three (RW, COD, Solaire), however, I'm not interested to gamble because of health risk.

See. Here is one example that even people do have resources or any forms of access, they will not just go to the casino once it opened.

Surely, this mindset is also on other people as well.

That's why casinos are doing a dry run to have an insight on what should they expect once they adopt the new normal system.

I'm in favor of the casino opening. If only others see the situation in the Metro, especially those who hardly hit by the lockdown, they will able to understand how difficult for IATF to approve something.

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[michellee]

Sorry but it seems like you are not seeing the revenue the government will earn from opening the casino, instead you only look at the risk.

As you can see, that 132,000 employees are depending on casino, with that number of employees, it's also easy to determine how much PAGCOR is contributing to the economy, remember this is our own casino, the profit goes directly to the government which they can use to help people affected by the pandemic, especially those who are very poor or the poorest among the poor.

I know the government's revenue from gambling is big, but that doesn't mean they can use it as a reason to reopen the casino. Maybe the government can think of another solution for the employees because I don't think that all employees can still go back to their old jobs. Besides that, it needs more concern from the government to help people affected COVID-19, but if there is no other way to get the revenue than to reopen the casino, then maybe that is the only way solution. If opening the casino is the solution, the government must manage everything before it's reopened, including protecting the gamblers who visit on every gambling places.

[rhomelmabini]

Sorry but it seems like you are not seeing the revenue the government will earn from opening the casino, instead you only look at the risk.

The government will prioritize revenue over health that's only an opinion and how can they be so sure if they open they get gamblers flocking the casino, I don't think it will be that imminent. With the daily cases ramping to 600 - 700 and 200 of it are mostly in NCR and that's a gamble to them if they open and new more cases will be added and even if they are strict to it they may not know if these players are.

[mirakal]

Sorry but it seems like you are not seeing the revenue the government will earn from opening the casino, instead you only look at the risk.

The government will prioritize revenue over health that's only an opinion and how can they be so sure if they open they get gamblers flocking the casino, I don't think it will be that imminent. With the daily cases ramping to 600 - 700 and 200 of it are mostly in NCR and that's a gamble to them if they open and new more cases will be added and even if they are strict to it they may not know if these players are.

You guys have different opinion, both are good, one says about the economy and the other says about the health or safety of the people.
I think if we look at the other country, for example, USA, they are a big country so we can assume that they have a lot of savings for the pandemic, but question is, why they still open the casino operation? And in fact vegas is not a public owned casino while PAGCOR here is owned by the government.

Also, with regards to number of cases, USA has over 2 million while Philippines only has 31k, though it's growing but it's expected as the number were taken from different parts of the country.

[Bttzed03]

~
I would say that this kind of protocol would be useless. Why? if a certain asymptomatic person able to go inside the venue then
imagine on how they do transmit the virus via chips or even in cards or everything it touches? Its really hard to think
that this situation would really be just resolved out with those kind of protocol but at least we are trying our best but getting
rid of it is almost impossible.

Aside from frequent alcohol, casinos can also choose to require players to wear medical gloves too 
Anyway, the place would surely be sanitized and players will have to be checked and 'cleansed' before they would enter.

~
Either way, it just looks ridiculous and ain't classy for casino.

True. Imagine the players wearing suits/medical gowns also

This will be a gradual process, I don't think all casino's will be open in a day. I think it will be the big one first in Manila for a test and then in other parts of the Philippines.

The gradual opening will most likely be the case. The facilities should be inspected first before they get the approval to reopen.

Some casinos in Pampanga were already allowed to open by the way.

~
I know the government's revenue from gambling is big, but that doesn't mean they can use it as a reason to reopen the casino.

They can and it is the main reason why they will be allowed to reopen. The revenue from gambling is essential to the Government's effort to boost the economy while spending less on 'reliefs'. Funds from PAGCOR will be also used to buy more PPEs for our healthcare to fight the pandemic.

Maybe the government can think of another solution for the employees because I don't think that all employees can still go back to their old jobs.

I'm pretty sure they've discussed this matter thoroughly.

FYI, private businesses are already allowing their employees to go back to their old jobs since GCQ but at a limited capacity. I also read that even churches are allowed to open at 50% capacity on areas under MGCQ. I don't see why land based casinos should be any different.

[mirakal]

thats because they are private and not govt controlled thats why they can do what they want and they insist to operate 

I think that is wrong, every business that was halted because of the covid-19 pandemic needs an approval from the government before they can start to operate again, and Las Vegas casinos is not exempted.The difference I'm talking is the revenue, PAGCOR is owned by the government, they have bigger interest on it than to those private casinos where they only collect taxes as their income, and there's no big difference as they both belong to the casino industry, same set up of operation, they could also be a cause to spread the virus.

Now, you are saying that Americans are more discipline, I think that's wrong again, they are the number 1 in terms of number of cases which you can see the figures in my previous post.

[STT]

Theres no reasonable compromise to put the economy first, people getting ill and even death and permanent lung damage because they did activity not required is not going to help an economy longer term anyway.    They will have to reopen some business but the one constant is to reduce the chances of infection, to me that means drastically less traffic and mixing between clients in open areas.    Theres more complicated scenarios, but say slot machines it would have to be only one machine out of a bank of six could be used in any half hour duration and then it needs to be wiped down before the next person.   Thats alot more cost to do business in overheads and supervision I guess, what is inevitable is business cuts corners and cases rise in spikes where people are especially careless or unlucky to be near a bad outbreak.
    My regulation would be to ensure no business can reopen (before vaccine) after failing to distance their customers, thats their one chance gone and also any inspection that shows poor management would also mean closure on public health grounds.   If the rules are implemented in that way, the business should be self regulating and fearing the effects of outbreaks to their revenue.

[freedomgo]

   My regulation would be to ensure no business can reopen (before vaccine) after failing to distance their customers, thats their one chance gone and also any inspection that shows poor management would also mean closure on public health grounds.   If the rules are implemented in that way, the business should be self regulating and fearing the effects of outbreaks to their revenue.

That's the kind of strict measures that needs to be implemented, if they will not comply, they will be closed and they won't be re open again until the vaccine is release, I think that way casinos will be more vigilant and they will ensure to implement the guidelines effectively.

[NavI_027]

   My regulation would be to ensure no business can reopen (before vaccine) after failing to distance their customers, thats their one chance gone and also any inspection that shows poor management would also mean closure on public health grounds.   If the rules are implemented in that way, the business should be self regulating and fearing the effects of outbreaks to their revenue.

That's the kind of strict measures that needs to be implemented, if they will not comply, they will be closed and they won't be re open again until the vaccine is release, I think that way casinos will be more vigilant and they will ensure to implement the guidelines effectively.

Strict implementation of safety protocols are great however everything still depends on the self-discipline possessed by each and everyone. Sometimes I think that the virus is no longer the reason why we are suffering until now because it can be contained anyway. The problem I saw right now is the disobedience of the rules. I feel bad because it seems that people already forgot social distancing etc. etc. right after the government uplift ECQs and shift into GCQ. Most of them thought they are now resilient from the virus.

My point is, as long as there are careless players then no casino will operate that long and reclose once again. Same thing applied in every field or industry.

Honestly, I noticed that people out here are now back to normal — not the "new normal" . What more on the urban areas with greater population. But well I hope everything I observed is just an underestimation.

[freedomgo]

My point is, as long as there are careless players then no casino will operate that long and reclose once again. Same thing applied in every field or industry.

Then this should be applied to other industries, like Salon, Grocery stores and etc. , if that's your point, then there's no reason the aforementioned business will also operate. Careless individual are everywhere, not only in casino, there are also careless people in church, and why the government allowed it to open?

[NavI_027]

My point is, as long as there are careless players then no casino will operate that long and reclose once again. Same thing applied in every field or industry.

Then this should be applied to other industries, like Salon, Grocery stores and etc. , if that's your point, then there's no reason the aforementioned business will also operate. Careless individual are everywhere, not only in casino, there are also careless people in church, and why the government allowed it to open?

Hmm because of falling economy?

I strongly believe that our government want to extend hard lockdowns until the vaccine finally invented or at least diminish the number of cases until they can isolate it more easily. But since we are not as rich as the other countries, we can't afford to spend with no gains in return for a longer period of time thus they have no choice but to open the industry. And as a consequence, we experience a slow flattening of curve.

As of yesterday, our country got the highest daily record of 1,150 new cases (Fresh: 789 Late: 361) via Rappler. Do you believe no single person out of it got the virus without even doing any lapses at all? I don't think so. Inspite of that, I'm not blaming anyone.

[Baofeng]

Fortunately for me, I have all membership cards in the big three (RW, COD, Solaire), however, I'm not interested to gamble because of health risk.

See. Here is one example that even people do have resources or any forms of access, they will not just go to the casino once it opened.

Surely, this mindset is also on other people as well.

That's why casinos are doing a dry run to have an insight on what should they expect once they adopt the new normal system.

I'm in favor of the casino opening. If only others see the situation in the Metro, especially those who hardly hit by the lockdown, they will able to understand how difficult for IATF to approve something.

Don't get me wrong though, I still supports PAGCOR plan on re-opening soon to really test how casino are going to do in this pandemic, however, I don't want to be another statistics, 

I would rather see the curve flatten first. And agree that I'm not the only one that has this mindset, and besides, I play in land based casino to get the lively atmosphere, but in this new norm, casino's will be quiet as hell, I don't know if there will be entertainment as well, like the live bands, so I will really skip and play online.

[freedomgo]

Fortunately for me, I have all membership cards in the big three (RW, COD, Solaire), however, I'm not interested to gamble because of health risk.

See. Here is one example that even people do have resources or any forms of access, they will not just go to the casino once it opened.

Surely, this mindset is also on other people as well.

That's why casinos are doing a dry run to have an insight on what should they expect once they adopt the new normal system.

I'm in favor of the casino opening. If only others see the situation in the Metro, especially those who hardly hit by the lockdown, they will able to understand how difficult for IATF to approve something.

Don't get me wrong though, I still supports PAGCOR plan on re-opening soon to really test how casino are going to do in this pandemic, however, I don't want to be another statistics, 

I would rather see the curve flatten first. And agree that I'm not the only one that has this mindset, and besides, I play in land based casino to get the lively atmosphere, but in this new norm, casino's will be quiet as hell, I don't know if there will be entertainment as well, like the live bands, so I will really skip and play online.

They might still have the same kind of entertainment but just like what you think, people are also thinking of the safety so the number of goers in a land based casino will significantly reduce compared to the past when everything was still normal.

I think if they reopens, this is not called a dry run, even if there are cases of infection from the casino or within the casino, the business will continue to run as the government can't afford it to stop.

[carlfebz2]

What are their measures?

Alcohol and mask and dividers made via acrylic? This is already part of the new normal and even we do see that motorcycle
backriding do even have some divide shields between the rider and the passenger.

Virus spread is unstoppable specially if its airborne and can be transmitted thru objects.

More asymptomatic persons are surely on those essential establishments, not in the casinos. I don't see why should physical casinos be looked at as another reason for spread. It's not that once it was opened, there will be lots of gamblers that will play here, and again even it does, just follow the strict protocol. How it can become useless?

Since we are talking about new normal then facing the risks is part of it. Casinos might not be an essential and necessary establishment to be opened but we are talking about PAGCOR casinos here and it's no secret that PAGCOR plays a big role in the government. Let them squeezed money from those rich ones who aren't totally affected at all during the lockdown.

People will never understand the situation until they experienced being one of those who become unemployed because of the pandemic virus. Once casinos open, thousands of their employees will also come back to work, might be in a skeletal workforce. It's no different at all at those other establishments.

Stay optimistic. It's easy to say that these casinos shouldn't be opened but we must also look at the reasons why should they opened.

The thing you said was right, im not really that too negative but im just really too much concern on the spread of the virus thats why i do gave out my input towards it but im aint saying

that re-opening these establishments is bad.We should accept the fact that we are trying to adapt on such changes even though its not completely safe but at least

we are trying our best to follow and one key here is that people should really be disciplined on following up new protocols.

[Janation]

It might be soon, but for now the number of infected are still increasing here in the Philippines. I know Philippine government still working on that. Hoping for there best  response if they allow to reopen the gambling industry or they have to remain it close for the safety of there people.

Still increasing and the government can't stop it.

In the same case, we will never be able to stop the approval of PAGCOR since as far as I know it is already approved. All we can hope right now is for them to follow the new norm. It is the best choice for the people and the country itself since we will be able to regain slowly the dumping economy of the country and the people getting back to their jobs.

[Bttzed03]

~
Don't get me wrong though, I still supports PAGCOR plan on re-opening soon to really test how casino are going to do in this pandemic, however, I don't want to be another statistics, 

You will still be part of the 'unaffected' stats

~
As of yesterday, our country got the highest daily record of 1,150 new cases (Fresh: 789 Late: 361) via Rappler.

The increasing number of new cases is to be expected with the reopening of businesses and public transportation.


Speaking of stats, I'm just gonna point this out here since the focus is only on no. of cases and not many are paying attention to the other equally important data.

No. of recoveries stats:




No. of deaths stats:



(Note that the above data may be incomplete - source)

^ I'm pretty sure our Government relies on those stats as well when discussing their next move. Even with more recoveries and less death recorded daily, the Government is still cautious and taking it slowly (that's a good thing!).

The data above also supports the move to reopen businesses like land-based casinos.

[Maslate]

It might be soon, but for now the number of infected are still increasing here in the Philippines. I know Philippine government still working on that. Hoping for there best  response if they allow to reopen the gambling industry or they have to remain it close for the safety of there people.

Still increasing and the government can't stop it.

In the same case, we will never be able to stop the approval of PAGCOR since as far as I know it is already approved. All we can hope right now is for them to follow the new norm. It is the best choice for the people and the country itself since we will be able to regain slowly the dumping economy of the country and the people getting back to their jobs.

We are talking of over 100k jobs, so it's not possible that they will close PAGCOR and will just allow it to open when the vaccine is release or this problem is over. They can actually make some statistics, which I'm pretty sure if there's cases due to PAGCOR operation, they would not lead in number of cases.

What I'm saying is it's possible that virus can be transmitted in a casino, but other industries or businesses will be more prone to that.

[Vaculin]

One of the main concerns is the jobs for the people who are working in the casinos do not lose it because of the lockdown or less people will visit casinos now if they are open.

If based on that statement, I think we also have to consider that if less people are going in a casino, the number workers has to also reduce, that's balancing the income and expense.

And hopefully they will get the salary for the time it was lockdown and casinos were shut . Considering the cases are just rising hope people even if go to casinos if they are open do follow the proper guidelines .

This one, it depends on the policy of the company, but since this is a government entity, I think they will be more transparent and law compliant.

[Janation]

What I'm saying is it's possible that virus can be transmitted in a casino, but other industries or businesses will be more prone to that.

I think it would be more prone to casinos.

Some people are actually thinking that the virus is no more and they treat it like a normal day with just a facemask on.  Despite the "new normal", I think people would still be at risk since a lot of people would obviously be in a table they can't stop people from coming in and out of the place. I hope more people would realize that it is riskier to bet in a casino.

[Fredomago]

I think it would be more prone to casinos.

Chance is very high if same setup will take place knowing how people move inside the casino place.

Some people are actually thinking that the virus is no more and they treat it like a normal day with just a facemask on.  Despite the "new normal", I think people would still be at risk since a lot of people would obviously be in a table they can't stop people from coming in and out of the place. I hope more people would realize that it is riskier to bet in a casino.

Riskier indeed since it's hard for people to change attitude from the normal ways that they are doing when playing around, there are lots of safety measures to keep the virus away and lessen the chance of spreading.