Orange City, Daytona poker rooms reopen; face masks and ID required

ORANGE CITY — A good poker face, or a lack thereof, isn’t much of an issue anymore.

The poker rooms in Orange City and Daytona Beach reopened on Memorial Day with new rules in place after being closed for more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Fred Guzman, the president and general manager of the two clubs, said that overall he was pleased with the response at both locations which reopened at 50% capacity, as allowed by the state. For Orange City and Daytona, that meant the locations could run 17 and 25 tables, respectively.

“It was exciting to see players coming in, and it’s exciting to get my employees back to work,” Guzman said Tuesday during an interview at the Orange City location on Saxon Boulevard.

There were about 550 employees between the two locations before the shutdown, and since reopening, more than 280 were brought back. Guzman said he hopes, eventually, to bring all of the staffers back.

Both employees and customers must wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth.

“The idea is to protect each other,” Guzman said.

In addition to mask requirements, everyone has their temperature checked at the door, and employees also are screened for symptoms upon reporting to work. Customers also must show a photo ID.

“Customers understand, when you come into a gaming establishment and we can’t see your face, that’s a problem,” Guzman said. “We need to be able to know who’s in our building at all times.”

On Tuesday, Guzman said he could only think of one person who was denied entry for refusing to follow all of the new guidelines.

The efforts are part of parent company Delaware North’s hygiene strategy dubbed “Play It Safe.”

Signage has been posted to help keep social-distancing guidelines in effect, and hand-sanitizing stations are now available throughout the facilities. Each dealer also has hand sanitizer at their table, which they, and the players at their table, are required to use.

There’s a designated “clean team” that cleans and disinfects high-touch areas throughout the buildings, and poker chips and playing cards are rotated out, as recommended by infectious disease experts.

Doors have been propped open where possible, so it’s one less thing for people to touch, and the ADA-friendly doors that open with the push of the button are now the sole entry points.

Dining at the facility hasn’t yet resumed, but there’s a limited food menu for takeout orders, and players may still have drinks at the tables.

Guzman said dealers are asking players to lean away from the tables when they take a drink from their glasses as they’ll likely need to pull down their mask.

Lake Mary resident Patrick Hughes was happy to back at a table at the Orange City card room. Before the pandemic hit and caused businesses to close, Hughes was playing poker a few times at week.

“It’s been tough because poker’s a big part of my life, and a lot of these players and dealers are my friends,” Hughes, 33, said Tuesday. “They’re doing a great job as far as sanitizing and keeping everything going; we’re doing the social distancing the best we can.”

John Pappas, of Orlando, who also came to the Orange City card room on Memorial Day, said the past couple of months were “horrible.”

Pappas, 64, echoed other customers’ sentiments about the staff and the increased cleaning effort.

“I think they’ve done a fantastic job,” Pappas said. “They make sure everyone has a mask, and they’re on top of everything.”

Before COVID-19 hit, Guzman said expansion of the Orange City location was in discussion.

“It all is driven by volume, and we need to see the volume there before we reconsider,” Guzman said.