GRAND CASINO ANNOUNCES REOPENING DATE

Driving Tourism to East Central Minnesota with Safety Measures in Place

Onamia and Hinckley, Minn. – Today, Grand Casino announced that it will reopen both Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley on Monday, June 1, 2020, at 9 a.m., bringing an end to the 77-day-long closure which began March 16. Guests will enjoy the gaming and entertainment options they’ve been missing and will also notice a few changes to the physical layout and policies and procedures at both properties to enhance safety.

The casinos will host a soft reopening for Mille Lacs Band member shareholders on Sunday, May 31, 2020.

To prepare for reopening, casino management developed the Grand Casino Health, Safety and Sanitation plan which governs every aspect of how Grand Casino will operate to ensure that the properties are as safe as possible for Guests. After thoroughly analyzing operations for the development of this plan, Grand Casino has decided that both locations will reopen their gaming floors as smoke-free environments.

“The sudden shifts that we have experienced in such a short timeframe due to this pandemic have given us the opportunity to question key assumptions about how we operate and to develop new best practices about safety measures for our returning Associates and our Guests,” said Joe Nayquonabe, CEO of Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, the parent company of Grand Casino. “In good conscience, we couldn’t build the best health and safety plan to do our part to help mitigate the spread of illness – an illness that hinders respiratory function – while continuing to operate as we once did.”

Grand Casino is currently assessing the development of smoking lounges at the properties for Guests who wish to smoke while enjoying other amenities in a comfortable setting. The Bingo Halls at each property will be set up as smoking lounges to accommodate Guests in the meantime. As always, smoking is permitted outdoors.

The full Grand Casino Health, Safety and Sanitation plan can be viewed here.

The reopening is the first in a multi-phase reopening strategy. Proper social distancing will be practiced and enforced throughout the property. Also, among the enhanced health and safety protocols are more-frequent cleaning and sanitization measures. Associate health checks will be conducted at the onset of each shift, and Associates will be required to wear masks, which will be provided by Grand Casino.

Guests will now be required to also wear a mask. For those Guests who do not have a mask, a limited number of complimentary masks will be given at the property each day, while supplies last. Additional masks will be available for purchase at each property for $1. Hand sanitizer stations will be placed in locations across the gaming floor, hotel lobbies, and outside of restaurants.

New procedures for visiting Grand Casino

One of the biggest things we can do to protect everyone’s safety is to not have people who are ill come to the casino. To help with this, Grand Casino has changed its entrance procedures. Grand Casino wants its Guests to be aware of some key changes before coming to the casino:

All Guests must enter through designated Guest entrances (casino Associates will use separate entrances for employees only).

Grand Casino will be using non-invasive thermal cameras to scan the temperature of all arriving Guests.

Associates will also have their temperature taken prior to the start of each shift. Anyone with a temperature over 100˚F will be given a secondary screening. Nobody with a confirmed temperature of 100˚F or higher will be admitted.

Secondary screenings may also happen if Associates or Guests appear to have visible symptoms such as coughing or difficulty breathing. The first responders at Grand Casino are trained to address any visible symptoms and direct the individual to the right care if needed.

All Guests and Associates who know they are not feeling well should stay home.

“When we temporarily closed our doors, we didn’t focus on a plan to get us ‘back to normal.’ Instead, we set out to develop a plan that will enhance Guest and Associate health and safety like never before,” Nayquonabe said. “Even after this pandemic is over, our commitment to health and safety will be reflected in the positive changes we’ve made at Grand Casino.”

Certain amenities will remain closed and are planned to reopen in phases that are in-line with Guest demand and guidance from the Mille Lacs Band, and other public health authorities. Here is what will be different starting June 1, 2020:

During phase one, most of the gaming floor will reopen smoke-free with some changes to accommodate social distancing, such as limiting the seating at card tables and minor changes to layout. Bingo, poker and pull tabs will not be open immediately.

Both casinos will have food options available, such as Plums at Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Provisions at Grand Casino Hinckley. Other restaurants, like 1991 Kitchen, Grand Cup and Cone, Stories Diner, and Silver Sevens will be open with reduced hours.

Restaurants including the Buffet, The Winds Steakhouse, Rival House and The Grille House will remain closed until a future phase.

In-room dining, banquet, and convention services also will remain closed.

There will be no valet or shuttle services provided in phase one, and the bell desk, pool operations, fitness center and Grand Arcade will remain closed.

For more information on Grand Casino’s reopening, click here.