Korea’s only casino open to locals, Kangwon Land, has reopened for the first time in 50 days following an easing of social distancing measures by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
According to a company update published Monday, up to 750 people are now permitted to use Kangwon Land’s mass gaming floor at any one time as of 10am Monday morning while a further 68 people can make use of VIP gaming facilities. All guests must be seated, the company stated, and masks are mandatory.
The reopening of limited casino operations comes after Kangwon Land was forced to close for a second time this year on 23 August as a result of increasing nationwide COVID-19 infections.
Kangwon Land had earlier this year suspended casino operations on 23 February before reopening for VIP guests on 8 May and for main gaming floor players from 20 July.
The company recently revealed its expected loss in sales for its second closure period amounted to KRW62.7 billion (US$53.7 million).
After Korea’s second wave reached a peak of 441 new cases on 26 August, daily infection numbers had fallen below 100 since the start of October, but on Tuesday the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported a monthly high of 102 new cases recorded in the past 24 hours.
