Diamond Jo Worth casino reopens with emphasis on customer safety, cleaning

NORTHWOOD — The Diamond Jo Casino near Northwood opened back up to customers today after being closed for the last two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

General Manager Scott Smith says people will notice some changes when they head to their facility, including with social distancing and cleaning.  “There will be signage when you first walk in as well as reminders on the floor to keep the social distancing. People will see a lot of our staff. They’re much more enhanced in what we call Boyd Clean, and our cleaning protocols have really stepped up to get to all the high touch-points of the games and make the environment safe for our guests and for our team to return back to the property.”

Smith says they want everyone coming into the casino feeling comfortable with their surroundings.  “People will be greeted when they first come to the door by our safety specialists to ensure that if someone wants a mask, we’ll provide them with a mask. All of our team members have been provided with a mask and will have extensive training before the property opens back up, and you’re going to see that. You see this around in different businesses already, and this goes for the casino as well. PPE equipment has been provided. You’ll see plexiglass up in certain areas in order to protect not only the team members but also the guests in their interactions at some points.”

Smith says not every slot machine and table game space will be available to keep enough space between players.   “We’ll do our best if it’s a slot machine that’s very popular that we put that in a position where it can be on for our guests’ enjoyment. On both sides, this is going to be a new norm for a little bit. We’ll find out really together on exactly what that new norm is.”

Smith says when it comes to food, most all the options will remain the same except for the buffet area.  “Buffet really isn’t an option, so we are converting for the time being our buffet into what we’re referring to as the ‘Blue Plate Special’. We will be serving to our guests homestyle meals like open-faced roasted turkey dinner or pot roast, chicken parmesan, lasagna, things like that. Really kind of comfort foods that our servers will bring to our guests.”

For more information about the casino reopening, head to diamondjoworth.com.