No More Masks at Michigan Casinos

The state of Michigan lifted all COVID-19 restrictions for outdoor activities on June 1, and that date also brought a change to casino policies.

Mask mandates were lifted at all three of the Detroit commercial casinos as well, at least for those that patrons that are fully vaccinated.

All three properties made similar announcements earlier this week, welcoming those fully vaccinated back into the casinos. Proof of vaccination is not required to ditch the mask, and the casinos ask that those not fully vaccinated continue to wear the masks.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board updated its COVID-19 policies for the commercial casinos in the state, allowing the casinos to make the change. This mandate was lifted just one weekend after the busy Memorial Day weekend that is important for the industry.

The business has picked up at the commercial casinos since the beginning of 2021, but online casino gaming continues to bring in the most handle and revenue. There are still capacity restrictions in place, but those could be going away at some point this summer.

Tribal casino properties in the state have not had to follow the guidelines set by the Michigan Gaming Control Board, and mask mandates have been lifted at most of these properties for weeks. The Bay Mills Casino was the last tribal property that still required masks, but that changed on June 1 as well.

The Ojibwa Casino properties in both Baraga and Marquette have allowed unvaccinated guests to remove their masks when seated at a table game or slot machine. Other tribal properties are expected to follow suit in the coming weeks.

Michigan continues to struggle to make up for the financial losses suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, and business at the commercial casinos are needed. Allowing vaccinated guests to remove masks should hurt, but a more significant boost will come when the properties can open up to standard capacity.

BetMGM Online Series is Back

The BetMGM Online Series is back for a third installment this month, and there will be tournaments for both high rollers and regular players alike. BetMGM Poker MI has emerged as one of the most popular options in the state, and it has been this series that brings in plenty of action.

This series will begin on June 20 and will wrap up on June 27. There will be 10-tournaments spread out during that time frame, and a total prize pool of $275,000 is guaranteed.

There are different poker games offered with this BetMGM Online Series, but most games are No’Limit Texas Hold’Em. The cheapest buy-in for one of the tournaments is just $20, with the highest tournaments requiring a buy-in of more than $1,000.

Players that have participated in previous tournaments from BetMGM will notice one significant change for the upcoming series. The overall prize pool has been reduced for this month after there has been less interest than expected.

PokerStars MI just wrapped up a massive championship poker event, which hurt the overall business from BetMGM.

If you want to stay up to date on the latest MI sports betting news and MI online casino info, then make sure to come back and check our news blog.

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