Inside Asian Gaming

www.asgam.com EDITORIAL Ben Blaschke Managing Editor We crave your feedback. Please email your comments to bb@asgam.com. The problem with “building a wall” It was with great sadness that we heard the news of Dr Stanley Ho’s passing recently. The “father of modern Macau” as we like to call him, Dr Ho is responsible for the careers many of us in Macau and beyond enjoy today, the team at IAG included. Had he not founded the Asian casino industry as we know it, who knows where we would find ourselves today? Our condolences go to his family and the many colleagues who knew him in varying capacities over the years. N ow that much of Asia has managed to “flatten the curve” of the COVID-19 pandemic, attention has started turning to the re-opening of some borders and casinos, and what those casinos might look like in this post-COVID world. But I have my concerns. There are, of course, a range of measures we will inevitably see in the short term that make complete sense when it comes to maintaining the safety of staff and guests, while the world waits for approval of a vaccine. Basic social distancing is one, with a limit to the number of players on gaming tables, spacing between slot machines and restrictions on the number of people allowed in bars, restaurants or other heavily frequented areas. Temperature scanners, too, will become a common sight at casino entrances as will face masks on gaming staff. Many properties will require players to wear masks too. Most interesting though is the concept of perspex barriers placed between players and staff at gaming tables. There are a wide range of designs out there currently doing the rounds, some of which have already been implemented, and I must say no, I am not a fan. My question: is the shielding of one person from another, to that extent at least, really necessary? Sure, a shield will come in handy should someone with COVID feel the sudden urge to sneeze, but you would hope that, for the most part, people showing symptoms would have more pressing matters to attend to than spending their days playing baccarat. I could be wrong. I do find it strange, however, to block the space between two people while letting them both touch the same cards and chips. I’m quite sure that if transmission is going to take place at a gaming table, this is how it’s most likely to occur – no matter how often you clean them. Don’t get me wrong. I’m certainly not playing down the importance of keeping people safe, but I don’t subscribe to the theory that you can never be too careful. Casinos are, at their heart, social places where people come to interact, to have fun, to be entertained. And while safety remains the hot topic of the day for gaming operators across the globe, it is surely counter-productive to reopen while literally putting up barriers to the very interactions these venues offer. That’s one more wall the world doesn’t need right now.