Elite Casino Resorts in Iowa announce temporary closures
23 Mar 2020
Below is the official statement:
During these unprecedented times Elite Casino Resorts would like to reiterate that the safety of our guests, our staff and our local community is our top priority. We voluntarily closed all resort operations on March 16, and Governor Reynolds subsequently issued a proclamation that all casinos must stay closed through March 31, 2020. The impact to employees, their families and our community is serious.
When we announced the voluntary closure, we also announced that we would continue paying average weekly wages for the next two weeks and maintain existing employee health benefits. We are evaluating our reopening date on a daily basis, however should the closure date be extended beyond March 31st, we will continue to pay average weekly wages for an additional two weeks and maintain existing employees' health benefits, for individuals who are on our health plans and impacted by this temporary closure.
Additionally, at the regularly scheduled quarterly meeting on March 19, 2020, the Elite Casino Resorts Board of Directors unanimously voted to approve employee profit sharing checks for this quarter. The leadership team greatly values the employees who make these resorts possible and know they are our greatest asset.
The spread of COVID-19 continues to disrupt every aspect of our lives and everything is still changing quickly. Our operations staff continues to maintain the properties during this closure to execute critical functions, while also continuing to practice safe distancing. After this unexpected closure, we were fortunate to be able to donate our perishable items to local food banks to help our communities during this time. Elite Casino Resort owned properties have donated to food pantries in Ainsworth, Lone Tree, Iowa City and Riverside, IA and Lyon County, IA and are supporting the local blood drive in the Quad Cities Davenport, IA area as well. We are also working with the local health departments to determine if there are other items we may have, such as hand sanitizer refills and gloves, which may help them through any shortages.