# Casinos in Ontario are still open, holy crap **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 13, 2020, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407 "2020-03-13T13:26:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/1 "2020-03-13T13:26:07Z")
Amidst all the COVID-19 closings, Ontario’s casinos remain cheerily open for business. I am a poker player. I love playing live poker in casinos and I’m reasonably good at it, but I wouldn’t come within a mile of a casino right now. Casinos are atrocious vectors of disease and germs; a casino chip is basically the viral and bacterial mass transit system. A slot machine will be touched by the grubby hands of any number of degenerate gamblers, and of course the crowd at most casinos is REALLY old. Senior citizens adore casinos. I am just flabbergasted that the Province of Ontario is allowing them to stay open. It’s ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/2 "2020-03-13T13:33:35Z")
Just saw the same for a local casino, Resorts World in Ozone Park, NY. Hey, the casinos’ creditors won’t care, nor will those who just have to get their fix. From _Goodfellas_: > [@](#): > > But now the guy’s gotta come up with Paulie’s money every week no matter what. Business bad? Fuck you, pay me. Oh, you had a fire? Fuck you, pay me. Place got hit by lightning huh? Fuck you, pay me." ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/3 "2020-03-13T13:35:28Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Amidst all the COVID-19 closings, Ontario’s casinos remain cheerily open for business. > > I am a poker player. I love playing live poker in casinos and I’m reasonably good at it, but I wouldn’t come within a mile of a casino right now. \*\* Casinos are atrocious vectors of disease and germs;\*\* \ …especially with all the people kissing their money goodbye. More seriously, does First Nations sovereignty enter into the calculus of whether the Canadian government CAN force the casinos to suspend operations? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/4 "2020-03-13T14:26:27Z")
Going to casinos now allows you to gamble for the highest stakes possible. Adds to the excitement. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Pazu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pazu/32/15522_2.png) [@Pazu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pazu)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/5 "2020-03-13T15:20:06Z")
_“Gambling is the first thing a man needs in a strange place. It can take the worry out of his soul.”_ –Cordwainer Smith, “When The People Fell” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/6 "2020-03-13T15:21:37Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > …especially with all the people kissing their money goodbye. > > More seriously, does First Nations sovereignty enter into the calculus of whether the Canadian government CAN force the casinos to suspend operations? It’s a provincial thing, not federal. Most casinos in Ontario are not on First Nations land. Quite a few are in largish cities, including two right in the heart of Niagara Falls, and there’s even one in Ottawa. Casino Rama is, but even it is licensed by the provincial gaming corporation and has to play by provincial rules. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/7 "2020-03-13T15:33:57Z")
Looks like the Vegas casinos are also still open, but hey, they closed their buffet restaurants… ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/8 "2020-03-13T17:39:39Z")
We’ve got a casino down the street here (in Ohio, US). I was thinking about it yesterday…it’s just a slots casino so it’s all touching, all the time. And most of the patrons are old people. And there’s a buffet. I mean, it’s got to be a HUGE vector for spreading disease. Closing it down has also got to be a loss of a lot of money in a very short time. It’s still open. The buffet is still open. Concerts are canceled, at least. They’re just disinfecting the hell out of everything. I hope vulnerable people are staying away! ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/9 "2020-03-13T19:30:53Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Going to casinos now allows you to gamble for the highest stakes possible. Adds to the excitement. :dubious: The casinos are open, taking bets. Pot is legal. Prostitution is legal. You have a chance to die quickly of plague (spin that wheel!). It’s a Ryan Reynolds paradise…! ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/10 "2020-03-13T20:42:33Z")
> [@Pazu](#): > > _“Gambling is the first thing a man needs in a strange place. It can take the worry out of his soul.”_ > > –Cordwainer Smith, “When The People Fell” My first reaction upon reading the OP was to mutter, “Znid suddabit!” ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/11 "2020-03-13T21:10:02Z")
p.s. For those familiar with Cordwainer Smith’s writing, my comment was, of course, directed at the idiots keeping the casino open, not at **RickJay**. For those not familiar with Smith’s stuff, here’s a spoiler: “Znid suddabit” is an interjection, literally meaning “Kill the humans!” Apparently (in the story) “sudabit” is the Ulleran word for “human” and comes from the English “son of a bitch”. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/12 "2020-03-13T21:32:51Z")
This thread is really making me think that I should cancel my casino cruise… ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/13 "2020-03-13T21:56:35Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > p.s. For those familiar with Cordwainer Smith’s writing, my comment was, of course, directed at the idiots keeping the casino open, not at **RickJay**. For those not familiar with Smith’s stuff, here’s a spoiler: > > “Znid suddabit” is an interjection, literally meaning “Kill the humans!” Apparently (in the story) “sudabit” is the Ulleran word for “human” and comes from the English “son of a bitch”. _Uller Uprising_ is by H. Beam Piper, not Cordwainer Smith. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/14 "2020-03-13T22:56:15Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > This thread is really making me think that I should cancel my casino cruise… Rats, I was looking forward to licking your face. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/15 "2020-03-14T00:47:11Z")
Joke shamelessly stolen: People don’t go to casinos to remember their problems. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/16 "2020-03-14T01:08:24Z")
Has the Ontario government directed the closure of anything yet? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/17 "2020-03-14T01:10:20Z")
\*Always \*bet on hack… and cough and sneeze and rasp etc. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/18 "2020-03-14T02:26:57Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > _Uller Uprising_ is by H. Beam Piper, not Cordwainer Smith. Right. :smack::smack::smack::smack::smack::smack: Don’t know how I mucked that one up. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/19 "2020-03-14T04:11:03Z")
Ohio casinos finally closed. Doesn’t seem like they were happy about it. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407/20 "2020-03-14T14:08:41Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Has the Ontario government directed the closure of anything yet? Niagara appears to be open, Rama is closing due to pressure from the union. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casinos-in-ontario-are-still-open-holy-crap/849407.md?page=2)