With the coronavirus pandemic shutting down casinos across the U.S., Saratoga Harness Racing has terminated its previously announced agreement with American Gaming Group to purchase Wildwood Casino in Cripple Creek, Colorado. Both parties deemed the termination necessary because of the economic impacts of the health crisis.
“At this time, we believe it’s in the best interest of both companies, and our respective casinos, to cancel the deal, so we can focus on doing what’s best for our casinos and our players,” Joe Canfora, the owner of Wildwood Casino, said.
At Wildwood, American Gaming Group has developed and implemented a health and safety strategy that includes on-demand cleaning crews moving throughout the casino to clean surfaces as needed and as requested by players. The casino will also be reducing its operating hours to allow for extended deep cleaning every night. Additionally, management is looking into UV light technologies for potential air filtration and other newly discovered practices for protecting patrons from the virus.
In mid-April, Wildwood distributed a digital survey to its player database asking what will be important when returning to the casino. Close to 1,400 players participated in the survey.
“We received a lot of great input from our players and now, we’re using their feedback to create a comprehensive health and safety plan that surpasses the county and state mandatory precautions,” Wildwood Casino’s Assistant General Manager Matt Andrighetti said.
Along with extensively preparing for the casino’s reopening, Wildwood is pushing forward with multiple other initiatives despite the pandemic. Construction for the 104-room $14 million hotel is ongoing. Sports betting will be launched soon. And the casino restaurant, Joe’s Diner, is being rebranded to feature a new theme, design and menu to cater to players and sports bettors.
