Twin River casinos will open by invitation only next month

The Rhode Island Lottery said Friday that the Twin River casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton will open by invitation only on June 8.

As part of a pilot reopening program, the lottery said the invitations will go to select members of the Twin River rewards program.

"I applaud them for that. I think that's the right way to do it," Gov. Gina Raimondo said of reopeningTwin River Casino Hotel andTiverton Casino Hotel at her daily coronavirus press briefing.

"Follow the rules. Have fun," she added.

The invitation-only patrons will be limited to playing video lottery terminals. State officials said some of the VLTs will be turned off to maintain social distancing.

Raimondo said "extreme" social distancing will be in place, while mask-wearing is a must.

She also added that table games will stay closed until further notice.

Some slot machines will be turned off.

"Roughly every ,third machine will be live, so every machine that’s available will be more than six feet apart from every other machine," Marc Crisafulli, of Twin River, told NBC 10 News.

“We think it’s really important that we make sure we can control the crowds and also so we’ll know who’s in the facility so we can do the contact tracing the state has said is so very important for us," he added.

The Department of Revenue highlighted other restrictions in a press release.

"Customers and employees will have to adhere to strict public health guidelines, including verbal health screenings and temperature checks. Hand sanitizer stations will be added throughout the facilities. All customers and employees will be required to wear face coverings. Smoking will not be allowed during this limited reopening in accordance with public health recommendations," according to the release.

The department said the casinos will be open from 10 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. daily to allow for thorough cleaning overnight.

Twin River’s reopening plan was developed in consultation with the state Division of Lottery and the Rhode Island Department of Public Health, the DOR said.

The Department of Revenue said no date for reopening to the public has been decided.

The Twin River casinos have been closed since mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

They are the third largest revenue source for the state of Rhode Island, which is facing a $900 million budget deficit.