Press Releases

Daytona Beach, Orange City Card Clubs unveil ‘Play it Safe™’ program with new health and safety standards for May 25 reopening

Program aligned to best practices of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in response to COVID-19

DAYTONA BEACH AND ORANGE CITY, Fla. (May 21, 2020) – The Daytona Beach and Orange City Racing & Card Clubs have implemented a comprehensive program for their May 25 reopening that features new health and safety standards aimed at helping keep guests and employees safe while slowing the spread of COVID-19.

The program, called Play It Safe™, encompasses the card clubs’ new operating procedures, which have been reengineered to minimize contact risk. It includes bolstered hygiene protocols to meet or exceed best-practice guidelines of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As part of this effort, the facilities will undergo rigorous, ongoing cleaning and sterilization with Ecolab® products, which are formulated to eliminate bacteria and viruses such as COVID-19.

“We’ve looked at every part of our business and taken steps to redesign how we serve our patrons to help ensure their health and safety, along with that of our employees,” said Fred Guzman, president and general manager of Daytona Beach and Orange City Racing & Card Clubs. “Throughout our temporary closure and during the development of the Play It Safe program, we have been working closely with state and local government officials and public health officers to ensure we are taking appropriate safety precautions.”

Key elements of the Play it Safe program include:

  • Guests are asked to adhere to social distancing protocols while waiting to enter.
  • All incoming guests will be added to a guest registry and their identity will be stored as a record of their visit.
  • All guests will be required to wear a mask or other face covering during their visit.
  • Temperature screening of guests takes place upon entering the facility.
  • An on-site Clean Team has been created, and its members are equipped with Ecolab® multi-surface cleaner and disinfectant to conduct ongoing sanitization of all surfaces. They will help to protect guests by dispensing hand sanitizer and spot cleaning at the tables and other surfaces on request.
  • Dealers will have hand sanitizer spray bottles at each table, and tables will be sanitized after a game breaks. Patrons will be required to sanitize their hands when joining a table. Chairs will be sanitized after a guest departs a game.
  • Playing cards and poker chips will be rotated on a schedule as recommended by experts in infectious disease control.
  • Social distancing protocols are in place throughout the facility.
  • Hand-sanitizing stations have been added at the entrance and throughout the facility.
  • Some service offerings may be limited or unavailable to help maintain safe social distancing and health and safety guidelines.
  • As always, no smoking will be permitted within the facilities, and designated smoking areas are maintained outside of the buildings.

Employees will undergo comprehensive training on Play It Safe health and safety standards and are required to strictly adhere to Play It Safe policies and procedures, including rigorous sanitization and hygiene requirements. Employees take a health check, including a temperature screen, when they report to work and are required to wear masks while on duty.

Both the Daytona Beach and Orange City venues will reopen at 50 percent capacity in each of their card rooms and simulcast racing rooms, under Florida’s Full Phase 1 directive.

Also under Phase 1, to allow social distancing between tables, both venues will limit the number of open tables – Daytona from the normal 50 reduced to 24, and Orange City from 34 to 17. A reduced number of players will be allowed at each table – six players for poker and three for other games such as Three-Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold ’em. When Phase 2 is implemented, the standard nine players will be allowed at the poker tables. The number of open betting carrels in the simulcast center will also be reduced.

The Lucky North® players club will have limited hours of service, and both venues will reopen without tournaments. Food and beverage menus will be limited at both Daytona and Orange City with prepackaged grab-n-go items featured to limit contact as part of the Play It Safe Program.

Operating hours at both the Daytona Beach and Orange City Racing & Card Clubs will be reduced to 10 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends.

The Daytona Beach and Orange City Racing & Card Clubs are owned and operated by Delaware North, a global hospitality and entertainment company with a portfolio of regional gaming and entertainment destinations. Delaware North is implementing Play It Safe throughout its gaming portfolio, which includes destinations in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, West Virginia and Australia.

Daytona Beach and Orange City Racing and Card Clubs supports local community with food donation

Donate 2000 lbs. of food to the Jerry Doliner Food Bank

Daytona Beach, FL (March 23, 2020) – Rick Kay, the Director of Security as well as the teams from Daytona Beach and Orange City, donated over 2,000 lbs. of food to the Jerry Doliner Food Bank on Monday March 23rd. Executive Director Gloria Max and Ray Max were there to assist with the unloading and storage for distribution. “It was a pleasure to be able to assist the community with this donation,” said, Michael Stringer, Asst. General Manager.

The Jerry Doliner Food Bank provides services to those in need in Volusia & Flagler Counties regardless of religion. The Social Service Council of the Jewish Federation maintains a well-stocked crisis food bank which provides emergency food to people who “fall through the cracks” of the system. The food bank provides staples such as cereals, juices, canned vegetables and fruits, canned meats, peanut butter, pasta, canned and dry milk, paper goods and other items deemed necessary for survival.

When the Federation receives donations of clothing, household items and furniture, it is distributed to the needy free of charge.

They help 24,500 people a year receive bags of food that would last them at least a week and a half. Although we’ve seen improvements in the economy overall, they continue to see an increase in the number of families with children, including a larger number of grandparents that are now for caring for their grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. Our organization also assists people with clothing, furniture, household goods, and medical equipment.