Rivers Casino furloughs most of its employees, cut others' salaries

Monday 13th April 2020

Rivers Casino Des Plaines announced it will furlough most of its employees this week as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 1,442 of the casino's 1,493 employees will be furloughed, company spokesman Dennis Culloton said Monday. Employees who will remain on the job for business continuity purposes will take substantial salary cuts, he added.

The Des Plaines casino closed March 15, ahead of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's order to close all nonessential businesses in order to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Rivers continued to pay its employees during the time it was closed, officials said. The furloughs are expected to last through June 30, during which time the casino will pay 100% of the employees' health benefits, officials said.

"This was an extremely difficult decision and one we desperately hoped to avoid," said Greg Carlin, CEO of Rivers Casino.

Similar furloughs were announced at Rivers Casino locations in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Schenectady, New York.

Officials said they will reopen when the respective states determine it's safe to do so.

All commercial casinos in the U.S. are closed as a result of the pandemic.