Ameristar Casino’s parent company, Penn National Gaming, Inc., announced Tuesday evening the closure of its casinos in Mississippi impacted more than 2,000 employees and that it will continue to support its employees and focus attention on “deep-cleaning” its operations.

The closures were ordered Tuesday by the Mississippi Gaming Commission in response to the spreading of the COVID-19 virus.

“The health and well-being of our guests and team members will always be our paramount concern,” Jay Snowden, president and CEO of Penn National Gaming, said. “Since the coronavirus threat began, we have implemented stringent CDC-recommended protocols throughout our enterprise, including increased daily cleaning regimens, maximizing air circulation, canceling or postponing all live events, and we’re in the process of reducing the number of chairs at our dining facilities, table games and poker rooms, as well as the number of slot machines in play at any one time, to increase social distancing, among other initiatives.”

Penn National Gaming is also the parent company 1^st Jackpot Casino, Boomtown Casino Biloxi, Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast and Hollywood Casino Tunica

In the company’s announcement, Snowden said the company would continue to support its employees and team members through the end of March.

“As for our nearly 2,150 team members in Mississippi who will be impacted by this temporary closure, we plan to continue to pay their wages and benefits through the end of March,” Snowden said. “In addition, we’ll be donating perishable food items to local food banks in Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Tunica and Vicksburg.”

Snowden said while the casino operations are closed, the company would invest in additional cleaning efforts and “preparing our casino to welcome our loyal customers back.”

Messages left for officials at other Vicksburg casinos have not been returned. We will update the information as it becomes available.