The Seneca Nation said Monday it plans to reopen its casinos, including its Salamanca location, beginning next week.

In a news release, the Seneca Nation outlined parts of its reopening plan, which will include operating at reduced capacity with “strict protocols in place to protect the health and safety of guests and workers.”

The move will help clear the way for thousands of employees to return to work, the Seneca Nation said.

The Salamanca casino will reopen at reduced capacity beginning Thursday, June 18. Gaming across all facilities was halted March 16 as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After being closed for nearly three months, we are now ready to move forward with the safe, responsible and systematic reopening of our gaming facilities,” said Seneca Nation President Rickey Armstrong, Sr. “This is a signature moment in our region’s economic recovery from the circumstances that arose as a result of this unprecedented public health crisis.”

Seneca Gaming Corporation will reopen Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino on Thursday, June 18. Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino will reopen the following week on Thursday, June 25. Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino will then reopen on Thursday, July 2.

Seneca Gaming & Entertainment will reopen the Nation’s Class II gaming properties in Irving, Salamanca and Cuba on Thursday, June 18.

Specifically, the Seneca Gaming & Entertainment facilities in Irving, Salamanca and Cuba, which offer video gaming machines, will also begin operations with a reduced number of available machines.

Seneca Gaming Corporation is expected to announce operational details for the reopening process Tuesday – including specific hours of operation, comprehensive safety measures and protocols, and information on which areas of the operations will initially reopen to guests.

The Seneca Nation’s decision to reopen will provide a significant and much-needed boost to the local economy. The Seneca Nation and its enterprises are among the largest employers in Western New York. Combined, the Nation’s gaming operations employ approximately 4,000 workers from across the region and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in local payroll and economic activity with vendors both locally and statewide.

“The Seneca Nation’s economic role extends far beyond just our territories,” Armstrong added. “We are unique in that, as a government, we inhabit an important and impactful business and economic position locally, regionally and statewide. Our business enterprises directly employ thousands of people throughout Western New York, many of whom are non-Senecas, and impact thousands more through the hundreds of millions of dollars we spend with vendors, suppliers and business partners. Those dollars are pumped right back into the local and regional economies, in addition to the crucial support they provide to our Nation and the Seneca people.”