The Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos will close at 8 p.m. Tuesday for at least two weeks under a deal announced Monday by Gov. Ned Lamont.

The closings, the result of concerns over the coronavirus, will mark the first time either casino has closed to the public since Foxwoods Resort Casino opened in 1992 and Mohegan Sun opened four years later.

“This is an important cooperative agreement between sovereign nations and the State of Connecticut,” Lamont said in a written release. “We all share the same goal toward ensuring our residents are safe and keeping public health at the top of our minds during this public health emergency. I applaud the tribes for their collaboration and partnership.”

The agreement follows pressure from Lamont, who said on a conference call early Monday with the governors of New York and New Jersey that he was trying to persuade both casinos to close during the coronavirus crisis — and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the same thing about tribal casinos in that state.

Both casinos have already begun closing parts of their facilities and are no longer accepting new hotel reservations.

The state cannot force the casinos to close under executive orders, as it has other businesses, because they are run by sovereign nations.

Foxwoods, operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, was sparsely populated Monday afternoon, and many shops, bars and restaurants were already closed.

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Table games in parts of the casino were closed, and in areas where slot machines remained open, alternating machines were turned off to create distance between players.

At live table games in Grand Pequot Casino, players were limited to three people per table. About half the tables in that area of the casino were in use Monday afternoon.

Mohegan Sun has also taken similar measures to create space at slot machines and table games in the areas of the casino that remain open, spokesman Cody Chapman said. The Earth Tower hotel and games closed Monday, and facilities in the Sky section will close Tuesday.

Lamont, Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced earlier that they were jointly ordering broad closures of crowd-gathering businesses starting at 8 p.m. Monday.

Lamont, on the call, referred to the “good legal relationship” the state has with the casinos. Since he took office in January, 2019, Lamont has been trying without success to negotiate a deal with the casinos under which they share rights to sports betting and online gaming with other companies.

“Connecticut and our respective tribes have worked collaboratively for decades and this moment in our history is no different,” James Gessner, chairman of the Mohegan Tribe, said. “This is a decision that was made to ensure all of our guests, team members, and our partners across Connecticut, especially in our local communities, remain safe. We are successful if the state is successful, and that’s true in all facets, like public health.”

Casinos in other neighboring states are already closed. On Saturday, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted to temporarily suspend operations at Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park Casino, and state officials in Rhode Island have closed Twin River Casino and Tiverton Casino Hotel.

“This is a humbling reflection on the ongoing public health crisis and it is the right decision,” said Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council, which owns Foxwoods on reservation land. “Our concern is for health and safety of the community and of the public. The coronavirus is a threat to each and every one of us, and we believe shutting our doors will keep our visitors, employees and the public more safe.”

The few gamblers and shoppers at Foxwoods on Monday largely brushed off concerns of the virus.

“There’s nobody here, no one’s going to cough on me,” said Jean Little. She and her sister, Pat Silvia, ate pizza in an otherwise empty food court.

The casino was far quieter than it normally is when they visit every few months, they said.

Grand Pequot is “very very noisy,” Little said, and on their regular trips, they tend to favor the non-smoking areas of the casino floors, but on Monday, neither noise nor smoke were concerns.

Bill Coady, who is currently visiting family in Connecticut, said he debated whether to come to the casino Monday, but decided to because he thought it would be closed soon.

“It’s probably a good idea, if you look at Italy,” he said of an impending closure.

Others brushed off the potential spread of the coronavirus from slot machines and game tables, arguing that media and politicians are overreacting by closing down businesses.