Northern California’s casinos are gearing up to reopen — with temperature stations to screen customers for COVID-19 and fewer slot machines to create social distancing — but are being asked by Gov. Gavin Newsom to back off.
Coyote Valley Casino in Redwood Valley, 115 miles north of San Francisco. Desert Rose Casino in Alturas, 100 miles north of Susanville. Diamond Mountain Casino Hotel & Brewery in Susanville, 160 miles northeast of Sacramento. Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville, 60 miles southeast of Fresno.
None of the six casinos that ring the Sacramento area have announced reopening dates, but as retailers and other segments of the broader economy begin to awaken from the COVID-19 shutdown, the Indian tribes that operate the region’s casinos are reconfiguring their venues to accommodate public health guidelines.
The preparation comes as Newsom — reacting to news that casinos were on the verge of opening in Southern California — appealed to gaming tribes statewide to postpone their reopenings.
“This deeply concerns me, and I urge tribal governments to reconsider and instead make those determinations based on how they align with current local public health conditions and the statewide stage of reopening,” Newsom wrote to tribal leaders last Friday.
Because tribes are considered sovereign nations, legal experts and the tribes themselves say they have the authority to reopen their casinos regardless of what the governor says.
Newsom said he recognizes the tribes’ status but asked them to hold off “in the spirit of sovereign-to-sovereign engagement.” California has just moved into Stage 2 of his phased reopening, and he wants casinos closed until the state or a local jurisdiction has reached Stage 3, which would include movie theaters and religious services.
On May 8, tribal leaders representing eight San Diego County casinos told Newsom they would reopen their facilities as early as Monday. Two of them did so, Viejas and Jamul casinos. Two others are scheduled to open later in the week, Sycuan and Valley View, according to their websites.
Victor Rocha, a Riverside County consultant who advises Indian casinos, said the tribes are desperate for revenue after two months of lockdown.
“The tribes have done everything they can to make sure everything’s safe,” he said. “They’ve learned from the mistakes of the other (industries that have opened).
“The tribes know they can’t screw this up at all,” he added.
Exactly when Northern California’s slot machines will start chiming again remains uncertain.
“We’ve been kind of looking at the end of the month, first of June,” said JC Rieger, general manager and senior vice president at Harrah’s Northern California in Amador County.
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Sacramento, which opened last fall in Wheatland, is “optimistic that we will reopen in May,” said casino president Mark Birtha. He said Hard Rock officials have been meeting with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s staff and expect to announce a reopening date soon.
Cache Creek Casino Resort plans to open “as early as June, if all goes well,” general manager Kari Stout-Smith said in a video posted on the casino’s website. She said Cache Creek’s golf course has already reopened.
Tribal casinos in California have become an $8 billion a year business, and the Sacramento casinos operate as many slot machines as Reno’s. The abrupt shutdown of the industry in mid-March has depleted the tribes of their main revenue sources.
The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, for instance, has committed to paying Cache Creek’s 2,300 employees through the end of May but “we may have difficult decisions ahead,” Stout-Smith said in her video update.
The other Sacramento area casinos, Thunder Valley, Jackson Rancheria and Red Hawk, didn’t offer any information on when they might reopen. Casinos in Reno and at Lake Tahoe, which are subject to Nevada state regulation, haven’t announced any reopening dates. However, state officials have announced guidelines casinos must follow in Nevada before they can begin greeting customers again.
Get ready for plastic shields, fewer slot machines
The few casinos that have reopened across the United States have presented their customers with a completely new look - and, in some cases, an unexpected gift.
When the Thunderbird Casino in Norman, Okla., reopened Tuesday, employees handed out masks to the customers, most of whom didn’t bring their own. The slot machines were spaced six feet apart.
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Northern California gamblers can expect comparable changes.
Rieger said Harrah’s might close some or all of its smoking sections to keep the air cleaner. Fewer slot machines will be available, “which is kind of the industry standard,” he said. The casino is still scrambling to figure out how to keep chips sanitized, he said.
Red Hawk Casino in Shingle Springs said employees will wear masks. Guests will have to wear them, too, and masks “will be available to purchase for guests who need one,” the casino said on its website. Plastic barriers “may be installed in areas of the casino, where appropriate, for the safety of our guests and team members.” Red Hawk hasn’t announced an opening date.
Tehama County’s Rolling Hills Casino will require customers and employees to wear masks, too. Plastic shields will be placed at registers. The casino floor is being reconfigured for social distancing.
Rolling Hills, which hasn’t set a reopening date, said walk-through “temperature kiosks” will be installed at the entry points, and no one will be allowed in with a temperature reading higher than 100.4 degrees. The casino said the kiosks will provide instant readings so people can enter quickly.
A “Clean Team” employee will clean a slot machine the minute a customer walks away. The air filtration system is being enhanced to “replenish the air inside” every four and a half minutes.
Cache Creek is installing “touchless thermal scans,” removing some of its slots and table games, and plans to require masks of guests and customers alike. Building occupancy “will be strictly limited” to improve social distancing, Smith said in her video update.
“When you come to the casino,” she said, “it will be a new experience for all of us.”
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