Hundreds line up at Viejas Casino as gaming resumes in San Diego County
Viejas Caslino opening
Viejas Casino & Resort has been closed for two months because of the COVID-19 outbreak, but re-opened with new safety measures on Monday.(K.C. Alfred/K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Most gamblers wore masks, but slots, chips did not appear to be sanitized after use
By LYNDSAY WINKLEY, PAUL SISSON, GARY WARTH
MAY 18, 202011:09 AM
ALPINE — They may have been rolling the dice with their health, but long lines of visitors eager to play slot machines or card games crowded Viejas Casino on Monday as the venue reopened with new safety guidelines.
“I’m a religious person,” said Hugh Henson of El Cajon on his way into the Alpine casino. “I believe when my number comes, my number comes.”

Henson, who used to live on the Viejas reservation, got up at 5:30 a.m. to catch a bus to the casino. He even dressed up for the occasion, donning a patterned shirt and a straw hat. When he arrived, the only thing standing between him and a digital game of Monopoly was a casino employee with a handheld thermometer.

The 8 a.m. reopening took place despite misgivings from county officials who said reopened casinos would breed the kinds of gatherings known to facilitate the spread of COVID-19. It also came despite California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request that local tribes delay their reopening plans.

ADVERTISING

Promote health. Save lives. Serve the vulnerable. Visit who.int
County officials reiterated on Monday that they disagreed with local casinos resuming operations.

“We’re not in agreement, but we do not have the jurisdiction, so the best thing we can do is review their plans and ensure that there are measures built in to prevent the spread (of COVID-19,)” said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county’s public health officer.

She added that she had not yet seen a reopening plan specific to Viejas. The county plans to closely monitor any potential outbreaks that may originate from the gaming venues.

The tribes who run the casinos have sovereign authority and are within their rights to plan their own reopening — a fact both local and state officials have acknowledged. Viejas was the first to reopen, but Sycuan Casino Resort in El Cajon plans to reopen on Wednesday, and Valley View Casino & Resort in Valley Center is scheduled to welcome guests on Friday. Harrah’s Resort in Valley Center announced Monday that it would reopen May 22.

California Seniors On Medicare Are Getting a Big Pay Day SPONSORED CONTENT
California Seniors On Medicare Are Getting a Big Pay Day
By Comparisons.org
Seniors On Medicare Are Getting a Big Pay Day

Tony San Pietro, a spokesperson for Viejas, had no comment Monday evening about the reopening, directing all questions to the casino’s COVID-19 website, which provides no details on issues such as cleaning frequency or enforcement.

“It’s our position not to comment,” San Pietro said.

Tribes across the region volunteered to shut down casino operations on March 20 shortly after county officials instituted a number of safety measures — like closing bars and limiting restaurants to take-out service — that were meant to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Although county residents are still catching the novel coronavirus and dying of it, the state’s stay-at-home order and local social-distancing measures have helped protect the county’s health care system from an overwhelming surge of cases, officials have said.

Recently, Newsom loosened the state’s stay-at-home order to allow some businesses to reopen with modifications. But locations such as casinos weren’t slated to reopen until the state began progressing through Stage Three. Due to the number of people they employ and the number of visitors they attract, casinos are considered high-risk workplaces.

It’s a fact that’s not lost on some casino workers.

One employee in the food and beverage department at Viejas said he was shocked when he learned of the reopening from a post on the casino’s Facebook page.

He said a supervisor contacted him several days later calling him back to work. But the employee didn’t feel safe returning to such a crowded setting.

When he expressed this, he was told that if he refused, he would lose his health insurance at the end of the month. He was also told that he might lose his unemployment benefits because the casino would report to the state that the employee was offered work but refused.

Viejas officials have not returned multiple requests for comment about how they’re managing their employees.

The employee said he would feel differently about returning if state officials had already announced the reopening of other high-risk businesses. Instead, Viejas’ decision felt premature to him, a feeling magnified by the county’s criticism of the decision this week.

“If I’m not allowed to go to a restaurant down the street because it might put employees and customers there at risk, then why would I feel safe being asked to do those very things?” he said.

By Monday afternoon, the wait to get in at Viejas was about one hour. Employees responsible for checking everyone’s temperature were manning the doors.

Those who made it inside found that every other slot machine was turned off and the number of people who could play at table games was reduced. There were large bottles of hand sanitizer in many locations but they were often not visible from the long rows of slot machines.

Many seemed content to move from slot machine to slot machine without washing their hands in-between.
Those machines, according to the Viejas website, had been sanitized before the facility opened with ultraviolet light.

However, in roughly 90 minutes of play Monday afternoon, there was no sign that such sanitation measures were being regularly used on machines and other services during operating hours.

It was possible to sit down at a slot machine that had recently been touched by an unknown number of other visitors since it had last been sanitized.

Over at the tables, chips moved back-and-forth between players and dealers and there were no signs that the moving money markers were being regularly sanitized during the course of play.

Most were wearing masks while in line to get in the casino and once they were inside; however, those who chose to take their masks off we’re not regularly being asked to put them back on. There were marks on floors spread six feet apart to encourage social distancing; there appeared to be a little if any enforcement of those distancing requirements.

But these measures seemed to be enough for some who visited the casino on Monday.

Katie Bernard said she had been counting the days since she heard about the reopening, and has no fear of catching the coronavirus.

“If you’re healthy, you’re fine,” she said. “I’m ready to spend some of that stimulus.”

El Cajon resident Dean Burton, 59, said he was on a winning streak at Viejas when the virus hit, so he made plans to return as soon as he heard of the reopening.

“I wanted to go see that same machine to see if it would give me any more,” he said as he left the casino. “Today, it didn’t work out.”

Burton said he felt the casino was safe and clean inside, and he plans to return regularly.