Went down to Viejas this afternoon - was surprised to see the casino was not crowded, in fact relatively few people were there. The shuttle driver told me that only on their first re-opening day were they crowded with lines waiting to get in. After that, it was quiet. They take your temperature at the door. Everyone must wear a mask.

Every other slot machine is turned off. As there was no crowd, it was still easy to find one. Finding one that paid out any money . . . well, that was harder. They were offering "free games" and such, but the payouts for me never exceeded what I put in. At the tables, some of the games were as before, with only every other seat available. A few tables had partitions between each seat. It reminded me of a bank, or more specifically, jail on visiting day, with little cubicles to talk in. Ever been in jail on visiting days? Ever been in a Turkish Jail?

I was surprised to find the buffet open! And not crowded either. Here's how it works. You pay the same $35.99 as before, you are shown to a table and given a small printed menu and a pen. You check off the dishes you wish, the waiters pick them up and deliver them to the table on a little cart. The number of selections is very limited but there are still plenty of choices. The cold cuts and cheese antepasto stuff is a memory.

The food comes in a variety of containers (as if they don't have enough dishes) - little metal buckets, Chinese paper take-out containers, etc. The casino chooses the serving sizes. I mentioned to my server that it felt like eating on an airliner, and he replied, "Yes, over there are the window seats and you are in an aisle seat. Hah-ha!"

Since all the food comes at once, it's tricky to eat the "beginning" stuff (I ordered soup and an appetizer) while the "main meal" (prime rib) grows cold. The smoked salmon for example was postage-stamp sized, although they were nice enough to add capers (I like capers, okay?) - they get confused about rice so they sent over 1 steamed rice container and 1 fried rice container. I ate both. (No, Smarty, just the rice, NOT the containers.)

At the end of my "feast" I began wondering about desserts. They are not listed on the printed menu and my server had vanished. The "deal" was that the "buffet" was "all you can eat" but they skirted that issue by not coming back. I was sort of hoping someone would come by with a Dessert Menu but the Salon Du Monte Carlo this is not, so I never found out if they still offer dessert. I am going to miss the Viejas Hand Made Ice Cream where each tribal member sticks his hand into the goop before it freezes. I've found acorns, cigar butts and even a Rolex watch in that stuff before.

Anyway, that may be the norm for California casinos for awhile and perhaps the Las Vegas buffets will re-open under similar conditions. Bon apeititi!

PS: Just ONE statement above is an exaggeration and I'll let you guys figure out which one.