Six outbreaks of 3 or more cases have occurred at Riverside County casinos in the last 6 months
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ribal casinos across Southern California remained open last week, even as many businesses in the region were forced to shutter or limit some services due to new stay-at-home orders from the state.
The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians’ casino in Rancho Mirage was fairly busy last Tuesday, with visitors playing slots and dozens of people eating at the casino’s several indoor restaurants, as reported by Palm Springs Desert Sun. Morongo Casino Resort and Spa was promoting meal specials for its 16th anniversary. San Manuel Casino in Highland said on social media that it feels confident about the decision to keep operating and about the casino’s safety protocols. And Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio is still hosting outdoor live music throughout the week.
California’s latest COVID-19 shutdown, triggered by alarmingly low levels of intensive care unit capacity, has now affected most of the state. The three-week order came into effect for much of the lower half of California on December 5. Residents are prohibited from gathering; grocery stores are limited to 35% capacity; bars, salons, and indoor and outdoor restaurant dining have to shut down; and church services must be held outside, among other restrictions.
However, Native American tribes, as sovereign nations, are not required to follow the state’s stay-at-home order. Six separate outbreaks of three or more cases have occurred at Riverside County casinos in the last six months, county officials told The Desert Sun last week. Four different casinos each had one outbreak, while a fifth casino has had two.
When coronavirus first swept the region in March, all tribal casinos in the Coachella Valley voluntarily closed for several months. Many cited a duty to help stop the spread of the virus, even while acknowledging that the lengthy pause in business could be financially crippling for some tribes.
Since those initial closures, each local tribe with a gaming facility has taken a slightly different approach to reopening. Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage has continued to offer large, indoor conference areas for private events or meetings. The East Valley Republican Women Federated is one group that has taken advantage of that event space in recent months, hosting a luncheon in early November followed by an election night party.
Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage has postponed some indoor concerts; one originally scheduled for last week was pushed to an undetermined date. But the tribe opened its third casino, in Cathedral City, a few days before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Some gaming facilities in the valley have scheduled a regular lineup of outdoor concerts. At Fantasy Springs, owned by the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, live music shows are held outside several nights of the week, with mask and distancing rules in place. Maximum capacity at those concerts is 1,500, which is 50% of the pre-virus maximum, said Michael Felci, public relations manager for the casino. But so far, attendance hasn’t been over 500. As of Friday, Fantasy Springs is planning to continue operating as it has since reopening in June with certain health protocols. Outdoor concerts are still being held.
The Fantasy Springs special events center has also been used as a COVID-19 testing area and space for casino employee trainings, like orientation. All employees are tested for coronavirus weekly. The center has not been used for public events such as concerts. “The Cabazon Band of Mission Indians enjoys sovereignty, just like all tribes do,” Felci said. “However, our guests, our employees are obviously the most important thing — their health, their safety. So we’re following the news, we’re getting the latest reports just like everybody else. Everything we’ve seen up until this point has not looked promising for large indoor gatherings.”
Every local casino has implemented certain public health measures in the past year, though some to a greater degree than others.
“From day one of the pandemic, we have made health and safety our top focus and we have persistently adhered to the most rigorous of safety standards,” San Manuel Casino said last Thursday in its announcement that it would stay open. “The San Manuel Business Committee and our executive leadership are actively monitoring the landscape and evaluating guidance from our retained medical experts and county public health officials.”
Many casinos have implemented and strictly enforce face mask requirements, temperature checks, some new occupancy limits, hand sanitizing stations and other measures. Agua Caliente and Fantasy Springs promoted new casino apps on Facebook last week, which lets users play slots and table games on their phone. A few casinos are now only offering food from their restaurants to go.
Some tribal casinos in Southern California have mandated regular COVID-19 testing for employees. Felci from Fantasy Springs said earlier in the pandemic that the casino had avoided a “cluster” situation by starting its testing regimen, enforcing mask-wearing and social distancing, instituting temperature screenings and increased cleanings, and moving entertainment outdoors. Of the casino’s workforce of more than 1,000 people, the percentage of positive cases has been “super low,” he said last week.
Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s administration has held “government-to-government” conversations with tribal leaders throughout the pandemic, the California Department of Public Health told The Desert Sun. With the new stay-at-home orders, those conversations are now continuing over conference calls.
