Casino San Diego Opening

Posted By admin On 23/07/22

Indian Casino in San Diego Opening May 18th Viejas casino in Alpine will re-open May 18th. Guest required to wear masks and get temperature. Also at Sycuan: San Diego Padres fans can check into the new Padres Suite in the casino’s hotel (which opened in 2019). The entrance to the suite features a wall designed with 40 baseball bats.

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Monday, May 18, 2020

Elliot Spagat / Associated Press

Photo by Mike Damron

Above: Crowds line up at Viejas Casino & Resort on the casino's first day of reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic, May 18, 2020.

One of California's largest tribal casinos reopened Monday to a large crowd as customers had their temperatures taken at the door and were ordered to wear facial coverings.

The Viejas Casino & Resort was the first of three popular casinos in the San Diego area to open this week,. At least one public health official acknowledged tribes are sovereign authorities and not subject to state and local restrictions on operating amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Casino San Diego Opening

Every other slot machine was turned off but the strong turnout meant many customers were still playing less than six feet (1.8 meters) apart. Card dealers worked with up to three players at a table and there were no barriers separating them — also far less than six feet apart.

Customers were required to have their foreheads scanned for temperatures. Electronic signs across the casino floor told them — “Let's Play Again!” — while also instructing them to stay six feet apart, wash hands for 20 seconds, avoid touching eyes, noses and mouths and come back another day if they were feeling sick.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. But for some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

Within an hour of opening at 8 a.m., the first three floors of four-story parking garage were full at the casino, which has 2,500 slot machines in Alpine, east of San Diego.

Ronda McLauchlan, 49, of Alpine lined up at 7:30 a.m. before going to work as a painting contractor because “it's all about freedom.” She is highly critical of Gov. Gavin Newsom's orders to keep businesses closed.

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“They're opening up because they don't have to listen to him,” she said.

Dedra Bloxton, 51, took the day off from working at a port in Long Beach to drive two hours from Los Angeles with a friend and play the slot machines. “There's nothing to do at home,” she said. “It feels good just to take a drive. It feels good just to be outside.”

Dr. Wilma Wooten, San Diego County’s top public health officer, last week backed off from her earlier criticism of reopening plans.

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Wooten, who met with tribal leaders to discuss their plans, noted that casinos were in the third stage of California’s reopening plans and the state is only in the second stage, but she refused to say if the casinos were making a mistake.

“Tribal nations are sovereign entities,” she told reporters.

The San Diego Union-Tribune — in an editorial titled, “San Diego casinos are about to gamble with patrons’ lives” — said opening is a “high-risk public health experiment'

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San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher refused to question the tribes last week.

“This is a decision that is for them to make, and there is a very long and very dark history of the country of white people, in particular, telling our Native Americans what they should and shouldn’t do,” he said. “I’m not going to be a part of continuing that into the future. I respect their sovereignty.”

Lucy Gavin, who works with the developmentally disabled and is collecting unemployment benefits because her client doesn't want her too close, came to play slots.

“Everything is getting ready to open,” she said. “I think it's a bit too soon ... We were getting tired of sitting around.”

The Sycuan Casino Resort in El Cajon opens Wednesday and the Valley View Casino & Hotel in Valley Center resumes operations Friday. Both are in San Diego County.

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The New Sycuan Casino Resort

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San Diego’s newest luxury casino resort is now open.

Sycuan Casino began as a humble Bingo Palace in 1983. Now more than 34 years later, it has become a community landmark. Sycuan recently completed a $260M hotel and resort expansion. The 500,000-square-foot expansion includes an expanded gaming floor and available player positions to include a total of 2,800 slot machines and 80 table games.

A 12-story luxury hotel tower features over 300 guest rooms, including over 50 suites in various configurations and amenity packages.

Sycuan's new group offerings includes multiple indoor and outdoor event venues, on-site catering services and feature state-of-the-art technology. The new event space features over 42,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space and accommodates both small-to-large sized groups. There are several event venues to choose from ranging from smaller breakout meeting rooms and banquet-style venues to concert capacity seating.

Additionally, hotel and casino guests have a wide range of onsite amenities to enjoy such as a pool and garden area with a lazy river and swim-up bar, a full-service spa with treatment rooms and sauna, and a state-of-the-art fitness facility.

Non-smokers can enjoy slots and table games and a variety of amenities in a new non-smoking environment.

Neighborhood: East County

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5469 Dehesa Rd
El Cajon, CA 92019

Get Directions

Contact Info

(619) 445-6002
Toll-Free: (800) 2SY-CUAN
bmercier@sycuan.com

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