Southern California’s Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians decided 21 days was a long enough wait.
The San Diego-area tribe said Monday it would reopen Casino Pauma on Friday, more than three weeks after its competition restarted their gaming operations.
Casino Pauma General Manager Jim Thomason said the tribe didn’t regret being one of the first San Diego casinos to close on March 15 in an effort to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, nor was the tribe concerned it would be one of the last to reopen.
“Because we are a smaller local casino that does not have a hotel, spa, pool, and other amenities like the larger resorts, it is far easier to manage safety for our guests,” Thomason said in a statement. “Our staff has worked tirelessly to make Casino Pauma a safer environment.”
Casino Pauma’s two closest competitors off California Highway 76, Pala Casino-Resort and Harrah’s Southern California reopened in mid-March. To the north, in Temecula, Pechanga Casino Resort reopened at the beginning of the month.
Casino Pauma does not have a hotel but operates three restaurants and a 40,000 square-foot-casino with 1,050 slot machines and 16 table games. The casino employs 350 workers.
The property will reopen under various health, safety, cleaning, and sanitation protocols with a smaller gaming footprint. Among the measures are face mask and temperature screening requirements for everyone entering the property, social distancing standards, no more than three players allowed per table game, plexiglass shields at the casino cage, players club, food and beverage outlets, and other areas, and additional hand sanitation and wipe stations.
“Not only did we shut down alternate slot machines but took an extra step and reconfigured our entire gaming floor to offer a more spacious and dynamic gaming experience,” Thomason said. “Casino Pauma has never looked better and we are excited to welcome back our guests.”
The property originally remained closed and was waiting on the advice of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the guidance of government and health officials on when to reopen.
Casino Pauma will open in incremental phases. Initially, there will be occupancy limits and without valet parking, the busing program, a poker room; buffet, and live entertainment.
The plan to phase in the programs and services as circumstances in the surrounding area continue to improve.
Casino Pauma’s customer base is primarily in the Pauma Valley, an area of San Diego populated by citrus tree groves.
During the closure, Casino Pauma assisted employees with filing unemployment and navigating the red tape.
Additionally, the Tribal Council directed Casino Pauma to open the Pauma Store, where employees, neighboring tribes, and the surrounding community could order goods online, such as dry, bulk, and canned items, COVID-19 safety products, and other hard to find household essentials. A drive-through pickup area was created at the Pauma Pavilion.
“The Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians and Casino Pauma continue to commit to our core value, ‘Where People Come First,’” Thomason said.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
