How table games at Southern California casinos are different during coronavirus
Southern California’s casinos are back in action and for most of them, so are their table games.
But before you place your bets, know that the region’s tribal-owned casinos have changed how they’re doing table game business. Casinos have reconfigured their gaming floors, put up barriers, implemented and increased cleaning and have decreased the number of players for games due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. All of them require that you wear a mask.
Here’s a look at how the various table games have been changed for COVID-related safety reasons.
Agua Caliente Casinos (Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage)
32250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage; 401 E. Amado Road, Palm Springs. 888-999-1995, aguacalientecasinos.com.
The website for the desert casinos says some seating has been removed from table games.
The poker room for Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage remains closed.
Officials for the two casinos did not respond to requests for comment on the number of player positions or additional information about their safety measures.
Augustine Casino
84001 Ave. 54, Coachella. 760-391-9500, augustinecasino.com.
Augustine Casino removed its table games ahead of its June reopening as a COVID-19 precaution.
Lindsay Grant, the casino’s director of marketing, wrote in an email that the casino has not brought table games back and that she did not foresee that happening before the end of the year.
Casino Pauma
777 Pauma Reservation Road, Pauma Valley. 877-687-2862, casinopauma.com.
At Casino Pauma, no more than three players are allowed per table game, according to a news release sent out by the casino at the time of its reopening.
The casino’s slot machines and table games have been reconfigured to create more space, according to a video from the casino’s website.
A statement provided by the casino said that it made all of its table games non-smoking in August.
Cahuilla Casino Hotel
52702 Highway 371, Anza. 951-763-1200, cahuillacasinohotel.com.
When the Anza casino resort opened its doors in May, it announced that table games would be limited to three players per table and that visitors would be required to wear a face covering. Representatives for the casino could not be reached for additional information on their safety measures.
Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
84245 Indio Springs Drive, Indio. 760-342-5000, fantasyspringsresort.com.
Fantasy Springs is operating its table games at just under 50% capacity with a maximum of three players per table, Public Relations Manager Michael Felci wrote in an email. He wrote that in addition to face masks, dealers wear shields and gloves. Table game guests are offered gloves, he said, and there’s a six-foot space between chairs for social distancing.
Harrah’s Resort Southern California
777 Harrah’s Rincon Way, Valley Center. 760-751-3100, harrahssocal.com.
The resort has 50 games available and allows three players per table game with specific seats available in order to ensure social distancing, a representative for the resort wrote in an email. The email says guest spots are cleaned at the end of each session after a person gets up from the table; chips and tables are cleaned at the end of each day; and dealers wipe down all equipment when they’re done and before the new dealer comes in.
Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa
49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon. 951-849-3080, morongocasinoresort.com.
Morongo has a maximum of three seats for each of the table games on it gaming floor except for baccarat, which has four seats.
Plastic dividers separating players from dealers can be requested, according to an email from casino officials.The casino has increased sanitation and disinfection procedures and that includes regular electrostatic antimicrobial cleaning and wiping down game rails and chairs when a player leaves, according to the email.
Morongo also recently opened its poker room with a limit of seven players per table; seats are separated with plexiglass dividers; cards are sanitized after every hour of play; and tables are cleaned between players.
Pala Casino, Spa & Resort
11154 Highway 76, Pala. 877-946-7252, palacasino.com.
Pala has reduced seating to four players per baccarat game and three players for all other table game types, according to its website.
Pala’s website says the casino thoroughly cleans and sanitizes its table games on a consistent basis and that it has either moved or closed all of its table games to allow for social distancing. Gaming chips have been divided into two sets and are rotated, cleaned and sanitized at least monthly.
Complimentary gloves and sanitizer are available at each table.
Pechanga Resort Casino
45000 Pechanga Parkway, Temecula. 877-711-2946, pechanga.com.
When Pechanga reopened its doors in June, table games on the resort’s gaming floor were heavily modified with plastic shields that separated the dealer from the players. Jutting out from the plastic shield were a series of plexiglass panels that separated players from each other.
Ciara Green, media and public relations director for the resort, wrote in an email that those dividers are still in place. She said the casino has approximately 100 table games in operation, but that number “decreases significantly” during different times of the day.
Seating positions have been cut in half. Green wrote in the past, a guest would see six people seated at blackjack, pai gow or Texas hold ’em games, but now only half that number are allowed.
Pechanga’s poker room remains closed, Green said.
San Manuel Casino
777 San Manuel Boulevard, Highland. 909-864-5050, sanmanuel.com.
San Manuel has 95 of its 130 table games in operation and each of the games has two positions per table for social distancing, according to its website. Cards are switched out every eight hours and for poker derivatives, players don’t touch the card. Chip cleaning is done daily while the previous cleaning schedule was twice per month.
Soboba Casino Resort
22777 Soboba Road, San Jacinto. 951-665-1000, soboba.com.
The San Jacinto resort has plexiglass shields on its games with dividers that limit the number of players to four per table game, except for roulette games, which allow three players.
All cards are dealt face up on the games to reduce touch points. A bottle of sanitizer is available on every table for both customers and employees.
Steward Madden, the director of table games, wrote in an email that his department is very strict in making sure that guests are not only wearing their masks, but are also wearing them correctly with their mouth and nose both covered.
Employees continually walk the table game pit cleaning the plexiglass shields, chairs and table rails often, according to Madden. He said those employees also use ultraviolet equipment to sanitize chips.
Spotlight 29 Casino
46200 Harrison Place, Coachella. 760-775-5566, spotlight29.com.
On its website, Spotlight 29 posted that the casino has removed some chairs at table games and every other table is open.
It says dealers sanitize equipment and stations for each player and that casino supervisors and managers monitor that everyone follows protocol.
Spotlight 29 did not respond to requests for comment on the specific number of player positions at its table games or more information on its safety measures.
Valley View Casino & Hotel
16300 Nyemii Pass Road, Valley Center. 760-291-5500, valleyviewcasino.com.
In response to questions about safety measures and specific player maximums at their table games, representatives for the casino referred Southern California News Group to a letter from General Manager Bruce Howard that said the casino had reduced the capacity at each of its table games by 50%. Those representatives declined to comment on the specific number of player positions at the table games.
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