LATEST UPDATES: Tracking COVID-19 Racial Justice
- SAN DIEGO — The Viejas Casino & Resort in Alpine announced plans to reopen on May 18. The casino has been closed for about two months in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, but officials said.
- Viejas Hotel boasts a generous array of modern amenities for the finest in guest accommodation. In addition to our interior’s streamlined design and handcrafted, boutique feel, Viejas Hotel features two modern Fitness Centers and two convenient and user-friendly Business Centers.
- Viejas keeps the gaming action new, exciting, and bursting with ways to power up your chances to win the largest jackpots and biggest bets anywhere in San Diego! You’ll find your favorite classic casino games.
- Officials from the Viejas Casino & Resort have disputed a report claiming San Diego tribal casinos are aiding in the spread of COVID-19. Seen here are guests lining up for the casino’s reopening.
Monday, May 18, 2020
Viejas Casino & Resort has been closed for two months because of the COVID-19 outbreak, but re-opened with new safety measures on Monday. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune).
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.
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.
“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.
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'
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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Las Viejas Casino Resort
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Directions
Beat the Crowd!
Visiting us on a busy day? Use the East Willows Road exit off of the Interstate 8 and our parking lots on the east side of the resort to beat the rush!
From Downtown San Diego
1. Take Interstate 8 East toward El Centro
2. Take Willows Road/Alpine Blvd.
3. Turn left onto Willows Road
4. Proceed 1.5 miles to Viejas
From South Bay
1. Take Interstate 805 North
2. Merge onto Interstate 8 East toward El Centro
3. Take Interstate 8 East toward El Centro
4. Take Willows Road/Alpine Blvd. exit
5. Turn left onto Willows Road
6. Proceed 1.5 miles to Viejas
Pechanga Casino
From East of Alpine
1. Take Interstate 8 West toward San Diego
2. Take right onto East Willows Road exit
3. Turn right onto Willows Road
4. Proceed approximately 1.5 miles to Viejas
From North County
1. Take Interstate 15 South
2. Merge onto Interstate 8 East toward El Centro
3. Take Interstate 8 East toward El Centro
4. Take Willows Road/Alpine Blvd. exit
5. Turn left onto Willows Road
6. Proceed 1.5 miles to Viejas
Take the V Bus
If it is your first time riding the V Bus from any location in San Diego County, you will be asked to provide a valid government-issued I.D. upon boarding. When you arrive to Viejas Casino & Resort, please sign up for a myViejas Club card because it will be needed to depart on the V Bus to return to your destination. Free V Bus rides are just one of the many benefits you may enjoy as a myViejas Players Club member. Other benefits include luxury hotel stays, Free Play Cash, dining offers, and access to our events and promotions. Guests must be 18+ years of age to ride the V Bus from any location.