The clubs shut in mid-March as the coronavirus spread through California.Īt a news conference Friday, Newsom said the state hopes to release guidelines to reopen casinos and card clubs in the “next days and weeks.”Įmployees and guests would be required to wear masks or other face coverings, which would be provided to all employees and made available to guests.
The protocols were drafted with the help of medical experts at UCLA and USC and have been presented to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in hopes of getting the agency’s blessing, according to representatives of the card clubs. It includes some proposed changes already adopted by tribal and Las Vegas casinos, such as increasing the distance between players at card tables, cleaning more frequently and taking the temperatures of gamblers as they enter. The 20-page list of protocols agreed upon by the six card clubs was presented to Gov. With Las Vegas casinos expected to open next month and a handful of tribal casinos in California already taking bets, Los Angeles County’s card club operators put forward a set of health protocols that they hope will enable them to reopen within weeks.
