Route 66 Casino Open
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Route 66 Casino Hotel is temporarily closed due to COVID-19 cases. (Courtesy of Route 66 Casino Hotel)
Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- All tribal casinos have closed, according to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The governor said, in a news release, that the soverign tribal nations have closed in a collective. Casino Xpress opened during the construction of Route 66 Casino as a temporary gaming facility. Due to high customer demand, Casino Xpress has remained open since the completion of the Route 66 Casino. It offers 130 slot machines, is located adjacent to the Route 66 Casino Hotel and the Route 66 Travel Center.
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Route 66 Casino Hotel on Laguna Pueblo has temporarily closed for two weeks due to positive COVID-19 test results among employees.
The closure went into effect at 5 p.m. Sunday. Laguna Development Corporation made the decision to cease operations at the casino and hotel after 13 Route 66 employees tested positive for coronavirus. All LDC employees have been undergoing mandatory testing since Route 66 Casino Hotel reopened on June 24, according to a LDC news release.
Between late June and Oct. 22 eight positive employee cases were detected at the company. All of the cases were traced to exposure outside of the casino and hotel. The most recent cases also were due to exposure out of the property.
Is Route 66 Casino Open
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“LDC has done an extraordinary job of adhering to the health and safety protocols over the last four months of reduced operations,” Pueblo of Laguna Governor Wilfred Herrera said in the news release. “That is why our positive cases have remained low. However, infections in the region are flaring and our top priority remains protecting the health of our community and doing our part to minimize the spread of the virus.”
Route 66 Casino Hotel employees will be paid and their benefits will remain intact during the closure. All employees will be retested for the virus over the next several days and have been asked to self-quarantine as they await results, according to the news release.
“The increases in virus infections throughout New Mexico and the increase we saw as a result of mandatory employee testing this past week, encouraged us to exercise an abundance of caution to close down operations,” LDC president and CEO Maxine Velasquez said in the news release. “We will thoroughly sanitize and clean the entire Route 66 facility during the closure. We will also remind every employee, their family and friends to demonstrate COVID Safe Practices at home and at work. None of us can let our guard down.”
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The Route 66 Travel Centers on Interstate 40 at exits 108 and 140 will remain open. The Route 66 RV Resort, the Marketplace at Dancing Eagle as well as convenience stores, gas stations and Laguna Burger restaurants also will stay open with all health and safety protocols and reduced levels of operation in place, according to the news release.
Isleta Resort & Casino opened Monday. The casino is operating at 25% capacity. (Courtesy of Isleta Resort & Casino)
Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal
Tribal casinos are slowly reopening around New Mexico.
The reopenings are taking place despite the recommendations of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
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“Tribal casinos are sovereign, which the state has no control over,” said Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett. “Nontribal casinos remain closed under the current public health order.”
Isleta Resort & Casino opened Monday. Patrons were excited to return.
A patron told the Journal there was a two-hour wait to get inside at 11 p.m. Tuesday and a one-hour wait when she returned at 1 a.m. Wednesday. Guests were told the casino was allowing only 25% capacity inside. But patrons waited patiently in line to play their favorite slot machines and table games.
Calls and emails requesting comment from Isleta were not returned.
Is Route 66 Casino Open Today 2020
According to its website, Isleta has made a number of changes to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including adding face shields and Plexiglas dividers in close-contact areas, such as between slot machines.
All areas of Isleta Resort & Casino are nonsmoking. Guests must smoke in a designated area outside the casino. All patrons also must wear masks while on the property and may remove them only to eat or drink.
A new Players Club Card system has also been implemented, requiring every guest to be a Players Club cardholder or sign up for one. The patron told the Journal that the system will help with contact tracing.
Cleaning and sanitation of the property have increased greatly. More information about the measures Isleta is taking to protect its guests can be found on its website, isleta.com.
Taos Mountain Casino on Taos Pueblo announced on its website that it is now open. The website says the casino has made changes to protect its patrons and employees, including requiring guests to wear face masks and have their temperature taken at the door.
Ohkay Hotel and Casino on Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo also announced it’s now open but did not provide much more information on its website.
Route 66 Casino Hotel on Laguna Pueblo has plans to reopen soon. An official announcement is expected on Monday, June 22.
“From an operational standpoint, we feel like our casino, restaurants, hotel, everything is ready to go,” said Skip Sayre, chief of sales and marketing for Laguna Development Corp., owned by Laguna Pueblo. “We’re still working on making sure that we are appropriately staffed and that all of our staff are COVID-19-tested and are appropriately trained on all of the new health and safety protocols that we put in place.”
Many other casinos are closed and do not have a reopening date yet, including Sandia Resort & Casino, Santa Ana Casino Hotel, Tesuque Casino, Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino, Sky City Casino Hotel and Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino. Casinos on the Navajo Nation, which has been hit severely by COVID-19, also remain closed.
Nontribal casinos, such as The Downs Racetrack & Casino in Albuquerque and Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino in Sunland Park, must remain closed until Lujan Grisham gives the green light for them to reopen.
Lujan Grisham, through her public health orders, has allowed other businesses, including breweries, restaurants, salons and gyms, to reopen in limited capacities.
The reopening of casinos around the state poses concern for the Governor’s Office.
“All tribal casinos are strongly, unequivocally encouraged to remain closed at this time, just like other entertainment facilities, due to the risk of COVID-19 spread​,” Sackett said. “The administration is in regular contact with tribal leadership and has conveyed its concern about opening casinos at this time.​ Any entity opening a casino right now is exposing patrons and the community in which it is situated to enormous risk of infection and spread.”