Eagle Mountain Casino moves closer to reopening

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- The closure of Eagle Mountain Casino hasn't been easy, especially for the Tule River Indian Tribe, which owns and operates the casino.

"When your main source of revenue has to close, it puts a challenge on everything, economically for the whole reservation as well as the individuals, if you look at all of our teammates," Eagle Mountain General Manager Matthew Mingrone said. "We've had 33% of our teammates that have been here for at least ten years."

But there's good news.

Casino employees have been brought back in preparation for the casino's reopening on July 1st - or possibly sooner.

And while other Valley casinos have already reopened, Eagle Mountain decided to wait longer, because the casino sits at the center of the Tule River Reservation, and the tribe has many at-risk elders.

When the casino reopens, there will be many precautions in place: Guests and employees will have their temperatures taken and be required to wear masks, employees will be alerted when a player leaves a machine and it needs to be sanitized, and every other machine will be turned off to create distance between players.

The casino has also purchased additional hand sanitizing stations, foggers, and even handheld UV lights.

"So we're trying to figure out in the new world we live in, how can we make everybody comfortable, safe, and enjoy themselves," Mingrone said.

The casino is doing its part to keep people safe.

So they hope guests and employees will do theirs too, by not coming in if they feel sick.

"We just want you to stay home," Mingrone said. "We want everybody to be healthy, whether they're working or visiting."