“It was a very collaborative thing that we try to do together,” said Howard. They agreed on many of the safety protocols they would adopt when they reopened. During the shutdown, the casino general managers and tribal chairs spoke two and sometimes three times a week on conference calls. There were probably eight or 10 entities that were involved,” said Howard. “This decision was made in anything but a bubble. He said the chain of command started with San Pasqual Tribal Chairman Steven Cope and including other tribal chairs, their gaming commission and county and state officials. In an interview with GGB News, Howard said tribes in San Diego County-which has the largest concentration of Indian casinos in California-have cooperated in their decisions to close and now to reopen. Longtime General Manager Bruce Howard says he doesn’t ever remember being more excited.

Valley View Casino will be among the first of San Diego County’s tribal casinos to reopen first thing in the morning of May 22, almost exactly two months after closing in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.