Two Olympia area casinos — Little Creek Casino Resort near Shelton and Nisqually Red Wind Casino — have announced they’ll reopen Monday, following closures that began in mid-March because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The reopenings come with long lists of policies and precautions that will be introduced in an effort to safeguard visitors.

Thurston County’s other casino, the Chehalis Tribe’s Lucky Eagle Casino and Hotel, has indicated it won’t consider reopening to the public until next month. But the Puyallup Tribe announced Thursday it, too, will reopen its Emerald Queen Casino in Fife on Monday, Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Red Wind Casino is the greater Olympia area’s go-to spot for gaming, dining and entertainment. We feature more than 1,500 slot machines, a complete array of table games, four restaurants, a new sports bar, a 600-space parking garage, and the largest smoke-free gaming area in the region.

Little Creek and Red Wind both will be 100% smoke-free, according to their online announcements. Visitors will have their IDs and temperatures checked, and each guest will be required to wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth.

Half of the slot machines have been removed at Little Creek and capacity will be at 50%, while half of Red Wind’s slot machines have been turned off, according to its announcement. Protocols to extensively, frequently sanitize are in place at both locations.

“As the Indian gaming industry looks to reopen, each sovereign nation is developing a responsible safety and health plan for their patrons, employees, and economic welfare,” Ray Peters, intergovernmental affairs liaison for the Squaxin Island Tribe and chief operating officer of the Little Creek Casino Resort, told The Olympian in a phone interview Friday.

The decision to open Monday was made with data as the primary consideration, Peters said — specifically, the number of cases of COVID-19 in Mason and Thurston counties.

As of Friday afternoon, Mason had reported 31 total confirmed positive cases of the disease with one death and six cases active. Thurston was reporting 126 cases with one death and 10 patients being actively monitored by county Public Health.

“We understand that things will be changing and we will be nimble, because we will be looking at and assessing data on a daily basis,” Peters said. The casino provides updates on its website.

As important as the data, Peters said, was establishing a safety plan for all areas of the property so reopening is responsible. Casino management was able to learn from other industries that stayed open, such as the grocery industry, Peters said.

By Friday, employees had gone through orientation to execute the plan, Peters told The Olympian. For example, it requires staff to wipe down machines as people leave them.

Economic welfare of Mason County and tribal government factored into the decision to reopen “secondarily,” Peters said.

The casino employs more than 700 people in Mason County, he said, and the tribe doesn’t take that responsibility lightly. Initially, it was able to keep paying employees, according to Peters, but eventually it had to furlough staff. Now that the casino is opening again, it’s able to bring a majority of employees back in.

He declined to say how much of the tribe’s revenue comes from the casino, but said it accounts for a “large portion” of the money that funds necessities such as the tribe’s health, law enforcement, and emergency services.

“We are feeling the same that most of society is, this has been very much a crippling situation,” Peters said. “We have absolutely no revenue coming in. But, our decision to open up is based first and foremost on the safety and health of our patrons and employees.”

Voluntary casino closures have hurt tribal economies across the state and nation. With the Kalispel Tribe’s Northern Quest Casino near Spokane closed for two months, it cost the tribe millions of dollars, according to an Associated Press report. And the Puyallup Tribe has told members it has just enough money to fund benefits and services through the end of next month.

Still, reopening casinos at this point in the pandemic isn’t something state leadership advises. As of Friday, nine Washington counties had been approved to move to Phase 2 out of four phases in Gov. Jay Inslee’s reopening plan, but most of the state is scheduled to remain in Phase 1 until at least June 1.

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If casinos were not on tribal lands, they would likely be included in Phase 3 of the plan, Tara Lee, a spokesperson with the governor’s office, wrote in an email to The Olympian. That phase includes some other indoor entertainment, such as gyms, movie theaters, and museums.

“The governor has spoken to tribal leaders and while he doesn’t agree that casinos should be open, as sovereign nations we do not have jurisdiction over what happens on tribal lands,” Lee wrote. “We remain concerned about the spread of the virus.”

Peters says he appreciates Gov. Inslee’s data-driven, phased approach, calling him a “responsible governor.” But, he said, both plans are responsible.

“He’s looking at it comprehensively,” Peters said. “We are looking at it comprehensively, as a sovereign nation, for our area.”

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©2020 The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.)

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New Casino Slots Machines Videos

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The ultimate goal for a slot player is finding a loose machine amidst the vast sea of machines on the casino floor. Some equate the task equal to finding the proverbial needle in a haystack while others concede it is more like looking for a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Players dream of finding a loose slot machine but few achieve their goal. One reason for this is that the term “loose” when describing a slot machine is relative to the location and casino.

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A player from Las Vegas who plays slots at a local’s casino getting 98 percent payback would not consider a slot machine in Atlantic City that is set to payback 94 percent as a loose machine. However the player from Atlantic City where the average slot return is 91 percent would consider this same machine a loose one. Older slot machines were set at a higher house percentage than new machines are.

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First, we should define the term loose slot machine. Payback is the overall percentage that a machine will return to the player in the long run. A loose machine is one that is set to pay back a higher percentage than other machines so the term loose would be relative to the other machines in the same casino.

Fact or Myth

Over the years there has been much speculation and conjecture amongst slot players as to where the loose slot machines are located. There are many myths that have been circulating associated with the placement these loose slot machines on the casino floor. Here are a few to consider and some reasoning behind the myth.

• Loose machines are surrounded by tight machines. The reasoning behind this myth is that many players like to play more than one machine at a time. If a loose machine is surrounded by a tight machine a player will give back the winnings from the loose machine if they simultaneously play the machines on either side.
• Loose machines are placed by the entrance. The reasoning behind this myth is that people will see players winning and this will entice them to come into the casino and play. The basis for this myth can probably be traced back to downtown Las Vegas where the casinos were in walking distance of each other. People walking down the street could see the players winning at the slots and walk into the casino. Most of the new mega-resorts have multiple entrances so I would doubt the validity of this myth.
• Machines near the table games are tight. The reasoning behind this myth is that the noise of the machines will distract the table game players. Another reason is that a table game player will be tempted to play any coins they have when they leave the table on their way to the cashier’s cage.
• Machines near the end of the row are loose. The reasoning behind this myth is that players seeing other players win will be likely to go down into the row to play the machines.
• Machines near the showroom and buffet are tight. The reasoning behind this myth is that players waiting in line for a show or for the buffet are a captive audience. They may be tempted to play a few coins to kill time while they wait. The machines are tight because they can’t leave the area to play other machines.
• Machines near the casino cage are loose. The reasoning behind this myth is that the casino wants you to see people winning while you are waiting in line. This will entice you to play more.
• Round Carousals of machines are looser that rows of machines. The reasoning behind this myth is that the carousels can bee seen from any direction in the casino. They want to put the loose machines where they winners are highly visible.

Think Like a Casino Executive

One of the problems with the myths is that no two casinos are the same. Each casino has a VP of slots who makes the decision about the placement of the machines. Try to think like a casino executive. Where would you put the loose machines?

Casino executives have heard all the myths concerning the placement of loose machines that the players have. If I were the manager I would not put a loose machine on the aisle. I would bury it further down the row. Think of this as reverse psychology. If I know where the players think the loose machines are I would want to put tight machines there instead.

Be Realistic

Unless you play an exorbitant amount of slots, the chances of really identifying a loose slot machine will be slim. You could just as easily have a very lucky winning session on a low payback machines as a losing session on a machine with a high payback percentage. You might never play enough to be sure.

This does not mean you should give up your quest to find loose slot machines. Playing different machines in search of a loose one will add some variety to your slot play. You might not find a loose slot but you might find a new game that you enjoy playing. The hunt for a loose slot machine can be fun and that’s what casino gambling should be.