Gila River three casinos close again amid Arizona's COVID-19 spike

Gila River Hotels & Casinos shuttered all three of its properties for two weeks as of 2 a.m. Thursday,  amid a recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Arizona.

The Gila River Indian Community operates Lone Butte and Wild Horse Pass casinos near Chandler and Vee Quiva casino near Laveen. The announcement comes a week after a security guard at Lone Butte Casino died of complications related to COVID-19, according to his family, The Arizona Republic reports.

Like other tribal casinos across Arizona, Gila River's three casinos shut down because of COVID-19 in mid-March. They initially reopened May 15, the same day Gov. Doug Ducey lifted Arizona’s stay-at-home order. Casino and tribal leaders had promised to institute new safety measures when they reopened in May, including encouraging patrons to wear masks.

During the two-week closure, casino officials will "reassess its current safety standards" after evaluating its safety plan with the Gila River Indian Community Council and receiving "feedback from its community and team members."

On June 11, Robert Washington, a 68-year old security guard at Lone Butte Casino, died in a hospital from complications related to COVID-19, according to his family. Washington, who lived in Chandler, had returned to work in mid-May. 

Unlike some other casinos in the Phoenix area, Gila River Hotels & Casinos were only requiring employees to wear personal protective equipment. Customers were encouraged, but not mandated, to wear masks. Lina Washington said this left her father, who was diabetic and had recently beaten prostate cancer, exposed.

In a statement, Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Lewis said the temporary shutdown will help protect casino employees and customers, as well as those who live in the Gila River community. “Like our sister tribes and businesses all over Arizona, we have tried to do what is best for all, while processing new information and new guidelines about the pandemic with little in the way of definitive guidance," he said.

Gila River officials told The Arizona Republic that it strengthened its policy last week to mandate all patrons wear masks. According to a released statement, the casinos will use the closure to implement new safety measures, including: disinfection procedures, social distancing measures, health checks, testing protocols, masking guidelines. All employees will continue to be paid in full throughout the closure and will receive full medical benefits, according to Gila River's statement.