Four more western Washington casinos reopen Monday

FIFE, Wash. -- Four more western Washington casinos are reopening Monday after two months of closure and despite concerns from the governor's office.

The move comes after Angel of the Winds Casino reopened last week in Snohomish County, along with two other casinos in eastern Washington.

Emerald Queen, owned and operated by the Puyallup Tribe, says it will limit the number of visitors to 30 percent capacity, though it's unclear how many people represent 30 percent. Everyone will have their temperature taken before they enter, and the hotel will remain closed for now.

Food options will be limited.

The Emerald Queen's new location along I-5 in Tacoma is set to open in June.

Three other western Washington casinos -- Nisqually Red Wind Casino in Thurston County, the Little Creek Casino in Shelton and the Clearwater Casino Resort in Suquamish -- are also opening Monday (May 18).

Those three casinos, along with Angel of the Winds, will be smoke-free and implement several other safety measures in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Clearwater Casino is only allowing guests from Kitsap County, Jefferson County, Mason County, Clallam County and the area of Pierce County west of the Tacoma Narrows bridge.

Gov. Jay Inslee said last week that he had concerns about casinos reopening too soon. Under Inslee's phased reopening plan, casinos would reopen in Phase 3. Washington is currently in Phase 1, except for nine counties that have received variances to move into Phase 2.

“On several occasions I have expressed the wish that they’d wait to be more consistent with other operations for obvious reasons,” Inslee said during a briefing Thursday. “I have expressed to the tribes that I would be more pleased if their openings would be more consistent with the some of the business openings in our state.”

Snoqualmie Casino has extended its closure through the end of May, and the Lucky Eagle Casino in Thurston County has extended its closure until further notice.