Live entertainment set to return to Fantasy Springs Resort Casino

Smaller-scale live performances are scheduled to return to Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio this week, although large events will not be happening until September, casino officials said.

Live entertainment events will restart Friday night at the casino's outdoor concert venue, as well as in lounges inside the casino, amid mandatory face covering and social distancing protocols aimed at curbing the spread of
the coronavirus.

Fantasy Springs reopened last week after being closed for more than two months amid heightened safety protocols, including the requiring of temperature screenings, according to the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, which owns the casino on tribal land.

Slot machines and table games were also reduced to 50% capacity, along with bars and restaurants.

Sit-down dining remains barred from inside the casino, although "quick-service restaurants'' like Starbucks and Pizza Kitchen are open for take-out, according to Michael Felci, a casino spokesman.

Larger live entertainment events will return to the casino when legendary singer Chaka Khan plays the 3,700-seat Special Events Center on Oct. 10.

Felci said events scheduled up until then have been postponed, including some that have been rescheduled multiple times due to the casino
shutting down in March amid the health emergency.

Fantasy Springs is one of more than a half-dozen casinos that have reopened in and around the Coachella Valley since May 22.