Casino Morongo employee quits over social distancing concerns: ‘We were lied to’

A former Casino Morongo employee speaking exclusively to News Channel 3 said she quit her job of eight years because she felt she was at risk of becoming infected.

"I was afraid to go back ... but we were told to either resign or go back to work so i had no choice," the employee said. "That first day is all it took."

Although guests are required to wear masks and have their temperature taken at the door, the employee said social distancing isn't being practiced inside.

"We were promised that they were going to be doing social distancing and putting all these guidelines and rules into place, but we were lied to," she said. "I know that all it takes is one asymptomatic person to go in there without a fever. I understand they are taking temperatures at the door, but that’s not going to stop anything."

A casino official said more than half the slot machines had been disabled to encourage social distancing. The employee said that is not true: "After a couple hours, all the machines were to be put back on and there were not any spaces in between them."

A spokesperson for Casino Morongo wrote in a statement to News Channel 3:

"The safety and well-being of our guests and team members are always our top priorities, and more than two dozen new precautions were enacted as part of our reopening to ensure high levels of safety and cleanliness. Any assertions to the contrary are false. The new safety measures include:

• Temperature checks with touchless devices on all guests and team members.
• Everyone is required to wear a face mask.
• As stated when we reopened, Plexiglass shields were installed between many slot machines.
• More than half of our 4,000 slots were either turned off or disabled in a locked status so that they could not be operated by guests.
• Seating was reduced by 50 percent at slots and table games.
• To help manage capacity, the number of guests allowed entry was limited, which resulted in lines at the doors when entries were suspended.
• When casino staff became aware of guests who were not following social distancing measures, those guests were contacted and reminded of the rules.
• Messages encouraging social distancing and other safety tips were displayed continuously on TV monitors throughout the casino and announced every 20 minutes on the casino’s public address system.

Morongo spent countless hours developing safety precautions for our reopening that meet or exceed public health guidelines and best practices adopted by the gaming industry in response to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Last week Sandra Burdette, a blackjack dealer at Agua Caliente's Rancho Mirage casino spoke to News Channel 3 with similar claims.

"The first seat on a blackjack game isn’t even two feet –you’re face to face," Burdette said.

And while some employees were glad to return to work, some said the risk isn't worth the reward.

"It’s sad to see that I had to throw this job away, but I have underlying health issues, my family does," said the former Casino Morongo employee. "No job or no amount of money is worth my life or my family’s life."

You can reach Jake on Twitter, Facebook or email him at jake.ingrassia@kesq.com.