Is The Island Casino In Escanaba Michigan Open
- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
15 minutes W of Escanaba on US-2 & 41. Open 24 hours/365 days. The hotel with two towers offers 314 rooms, including handicapped, non-smoking and luxury suites; 6 dining options; 1,200 slots, Vegas-style gaming tables and bingo; Island Showroom presents headline entertainment twice monthly; Club Four One offers free weekly live musical entertainment and comedians on Sundays; 42-space RV Park. Gold City Casino Online. Casinos Card Playing Rooms. Tony Mancilla, General Manager for the Island Resort and Casino, reportedly told WJMN-TV that now is the right time to re-open his property as it has partnered with the National Indian Gaming Commission and regulators in Nevada to formulate a range of anti-coronavirus measures to safeguard employees and customers. Island Resort and Casino provides live entertainment in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Featuring headline entertainment, concerts, comedy and golf outings. Promotions Show Tickets: 1.
HARRIS, Mich. — Ten days after it was originally planned, the Island Resort and Casino reopened its doors for business on Saturday, May 16.
The facility had been closed since March 21,when it voluntarily shuttered its doors due to concerns for the health and safety of its team members and customers related to COVID-19.
The Island Resort and Casino is located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It is owned and operated by the Hannahville Indian Community, a federally recognized Potawatomi tribe.
The 10-day delay in reopening was due to a letter the tribe received from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office and the Menominee County Prosecutor Jeffrey T. Rogg. In the letter, Nessel and Rogg told the tribe, citing Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order, it should limit the resort and casino’s operations; otherwise, the tribe’s enrolled members living off reservation and customers could be cited and subject to civil and criminal penalties.
After the letter, representatives from the State of Michigan had discussions and a conference call with tribal leaders, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, MDHHS Chief Medical Executive Khaldun and other State offices, a spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General’s office told Native News Online last week.
Following those discussions, the Hannahville Tribal Council decided to move ahead with reopening.
“The Tribal Council made their decision to open based on data from the Michigan Departments of Health, the rate of infection in the three-county area surrounding the Casino and the full range of precautions to be implemented for the safe operations of the gaming facility,” Hannahville Indian Community Tribal Chairperson Kenneth Meshigaud told Native News Online on Tuesday.
Photographs courtesy of the Hannahville Indian Community.
When asked about the reopening of the Island Resort today, a spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General’s office told Native News Online that they had no comment at this time.
Meshigaud pointed out that the resort and casino have taken precautionary steps to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. The most notable change is the requirement for all employees and guests to wear masks on the gaming floor.
Other notable changes are: Smoking is not permitted in any area of the facility at this time; plexiglass shields are in place; hand sanitizer stations have been increased; and social distancing is encouraged.
Currently, only slot machines are open with limited bingo. Social distancing guidelines are in place at the hotel and both of the resort’s golf courses. Casino bars are open and limited food service is available at this time. The pool remains closed, as is the spa and the convention center. Tour busses are not scheduled at this time.
The safety guidelines instituted by tribal officials is posted on the Island Resort and Casino website.
The reopening happened on May 16, the date that Gov. Gretchen had planned to remove the stay-at-home order. However, in the interim, the governor extended her order to May 28. Then yesterday, she announced a phase-in reopening the state for business by zones. The Island Resort and Casino is in one of the zones the governor has set to reopen on this Friday, May 22.
“The Hannahville Indian Community, along with the casino management team and with the help of the Hannahville Health Clinic, will monitor the on-going operations. We will make adjustments as necessary to ensure the safety of our employees, the citizens of our community and our customers. Most important, we encourage our customers who do choose to visit to abide by these new safety guidelines as we tread these new challenging times together,” Meshigaud added.
All other tribal casinos in Michigan remain closed. Each tribe is developing their own plan for reopening.
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CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH TONY MANCILLA
https://media.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/1906/files/2020/05/casino.mp3The Island Resort and Casino is ready to re-open its doors.
Is The Island Casino In Escanaba Michigan Open Now
Casino General Manager Tony Mancilla announced on Friday that they’ll start to re-open on Wednesday, May 6 at 8:00 am Eastern Time.
“We’ve been open continuously since December 20th, 1985,” Mancilla told the Radio Results Network Friday morning. “The past six weeks have been long. We’ve been trying to keep the building maintained, working on the equipment. But it’s time to re-open.”
The governor extended her orders to keep most businesses closed until May 28, including casinos. But those are state-regulated casinos, and Mancilla says it does not apply to his, which is owned by the Hannahville Indian Community. He says they closed on March 21st voluntarily, not because the governor told them to.
Island Resort Casino Escanaba Michigan
“We use her orders as guidelines,” Mancilla said. “We’re going to be re-opening on May 6th, and May 8th we’re going to be opening up our golf courses, and on May 13th, we’ll open up our hotel. There’s a lot of guidance out there from the state on keeping things clean and operating as a restaurant, for example. We’ve been taking those into consideration, but the brass tacks is she doesn’t have jurisdiction over Indian Country. We make our own decision.”
Mancilla says they are counting on their customers to be smart when it comes to social distancing guidelines.
“Once people are on the floor, it’s their own responsibility,” Mancilla said. “If they’re in the bar, and they want to stand next to somebody, we’re not going to make them stand apart. They probably came in the same car, or their best friend’s, you don’t know, maybe they’re married. So, they’re going to have to be responsible for themselves. It’s like when you get on a bus, and there’s an empty seat, what’s the first thing you do? You say ‘can I sit in this seat’? It’s just proper manners. The people who are here are going to want to be here.”
Mancillia says they are taking some precautions to help keep people safe, including thorough cleaning of the facility.
“We’ll be taking their temperature at the door,” he said. “We’ll post some guidelines on our web site and let them know what we’re doing for our employees. We’ll have the plexiglass guards. We’ll offer customers a mask, if they want one. We’ll have the lines that distance people out. And once you’re on the slot floor, we’ve taken chairs and spaced them out.”
He says the food service will be served in a way where you can sit down and eat, you just won’t have silverware and porcelain plates. You’ll get to-go containers. and you can sit down and eat there.
As for the golf courses, Mancilla says tee times will be spread out every 15 minutes rather than every ten minutes, and the cups will be set up so you don’t have to reach in to get the ball. Every group of carts will have their own rakes.
“If a customer doesn’t want to sit with a customer in a cart, then they can opt to have their own cart,” Mancilla said. “Once again, most people coming for a golf trip are riding in the car together to get here. They’re going to get into the cart together, they’re going to ride around and that’s fine.”
Management of the casino has worked with the Nevada and National Indian Gaming Commission standards and procedures to safeguard its customers and employees. The Casino was closed on March 21, 2020 and will have been closed for seven weeks. The reopening of the Island Resort will take place in the following phases:
- Slot floor, Bingo, and Food and Beverage on May 6.
- Golf Courses on May 8.
- Hotel on May 13.
- Spa, Convention Center, Table Games, and the Showroom to be determined at a later date.
Mancilla says hat “all industry precautions are being taken at this time. The facility will be cleaned and sanitized on a continual basis. Food and beverage will be served in to-go containers and customers will be offered their own golf cart if requested. Customers and employees will be temperature checked at the facility doors.”
“Per CDC guidelines any person with temperature over 100 degrees will not be permitted in the facility. There will be hand sanitizers throughout the Casino and masks upon request.”
The Island Resort Management is taking all precautions for its employees and asks that the customers review the guidelines on the website prior to coming next week. We ask the customers to be mindful of others while they enjoy their experience at the Island Resort. (islandresortandcasino.com)