California Card Clubs have devised creative outdoor card rooms because the ban on non-essential indoor business operations continues in many counties. The ban was imposed in March 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic and has been extended in many areas by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
19 counties were declared to be under restrictions in second round of closures and the clubs came up with creative ‘open-air’ games to make the gatherings more resourceful.
The San Mateo county of California state on September 4, 2020 re-opened its card-room in the Bay Area for business. Due to restrictions on indoor operations, it chose to re-open its business under a large tent of 13-000 square foot. The Artichoke Joe Casino of the said county placed 32 card-tables in the open side of the canopy and included dining area in the tent.
Artichoke Joe’s Casino President, Vince DeFriese stated that, “We call it our open-air casino. We brought our gaming operations out into this tent”, reported Casino.org.
The President also expressed intentions to bring back Poker game after devising ways of ensuring proper social distancing in the game. He called it to be a challenge of the game.
Casino.org also reported that Friese explained the available games for customers such as Blackjack, Pai Gow, Three-Card Poker and Baccarat. The games are available for playing 24 hours a day and that the food is available between 7 a.m. to 3 a.m.
Dating back to 1916, Artichoke Joe’s is one of the state’s oldest and largest card-rooms. In 2017, the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network imposed an $8 million fine on the casino for failing to combat money laundering, reported Casino.org.
There have been many casinos before Artichoke Joe’s that began operations outdoor.