California’s Players Casino completes relocation

The Players Club gaming venue has reopened after over a year.

US.- Players Casino has temporarily relocated to the Derby Club at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. The venue has now reopened in the new location after shutting in December 2020.

Ventura City Council voted 6-0 in favour of the casino’s relocation in November. That was after the casino filed for bankruptcy and shut in December 2020 after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ventura lost $2m in cardroom tax from the closure, according to the city’s budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year.

Players Casino had operated for decades at its former site on Auto Center Drive. The temporary move is designed to get the casino up and running again. It will move again if the efforts are successful. City and casino officials agreed to a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT agreement, as part of the compromise. 

In a new payment agreement until 2025, instead of the previous arrangement of taxing the casino 15 per cent on its operations, the city will tax the business 10 per cent on operations for the first two years to assist with relocation costs. Under this new agreement, the city is estimated to receive approximately $1.3m per year. Prior to closure, the city was receiving approximately $2m in taxes from the casino.

City attorney Gregory Diaz said: “The intent is to have the casino return to a regular business location in the city.”

The venue includes a cardroom with 22 tables upstairs and food and drink offerings downstairs. Marina Martinez, the cardroom’s assistant GM, said Covid-19 precautions will likely mean food and beverages cannot enter the casino.

Martinez said: “If we have customers playing and they’re eating and drinking at the tables, that means their masks are down. Our priority is health and safety for not just our staff but our patrons, most importantly.”

See also: Ventura council approves Players Casino relocation