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The Bay Area’s first outdoor casino opened Friday in San Bruno, prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It doesn’t look like any time soon that we’re going to be able to go back indoors, so we decided to build a tent and go outdoors,” said Vince DeFriese, Artichoke Joe’s Casino president.
DeFriese showed off the nearly 13,000 square-foot open-sided tent with 32 card tables and a dining area.
“So, we call it our open-air casino, and with that we brought basically our gaming operations out here into this tent,” DeFriese told KCBS Radio. “And we are recalling almost all of our employees, so bringing 400-plus people back to work.”
The tent can host up to 250 players for California blackjack, pai gow, baccarat and three card poker.
“We are going to bring some poker back - Texas hold ‘em, which a lot of our customers miss - but we’re still trying to figure out a way to properly social distance,” DeFriese said. “It’s a challenge with that game.”
One patron, Jack, couldn't wait to get inside and said he likes to play pai gow and double hand.
DeFriese said the cards and chips will be sanitized regularly.