But despite Newsom permitting businesses to return to normalcy, casinos are still requiring staff to wear face coverings. In the six Los Angeles poker rooms, mask-wearing is still far more prevalent than in Las Vegas, where only a tiny fraction of poker players, dealers, and casino patrons are still masked up.
Masks are no longer required anywhere in the state for those who are fully vaccinated, but individual businesses are allowed to set their own rules. On June 15, California Governor Gavin Newsom finally gave businesses in the Golden State permission to fully reopen. Commerce Casino still has a mix of bare tables and tables with plexiglass dividers. But some of the player perks, such as tableside cocktail service, haven’t yet returned. Los Angeles poker rooms are now operating at maximum capacity for the first time since COVID-19.
