Casino closure extended

Plummer – The Coeur d’Alene Tribal Council has decided to delay the re-opening of the casino until further notice.

“The Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Casino are concerned for the health and safety of our community. We are trying to do our part to stop the spread of the coronavirus. We closed the casino well before the state of Idaho acted and by choosing not to re-open on April 3, we are continuing to act out of an abundance of caution to keep our community healthy,” said Ernie Stensgar, Chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.

The Coeur d’Alene Casino provides jobs to nearly 1,000 people across the region. Beyond that, revenues from the casino provide funding for critical services on the reservation such as law enforcement, social services, public works and tribal government operations.

“Our employees are like family to us and during this difficult time, we’ve been fortunate to be able to continue to pay our employees their wages and benefits thus far, despite the closure,” said Coeur d’Alene Casino Chief Executive Officer Laura Stensgar.

The Tribe took an early proactive measure on March 18 to close offices to non-essential employees with all others working remotely. The Tribe also instituted a reservation-wide stay-home order to further protect community members from the spread of the virus.

The Coeur d’Alene Casino closed on March 20 and was scheduled to reopen on Friday, April 3. This action extends that period until further notice. Essential employees will continue cleaning, sanitizing, and preparing the property for re-opening when it is safe to do so.