Casino ventura

Longtime customers of Ventura's Players Casino will see some significant changes when they visit its new temporary location.

The casino is set to reopen at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Ventura County Fairgrounds' Derby Club, a more spacious venue but with limited food and beverage service offsite.

"It's exciting for us," Patrick Berry, the casino's general manager, said Monday. "There's really a wow factor especially since the work's all done now. Players we know are excited to come back."

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Berry and Marina Martinez, the casino's assistant general manager, discussed the features at the new venue Monday, surrounded by tables set for Texas Hold 'Em, three-card poker, baccaret and blackjack.

The casino, for ages 21 and older, will be upstairs from the Derby Room and open 24/7. Patrons can buy chicken wings, burgers, sandwiches alcohol and soft drinks in the Derby Room but must consume them downstairs. 

Martinez said the casino likely won't be able to serve inside the casino for some time because of COVID precautions.

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

There will be 22 tables for card games open for patrons.

Players Casino had operated for decades at its former site on Auto Center Drive, serving a loyal clientele that ranged in age from 21 to more than 90 years old, Berry said.

"It's an institution in this town," he said.

In November, Players signed a two-year lease on the fairgrounds location, Berry said. The Ventura City Council approved the temporary move.

In December , the casino said it suspended operations largely due to the pandemic. On April 6, the casino closed and filed for bankruptcy. The owner also terminated its lease on auto row.  

Ventura lost $2 million in cardroom tax from the closure, according to the city's budget for the fiscal year.

City officials said they hoped the relocation would recoup some revenue.

They said a challenge with the fairgrounds location is that its state-owned property. meaning the city can't tax the casino 15% of its revenues as it had at the previous location. As part of a compromise, city and casino officials agreed to a payment in lieu of taxes.

Under the agreement, which runs through , the city will take 10% rather than 15% of the casino's operational revenue, a concession to Players for their yet-unknown costs of the relocation. The city also agreed to defer the extra 5% until

The city expects to receive about $ million a year under the deal.

Andy Hegland, acting city attorney, said after the agreement ends in , the casino will not be able to operate without the city's approval.

Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at [email protected], or @JournoWes.