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A crowded indoor poker room at Graton Resort and Casino in Rohnert Park in late December 2020. Casinos on tribal lands in California are not required to adhere to statewide COVID-19 orders.
(Courtesy of Graton Casino and Resort employee)
As California continues to grapple with a worsening winter surge of COVID-19 cases, some businesses remain able to operate outside the purview of state shutdown orders aimed to protect public health during the pandemic. Tribal resorts and casinos in California operate under federal law on federally protected sovereign land known as rancherias – so they re not required to comply with orders issued by Gov. Newsom or county officials.