An employee walks out of the 500 Club card room in Clovis after it was closed earlier this month by state gaming officials. Photo by David Castellon
Written by
More than two weeks after state gaming officials shut down Clovis’ 500 Club, the popular card room was back in business this morning.
No formal announcement was made of the reopening at 8 a.m. beyond a posting about it late Wednesday night on the club’s Facebook page.
Agents with the California Attorney General Office’s Bureau of Gambling Control showed up at the club the afternoon of Aug. 16 with an emergency shut-down order amid claims that the business lacked proof it had sufficient funds to pay out the values of all its casino chips not yet cashed in or that it had a sufficient insurance bond to cover those costs.
General Manager Dusten Perry denied the accusation hours after the closure and said the casino’s lawyers would provide proof that the state agency was wrong.
Calls to Perry in recent days weren’t returned, and staff at the casino said Thursday morning that he and the management were unavailable to comment.
In addition, officials at the Attorney General’s Office couldn’t be reached immediately for comment on the lifting of the closure order.
As such, it wasn’t clear if state officials were in error in their reasons for closing the card room or if the business had to meet a series of demands spelled out by the Bureau of Gambling and Control to reopen, which included hiring a new casino manager not tied to the current owner.