Pilant’s attorney, Anthony Pantoni, did not respond to phone calls or emails.Ī nearly 23-year employee of Caesars Entertainment, Pilant had held positions with the company in other states before coming to Harrah’s Resort Southern California in 2011. He declined to comment when reached by inewsource. Pilant’s suit argues he was “constructively terminated” and under his contract is eligible for severance equal to a year’s worth of his salary, a figure that was not included in court documents. He called it “a matter of ‘right and wrong’ and what Caesars was doing was wrong.” His last day at work was May 21, a day before Harrah’s reopened the casino’s doors. Despite Pilant’s repeated concerns to management about health and safety risks, he said the company gave him an “illegal and dangerous” directive to lead the reopening. In his lawsuit, Pilant claims he was repeatedly assured that Newsom and the county were “on board” with reopening.

Zoë Meyers A sign for Harrah's Resort Southern California advertises for the casino along Valley Center Road, Sept. Like the other casinos, Harrah’s reopening plan includes requirements for face coverings, social distancing and increased sanitation. When they reopened after a roughly two-month closure, many other businesses in the county remained closed. Tribal casinos are on sovereign land, meaning they don’t fall under the jurisdiction of state or local health officials. The tribe contracts with Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment, the largest gaming company in the U.S. It uses the resort’s revenue to fund tribal government services for its more than 500 members and 5,000-acre reservation. The Rincon Band of the Luiseño Indians owns the Valley Center casino. The county has refused to name specific businesses where outbreaks have occurred, including casinos. She noted that even though those who tested positive visited a casino during their potential exposure period, it doesn’t mean they contracted the coronavirus there.

The cases are tied to seven of the county’s nine tribal casinos and involve 76 employees and 141 guests, county spokesperson Sarah Sweeney said.

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