Seven Seas Casino Chula Vista
Souza, the owner of the Seven Mile Casino, has been a fixture in local civic and political circles for many years. His family has run a casino in Chula Vista for more than 70 years. Prior to opening the new location on Bay Boulevard this past July, the casino operated as the Village Club Card Room on Broadway since the 1950s. Seven Mile Casino is a gaming Casino we designed located in Chula Vista, Ca. The project consists of two large gaming rooms, an interior restaurant and an exterior bar/lounge patio area. The restaurant space looks out over the casino and consists of booth and table seating with a large indoor/ outdoor bar. The exterior bar/loungeRead more.
Although in the middle of a pandemic, the Seven Mile Casino reopened its doors to guests, but not inside the traditional casino that was started five years ago.
'We were able to take the very best of what we had indoors and move it outdoors,” said Seven Mile Casino Spokesperson Brad Samuel.
Employees moved the 25 card tables outside the Seven Mile Casino building on Bay Boulevard in Chula Vista to underneath a 5,500 square-foot tent.
'We've got dividers set up. We've got our masks. Every single dealer is wearing a mask,” Samuel said.
On its opening day, Samuel said the goal is to keep gaming alive without risking your health.
'We have our handwashing stations and temperature checks before you come in. We want to make it safe and fun,” Samuel said.
It's putting over 250 employees back to work who said they are sanitizing poker chips and swapping out cards for new decks throughout the day. The card games available are California Blackjack, poker, Pai gow and baccarat.
Bringing in a light crowd, the casino guests News 8 spoke to did not want to be shown on camera, but several said they would come back and not just to win big, but to enjoy tasty tacos from a food truck parked on site.
'That's what we're bringing in every single day - different food, different trucks,” Samuel said.
Security cameras are at each Blackjack table to not only monitor against cheating or theft, but also to contact trace.
Samuel said if someone by chance was to come in and later say 'hey, I wasn't feeling well, and I was at Seven Mile,' they'd be able to trace that person's activity.
The large tent set-up actually yields more space than inside the existing Seven Mile casino building.
'This is certainly not a standard tent. The company that does tents for the Oscars, they came down they worked through this with us to get it set up safely,” Samuel said.
Samuel said the casino has huge air conditioning units “pumping in clean, fresh, cool air into the tent’ in order to keep guests cool while gambling outdoors.
Employees are stacking up their hopes that people will shuffle in and give outdoor gaming a try.
'The ability to have a fun and safe diversion is something we feel good about,” Samuel said.
Seven Mile Casino is open 24 hours each day with food service inside a smoke-free environment.
The Seven Mile Casino in Chula Vista, California. Photo from Facebook
Federal authorities raided two non-Indian card clubs in southern California and charged 25 people with illegal gambling and money laundering. The U.S. Attorney's Office said the Village Club Card Room, also known as the Seven Mile Casino, and the Palomar Card Room operated as fronts for an illegal sports bookmaking operation and were used to launder an estimated $10 million. Some of the defendants also operated illegal gambling operations in rented mansions, according to the indictment. “This indictment describes a massive operation that laundered millions of dollars in illicit proceeds,” U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said in a press release. “We are committed to putting an end to any activity that enables criminals to hide illicit proceeds.” The FBI seized more than $600,000 during the raids. Some 21 people were arrested in various locations -- including an employee of the casino owned by the Barona Band of Mission Indians, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. “The FBI should be protecting us from terrorists, not from someone hoping to make an inside straight,” Craig Kolk's attorney told the paper. Non-Indian card clubs are legal in California. The Seven Mile Casino denied any wrongdoing and said it would work with the state to address any issues. 'Seven Mile Casino, owned and operated by Harvey Souza and his family, have worked tirelessly for the past 70 years to build upon their great-grandfather’s legacy and comply with the evolving regulations regarding card rooms across the state,' the card club said on Facebook. 'As a family and as a business, they are very much invested in the community of Chula Vista and the industry. We look forward to working with the California Bureau of Gambling Control to resolve all issues.' Get the Story:Seven Seas Casino Chula Vista Casino
California card clubs raided in massive gambling probe (AP 12/9)Seven Seas Casino Chula Vista Rv Park
FBI Raids San Diego-Area Casinos (NBC 12/9)
FBI raids 2 local card rooms tied to illegal gambling (KUSI 12/9)