We're in this together.

UPDATE: 06/05/2020

We pray that you and your family are safe and well. As most of you are aware, the Chitimacha Tribal Council has reopened Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel effective May 19, 2020, at 10 a.m. The reopening safety plan discussed in our previous correspondence is currently in place and can be found on the COVID-19 section of CypressBayou.com. There are many instances of how the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has affected our business. As such, we have implemented a phased reopening where gaming and restaurant offerings are at a reduced capacity due to the continuation of social distancing requirements. We are happy to learn that Governor John Bel Edwards provided authorization for more local businesses to begin reopening under the state of Louisiana’s Phase 2 guidelines; however, we expect very few changes for our business.

Consequently, we want to share a business update as we continue the reopening process of Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel:

• • Phased reopening: The facility is open to the public with reduced capacity and limited operating hours. The temporary operating hours of the casino are Sunday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Mabel’s Kitchen is open daily from 11 a.m. to midnight serving a limited menu with a few guest favorites from Cafe Delphine. You may recall that Cafe Delphine was opened when the property officially opened, but current business volumes do not support its operations. As such, Cafe Delphine was closed temporarily until business volumes increase. Additionally, we are happy to report that the hotel will open to guests on Friday, June 19, 2020, with Loco Mexican Grill & Cantina to follow. We anticipate calling more of our team members back to work in the coming weeks. 

• • Physical distancing and capacity: Under Phase 2 of the “Opening Up America Again” plan, the capacity of the gaming floor and the facility has increased to 75% and 50%, respectively; however, under the current social distancing requirements, we are only able to open a few more slot machines and table games for play. We anticipate that we will begin making changes to the slot floor soon to increase our gaming capacity. As business levels continue to increase and restrictions are relaxed, we will decide when and how to open additional table games.

• • Marketing: We have enthusiastically restarted some of our marketing programs such as direct mail, advertising, and promotions. We are now in the second week of direct mail offers and they have been well received by our guests. We have also steadily increased guest visitation week over week. This is great news to share considering that we are still amid a worldwide pandemic. We have started advertising our reopening through television, internet, and email marketing efforts. We will also begin promotions that were previously postponed in March 2020 on June 23, 2020. We are cautious in our marketing efforts as to not overwhelm our business with larger than normal crowds considering that we have limited amenities and capacity. 
  
  
• • Cleanliness and sanitation: We have worked hard to assure our guests of their safety through our rigorous cleaning and sanitation procedures and the results speak for themselves. Quite simply, our guests are gaining more confidence in returning to our facility amid the COVID-19 outbreak. We have continued the increased cleaning and sanitation schedules with additional measures in high-traffic areas.

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UPDATE: 05/08/2020

Like many of you, we are responding as quickly as possible to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The Chitimacha Tribal Council is considering reopening Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel. We have a created a formal reopening plan; however, the plan must be approved by the Chitimacha Gaming Commission, the National Indian Gaming Commission, and Louisiana State Police. As of now, we do not have an approved opening date. While this is great news to share, we anticipate that there may be changes made to the reopening plan due to the “Stay-at-Home” order issued by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

To that end, we want to share an update about our plans and considerations as we prepare for the reopening of Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel. We are currently exploring:

• • Phased reopening: We anticipate opening the facility with limited gaming activity and restaurant capacity due to social distancing requirements. We do not initially plan to open the hotel nor hold bingo sessions. We will call approximately 267 team members to help reopen the property after our opening plans are approved. We intend to resume all normal business operations as restrictions are eased and it is safe to do so at which time, we hope that all team members will be back at work.

• • Physical distancing and capacity: As you can imagine, managing guest density in queues, restaurants, bars, gaming floors, and other areas throughout the property will be a challenge. We are implementing social distancing guidelines issued by the CDC and appropriate government agencies. This includes measures such as disabling slot machines, limiting seats on table games, limited seating capacity in our restaurants, and marking areas where queues usually form with lines spaced at least six feet apart.

• • Cleanliness and sanitation: The property has been properly cleaned and sanitized since the initial closing in March. We plan to continue the increased cleaning and sanitation schedules into the future with additional measures in high-traffic areas. We have installed additional hand sanitizing stations around the gaming floor as well as in back-of-house operations.

• • Screening and prevention support: All guests and team members who enter the facility are required to submit to a non-contact temperature check. Guests or team members displaying a temperature over 100.0°For displaying a cough, shortness of breath or other known symptoms of COVID-19 will be denied entry to the property and advised to seek medical attention. Guests and team members will also be provided with disposable masks, gloves, and other personal protective equipment (PPE) where appropriate.

• • Training: All employees will receive training on COVID-19 safety and sanitation protocols with more comprehensive training for our teams with frequent guest contact including Housekeeping, Food & Beverage, Slots, Table Games, Cage, Marketing, and Security.

These are just a few examples of the many areas that we have developed plans for. We know that the future of our processes will look much different as guidelines evolve and are adopted. As always, the health and safety of our employees and guests is our number one priority. We are closely monitoring all available information including updated recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, State, and Tribal health authorities.

We will share more information as we continue our plans for reopening. We pray that you and your family are safe and well during this time.

If you have questions, please contact us at hrfrontoffice@cypressbayou.com or call 1-800-284-4386 extension 3289 and we will do our best to address your concerns.

Stay Safe & Healthy. Be Fun & Friendly.

 

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Like many of you, we are responding as quickly as possible to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. We are closely monitoring all available information including updated recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, State, and Tribal health authorities. We will remain closed for the foreseeable future until we receive recommendations from local health officials that it is safe to reopen.

Please know we are doing all we can to navigate this unprecedented circumstance. Remain vigilant and follow the recommendations of our health and government officials so we can each do our part to help the recovery process. We know these are difficult times, but we are in this together. Our hearts and prayers are with all of you and we deeply appreciate your loyalty and patience during this time.

We pray for a speedy recovery to all those impacted by this virus.

We know that many of you have very similar questions regarding our current circumstances, so we have put together a list of frequently asked questions. We will continue to add to them as more information becomes available. 

If you have questions, please contact us at hrfrontoffice@cypressbayou.com or call 1-800-284-4386 extension 3289 and we will do our best to address your concerns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can the Casino help with unemployment?

• • A: Unfortunately, we cannot help employees contact any state agencies at this time. We can, however, help you answer questions, like your hourly rate or how many hours you work.We encourage you to be patient and try calling 1-866-783-5567 or go to www.laworks.net/hire.There is a new video posted that may help with navigating their website.Please follow the directions given to you by unemployment and be sure to recertify weekly until we are able to return to work.

Q: Do I have to pay all of my insurance deductions?

• • A: No, you do not HAVE to, but we encourage everyone to keep up with their payments because whatever you do not pay now, will be deducted later when we return to work and could leave you with little to no pay. Additionally, voluntary benefits such as AFLAC, short-term or long-term disability, and additional life insurance may be dropped for non-payment if you do not make payments for more than 30 days. 

Q: How do I figure out what deductions I owe?

• • A: If you look at your recent check stubs, you will see a deductions section, total all the deductions, excluding 401(k) deferral and that is the amount you owe.

Q: Can I use PTO?

• • A: Yes, you can use any PTO that you have available to you and your PTO will not count against you for Unemployment because it is not “vacation”, so do not report it as such. You may also use just enough PTO to cover the payment of your benefits.In order to put in any PTO requests, call Human Resources each pay period to make PTO requests at 337-924-3289 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. If you are not able to reach us, please call back, as we are currently limited on staff.

Q: When should I make insurance payments?

• • A: Payments are due every 2 weeks, in coordination with our pay dates.The upcoming pay dates are April 20^th and May 4^th.

Q: How do I make the payments?

• • A: Payments must be made to Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel in the form of a check or money order only and can be mailed to P.O. Box 519 Charenton, LA 70523. If you cannot mail your payments for any reason, you can call Human Resources to arrange a payment drop-off time.