Lone Butte Casino Phoenix Arizona

Players walk into Gila River Casino's Lone Butte location after waiting in line due to max capacity on the packed reopening day in Chandler, Ariz., on Friday, May 15, 2020. (Elizabeth Page Brumley.

• The Gila River Indian Community operates Lone Butte and Wild Horse Pass casinos near Chandler and Vee Quiva casino near Laveen. Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each.
• At Emerald Tier, THE Card® by Gila River Casinos gives you access to more exclusive perks and privileges that can be enjoyed at Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino, Vee Quiva Hotel & Casino, Lone Butte Casino, plus participating partners.

A month ago, Robert Washington returned to his job as a security guard at Lone Butte Casino for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Last week, Washington, 68, of Chandler, died in a hospital intensive care unit from complications related to COVID-19, according to his daughter.

Gila River Hotels & Casinos shuttered all three of its casinos for two weeks beginning at 2 a.m. Thursday as it monitors whether the number of COVID-19 cases in Arizona subsides.

Company officials declined The Arizona Republic's repeated requests to confirm the number of employees who have tested positive for COVID-19, saying that they will not disclose the information to 'protect the privacy' of workers.

The Gila River Indian Community operates Lone Butte and Wild Horse Pass casinos near Chandler and Vee Quiva casino near Laveen.

This is the second closure for the casinos. Like other tribal casinos across Arizona, Gila River's three casinos shut down because of COVID-19 in mid-March. The Gila River casinos initially reopened May 15, the same day Gov. Doug Ducey lifted Arizona’s stay-at-home order.

Casino and tribal leaders had promised to institute new safety measures when they reopened in May, including encouraging patrons to wear masks.

Gila River officials told The Republic that it strengthened its policy last week to mandate all patrons wear masks.

Now, during the two-week closure, casino officials say they will 'reassess its current safety standards.'

For more stories that matter: Click here to subscribe to azcentral.com.

Robert Washington's daughter, Lina Washington of Sacramento, is speaking out to implore customers, employees and elected officials to take the virus seriously.

She feels the state should have provided more guidance to businesses reopening to keep employees like her father safe.

'Someone needs to be held accountable for that because it’s not just my dad; it’s going to be more people and the numbers are going up,' she said.

'An incredible man'

Before Robert Washington was a security guard at Lone Butte Casino, he ran a shoeshine stand and was a devoted father.

“He was the No. 1 man in my life, always,” Lina Washington said. “He picked me up from school and took me to dance class. He drove my car out here to Sacramento, 11 hours from Phoenix. (He) taught me different positions in basketball.”

Her father also took her to her first sporting event. Now, Lina Washington works as a sports reporter, and said she partially attributes to him her success as a Black woman in a field dominated by white men.

“My dream was to get back home so that my dad could see me on television, talking about the sports and the teams that he put me on when I was five years old,” she said.

Lina Washington said she knows her father would want her to be strong in the aftermath of his death. Right now, she said she is trying to “make this pain and rage into some sort of call to action.”

“I don’t think he would appreciate me putting his information and his face all over the news but for me, this was a 100% preventable,” she said. “This is not going to be the only case like this and this is not the only time that someone is going to lose their father because of some negligent people who don’t honor the fact that this pandemic is very real.”

‘It was awful’

The day after Robert Washington returned to work, he called his daughter, who had been begging him since March to stay home.

“The day after reopening, he was like, ‘Lina, it was awful, it was horrible. The line was around the corner. ... Eighty percent of the people weren’t wearing masks,’” Lina Washington said.

Unlike some other casinos in the Phoenix area, Gila River Hotels & Casinos were only requiring employees to wear personal protective equipment. Customers were encouraged, but not mandated, to wear masks. Lina Washington believes this left her father, who was diabetic and had recently beaten prostate cancer, exposed.

She said her father originally was told he could work outside with a golf cart to patrol the casino and hotel grounds. Instead, she said he ended up staffing the security desk, interacting with everyone entering and exiting the casino.

Lina Washington said her father believed he needed to go back to work to ensure he had medical and life insurance.

Lone Butte Casino Phoenix Arizona

“Arizona’s lackadaisical approach to it is the reason that my father’s dead,” she said. “He could be alive today if he didn’t feel obligated to go back to work so he could get his medical benefits and life insurance as a 68-year-old diabetic.”

Updating procedures

Earlier in the week, on June 16, Gila River's Chief Security and Surveillance Officer Doug Simpson had issued a statement, saying: “The health and safety of our employees and guests is our main priority which is why we implemented extensive safety measures across our three properties upon reopening.'

He ticked off a list of measures that were implemented:

• New casino floor layout to ensure physical distancing.
• Operating casinos at 50% capacity.
• Increased cleaning and sanitization on high touch point areas.
• Providing employees with personal protective equipment.
• Testing employees every two weeks.

Last week, Gila River officials strengthened its measures to make masks mandatory for guests.

But with the state's rise in cases of the virus, the decision was made to again close. The decision came after evaluating its safety plan with the Gila River Indian Community Council and receiving 'feedback from its community and team members.'

In a statement, Gov. Stephen Lewis said the temporary shutdown will help protect casino employees and customers, as well as those who live in the Gila River community.

“Like our sister tribes and businesses all over Arizona, we have tried to do what is best for all, while processing new information and new guidelines about the pandemic with little in the way of definitive guidance,' he said.

As of Friday, the Gila River Indian Reservation reported 72 positive COVID-19 tests within the community, according to a video statement by Lewis posted June 12. Those cases represent the number of COVID-19 positive residents on the reservation.

While some employees at Gila River Hotels & Casinos live on tribal land, others, such as Robert Washington, are not Native American and are not factored into the reservation’s reported COVID-19 numbers.

Although casino employees had been expected to report to work since mid-May, Lewis said in the video statement that tribal government employees can expect to stay home until July 6.

All casino employees will continue to be paid in full throughout the closure and will receive full medical benefits, according to Gila River's statement.

Hoping her father's death spurs change

Lina Washington on Tuesday said she has not heard from the casino, outside of statements managers have given to reporters, and she is concerned about whether employees who interacted with him have been notified of his illness and death.

“The fact they were unaware that he died — that leads me to believe that the employees didn’t even know he was sick,” she said. “He’s been working there for how long and you’re not telling people? You know he tested positive because you’re the people who tested him and told him not to come to work.”

As she faces laying her father to rest on Father’s Day, Lina Washington said she hopes her father’s story creates change.

“For this disease and the negligence of his employer to be his ultimate demise isn’t right,” she said. “He didn’t deserve it. It’s not fair, and as his daughter, I’m carrying on his legacy to make things right and ensure there’s nobody else who has to experience this type of pain.”

Have a question or tip? Reach the reporter Sasha Hupka at Alexandra.Hupka@gannett.com or on Twitter: @SashaHupka.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

Remembering COVID-19 victims

Lone Butte Casino Phoenix Arizona Resorts

Paying tribute to Arizonans lost to the pandemic

Remembered

'Paying tribute to Arizona victims of COVID-19

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Lone Butte Casino security guard dies of COVID-19, family says