Plexiglass dividers provide protection at gaming tables at the Last Frontier cardroom in La Center
La Center’s two existing cardrooms will have a chance to catch their proverbial breath as the city’s council OKed another deferral of taxes over the summer to help them build back their business in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During its April 14 meeting, La Center City Council voted unanimously to defer taxes owed by its two cardrooms from March through August, with payments on those taxes starting in September and paid in full by the end of the year. The deferral was the second such granted by the city. The city council previously approved a similar deferral for taxes in February and March of 2020, which according to council documents “has been fully performed and the deferred taxes paid in full.”
La Center Mayor Greg Thornton said the deferral was an opportunity for the cardrooms to “get their feet back under them” as they recover from being shuttered for most of the past year. Councilor Randy Williams said the deferral was a cash flow issue, saying the city and the cardrooms were “business partners.”
“Sometimes you have to flex and I don’t think it’s going to cost us anything here,” Williams said.
La Center currently has two cardrooms — the Last Frontier and the Palace. Last Frontier General Manager Chris Swindell said other than the tax deferral, the cardroom has utilized the Paycheck Protection Program to help stay afloat during a prolonged time of closure, adding La Center has generally been a good partner in aiding their business — and one of the city’s largest sources of revenue — when it was needed.
“La Center has been good for helping support businesses,” Swindell said.
“Since March 11, (2020) to February 25 (of this year), we (had) been open for 23 days,” Swindell said.
With the most-recent ability to reopen, he said a number of would-be customers are still reluctant to come back into the establishment, but those who do return have grown accustomed to having their temperatures read and wearing masks.
Swindell explained the cardroom has focused on adherence to distancing and mask usage, the utilization of plexiglass barriers and hand sanitizer stations, ultraviolet light sanitizers, and a disinfectant fogger, among other precautions.
“We feel like we’re taking every measure that we think is necessary and required to serve as safety for everybody,” Swindell said.
He added some of the practices were likely to continue post-pandemic given the overall health safety they provide.
“Is it costly, does it use manpower? Absolutely. But those (measures) are necessary, and we don’t want to close down again,” Swindell said.
Swindell has worked for the Last Frontier and when it was open, the New Phoenix, for the past 22 years, beginning his tenure following duty in the U.S. Marine Corps. He said there was legitimate fear of having to close up operations given Cowlitz County to the north was one of the first counties to roll back in the state’s reopening plan
Swindell remains optimistic the worst of the pandemic is behind him and his business.
“Today with the shots coming out, kids going back to school full-time, I think everybody is learning to live with this,” Swindell said. “It seems to be all heading in the right way. It’s starting to feel like there’s some normalcy coming.”
