{"id":2476,"date":"2020-04-05T12:00:13","date_gmt":"2020-04-05T19:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=2476"},"modified":"2020-04-05T12:00:13","modified_gmt":"2020-04-05T19:00:13","slug":"casino-doors-typically-never-close-but-locals-still-winning-despite-temporary-shuttering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/casino\/2476\/casino-doors-typically-never-close-but-locals-still-winning-despite-temporary-shuttering","title":{"rendered":"Casino Doors Typically Never Close, But Locals Still Winning Despite Temporary Shuttering"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do casino doors even have locks?<\/p>\n

\u201cNot usually. Once a casino is opened it operates\u00a024\/7<\/a>, forever,\u201d said Michael McFarlen, Executive Chef at Firekeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek which opened just over a decade ago but is now temporarily closed due to Governor Whitmer\u2019s Coronavirus directive.<\/p>\n

\"Firekeepers<\/a>

Casino security staff are watching for more than just card counters and cheats. (Photo: Courtesy: Firekeepers Casino Hotel)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe casino is closed but we\u2019re pretty busy. Food is a big part of our business and so we\u2019re doing what we can, as a large employer at a time of need, to help out the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fire Hub is a restaurant and the adjacent Kendall Street Food Pantry in downtown Battle Creek opened by McFarlen and Firekeepers in a historic, circa 1904 former firehouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder the closures Fire Hub is still open for online and call-ahead carry-out orders and the pantry, which works in conjunction with the Food Bank of South Central Michigan, was able to get fresh food donations to 212 families last Monday,\u201d McFarlen said. \u201cAt Firekeepers we are deploying some of our furloughed people to help volunteer as we also pack 1,400 lunches for kids that are out of school right now in Albion and Marshall and about 3,000 meals for families across eight counties.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the only way Firekeepers Casino has been quietly helping the community.<\/p>\n

George Jenkot, Vice-President of Security and Surveillance at Firekeepers and Joe Donato, the Security Training Manager recently briefed Michigan legislators on the methods their team employs. They\u2019ve also shared their practices at national conferences of casino and resort executives. One of the most dangerous and shocking things their team looks for is evidence of human trafficking \u2013 the most unwilling of travelers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe aggressively watch for signs and red flags which just don\u2019t match the normal visitor to a casino. We\u2019re looking for people who seem under the control of someone else. Can they maintain their own I.D.? Do they have their own money? Can they make their own decisions? Sometimes people aren\u2019t aware of where they are or even what state they are in. When you start adding those things up you find people who may be being trafficked,\u201d Jenkot said. \u201cIt\u2019s a problem in many large hotels. Several years ago we became aware of the problem due to our relationship with S.A.F.E. Place, a domestic violence shelter in Battle Creek. Since that time we\u2019ve created an aggressive training program with our staff and because of our awareness we have learned of other incidents.\u201d<\/p>\n

When people watching or at the tables and slots in any of the world\u2019s casinos \u2013 whether it\u2019s Battle Creek, Las Vegas, Atlantic City or beyond – keep your eyes open too. And if you see something, say something.<\/p>\n

Contact<\/em>\u00a0Travel Writer Michael Patrick Shiels at\u00a0MShiels@aol.com<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0His radio program may be heard weekdays at\u00a0MiBigShow.com<\/a>\u00a0or in Lansing on WJIM am 1240\u00a0from 9-noon<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Firekeepers Casino and Hotel is still betting on food service despite the temporary shutdown due to Governor Whitmer\u2019s Coronavirus directive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":2477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2254],"tags":[1023698,2834,594032,1023696,1023697],"class_list":["post-2476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casino","tag-michael-mcfarlen","tag-michigan","tag-battle-creek","tag-firekeepers-casino-and-hotel","tag-coronavirus"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2020\/04\/firekeepers.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2476"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2478,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476\/revisions\/2478"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}