The only person who can sign off on a permit -- the police chief -- is in Washington, D.C. at a conference. That means 700 current and new employees will be out of work.
The delay has dealt workers hired for opening day a bad hand. Jade Randolph was going to be a cocktail waitress.
"I don't know how I'm going to pay my rent. I don't know how I'm going to get things ready for school," Randolph said. "I don't know how to pay for my tuition or to pay for my bills just at home."
The uncertain opening also impacts about 400 employees at Garden City Card Room, owned by the same people opening Casino M8trix. They were given state-mandated layoff notices that take effect Monday night, but the plan was to bring them on at Casino M8trix Tuesday.
The city says there was never an agreement that the final permit would be ready for an April 3 opening.
"There is an interest here in the city of helping a business person open his business because having a business open in San Jose is a good thing, but we can't cut corners, we can't sacrifice the diligence that our regulation review requires," San Jose information officer David Vossbrink said.
Victoria Arild said the server job she was to start let her give up two part-time jobs. A dealer told us she will lose up to $2,000, mostly in tips, on a good day.
"I wish I had seen this coming earlier. I thought everything was OK," Casino M8trix co-owner Eric Swallow said. "So I really feel bad and I'm going to do everything I can to make it OK with everybody."
The city of San Jose has indicated it could be a month or longer before a permit is issued. That means 700 jobs are on hold and 700 employees will have no paychecks.
