Yeah, having worked for (insert largest casino/hospitality corporation in the US) for a long time, all of the casino properties had an EDR/employee dining room just like that. Generally the food was kinda... overflow from the buffets, which makes it sound way worse than it is, but anyone working on property did get at least one free AYCE shift meal, or a set amount of swipes a month, so if they felt like doing both their shift meal and dinner, you could do that. But... you couldn't take anything to-go, which kinda lines up with the Cardinals' policy.
Still, I felt like that was a great thing for lower-income workers on property, since food might be scarce going home if you're in a minimum-wage role.
Interestingly enough, corporate was banned from this unless your office was literally on property, or a property employee got an exception to swipe you in. Some of corporate was based in on-property offices, but mostly we were in a separate building with no cafeteria, only a cooler with fast lunch options like cold sandwiches that we had to pay for, albeit with a discount.
(I was the head of AC marketing from Vegas for a time, so interesting to know we had similar experiences!)