Mono Wind Casino
February 20, 2008
The Mono Wind Casino is a small casino located near Auberry, California. The casino has slot machines and table games, and The Broken Arrow Restaurant.
Mono Wind was shut down in 2005 by Fresno County Sheriff Deputies in order to collect $700,000 from a court judgment. The casino re-opened after an agreement was reached. It is operated by the Big Sandy Rancheria Band of Western Mono Indians.
Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino
February 20, 2008
Chukchansi Go
ld Resort & Casino is located just off of State Route 41 in Coarsegold, California, between Fresno and Yosemite National Park. The 56,000 square foot casino has 1,800 slot machines, as well as more than 45 table games. The resort had seven restaurants in late 2005 and the hotel had 192 rooms.
The resort opened on August 22, 2003, at a cost of $150 million. The resort plans an expansion in 2006, and has bus service from 20 cities.
Cache Creek Casino Resort
February 20, 2008
Cache Creek is a casino/resort located in Brooks, California, in Northern California’s Capay Valley. It was renovated in 2002 and completed in 2004 to look more like a resort than a casino. The main entrance is still the same, with the Indian tiki heads guarding the entrance.
Hotel amenities include 24-hour front desk assistance and registration, bell hop and porter service, concierge, in-room dining, housekeeping, laundry/dry cleaning, wakeup calls, limousine transportation, faxing and copying. Guests also have access to the hotel conference center, health spa and swimming pool area.
Entertainment
Like Las Vegas hotels, Cache Creek hosts several events several times a month. It also has a club called Club 88. Cache Creek’s Club 88 offers a variety of music to suit all tastes. During the day, Center Stage trios play to casino guests while evenings turn the attention into the Club with Karaoke, Dance Bands and Show Bands. Club 88 also features special concerts and events with musical guests like Dave Mason, Freddy Fender, Mickey Thomas and Starship and Ronnie Montrose. Club 88 celebrates multicultural guests with performances from international groups as well. An 18 hole championship golf course, the Yocha-De-He Golf Club has been constructed and opened on January 2, 2008.
The hotel contains 200 rooms, the Deluxe and Premium rooms. There are a number of suites in the hotel, the Junior suite, the Executive suite, Emperor suite, Ambassador suite, and the Presidential suite. Thee Deluxe and Premium rooms are cheaper than the suites. The presidential suite, which is the largest room in the hotel, costs about $400 USD a night.
The story behind Cache Creek
The story of how Cache Creek got started is well known. On June 25, 1985, the Rumsey Band of the Wintun Indians opened a modest bingo hall on their Rancheria in Brooks, California. The popularity of Cache Creek Indian Bingo & Casino soared immediately and on October 7, 1993 the hall was expanded to include card games.
A second expansion began in 1996 and was opened in phases in 1998 and 1999. The bingo hall now had a 1,200 seat capacity and three new restaurants were opened, including China Camp and the150-seat buffet.
After California Governor Gray Davis signed the State Gaming Compact in 1999 the casino added slot machines and more table games, creating the most popular gaming facility in Northern California. The broad popularity of the casino meant only one thing - more expansion.
In 2002, the tribe announced plans to build a $200 million property, renamed Cache Creek Casino Resort, on land adjacent to the existing facility. Completed and opened in 2004, the resort now features eight new restaurants, the 600-seat Club 88, the 20,000 square-foot multi-purpose Event Center and 74,720 square feet of casino floor space. The 200 room hotel includes a lavish health spa and an 18-hole championship golf course is under construction.
Beginning in November of 2006 Cache Creek Resort remodeled again. Due to large crowds on weekends and evenings the Tribe made the tough decision to take out the Bingo Hall/Event Center in order to expand the poker room and slot machine area. This remodel also included a sportsbar and grill called the Sportspage. This remodel allowed the casino to offer over 3000 slot machines and expand their table games to over 124 as well as double the size of the poker room to 24 tables.
In June of 2007 Marshal McKay, Tribal Chairman and Randy Takemoto, General Manager held press conferences to announce the start of an expansion to turn Cache Creek Casino Resort into a true destination resort. With the Championship Golf Course nearly ready to open, and the gaming floor expanded during the recent remodel the Tribe made the decision to focus their attention to what was lacking from the facility. The destination resort expansion includes nearly 400 additional hotel rooms, suites and private casitas, conference center, event center, meeting rooms, new parking structure, 4 new pools, expanded spa and three new restaurants.
Once again the Rumsey Band has proven that they have the business sense and wisdom to grow their market and cater to their guests.
Barona Casino
February 20, 2008
Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino is a San Diego area casino, hotel, and golf course owned by the Barona Band of Mission Indians, and known for sponsoring and housing the Blackjack Hall of Fame. It is one of the three largest casinos in the area, located in the foothills of Lakeside, California, at an elevation near 1,300 feet. The casino started as a 1990s bingo hall that grew into a Native american casino in 1999 after the passing of California’s Proposition 1-A, which the Barona tribe had actively promoted. The casino is “dry” in that it does not serve alcohol, but alcohol is available in other locations of the ranch.
History
The Barona Band of Mission Indians, part of the Kumeyaay Nation, had been forcibly evicted from the area now containing El Capitan Reservoir. In 1932, they used their share of the proceeds to purchase the Barona Ranch. In the early 1990s, they opened a bingo hall at the location. The tribe became active in court cases that eventually legalized Native American bingo halls in California, and were a proponent for the passage of balloted measures such as Proposition 5 and later Proposition 1-A. After 1-A passed, the tribe’s bingo hall grew into a full casino, known as The Big Top, which opened in 1999, after which the tribe has played a more passive role in the politics involving Indian gaming.
The tribe selected Kenny Rogers as the casino’s spokesperson, and he appears in their advertising. In 2001, the casino was expanded to be the “Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino”, a $250 million complex incorporating a 1930s style California ranch theme. As of 2007, it houses 2000 slot machines, up to 70 table games, four restaurants and a food court, an off-track betting facility, and a poker room. The hotel has 395 rooms, including suites. The golf course has a pro shop, cafe, and a food delivery service accessible via GPS.
Barona Valley Ranch is one of the three largest casinos in San Diego, alongside Sycuan and Viejas. Pechanga, Pala Casino Spa Resort, and Harrah’s Rincon are the nearest casinos with a full service hotel. Barona depicts itself as an upscale destination for serious gamers; declaring in print advertisements that “if you bet big, you’re our kind of player.” Barona Valley Ranch does not serve alcohol in the casino; however it is available in the hotel, on the golf course, and in the Barona Oaks Steakhouse. Barona, like other California casinos, has restrictions on the roulette or craps offerings, but offers variants involving the use of cards instead of dice, which falls within the legal guidelines.
Unlike Pechanga, Pala or Harrah’s, guests 18 years old and over can gamble at Barona, along with Morongo and Casino Pauma.
Blackjack Hall of Fame
In 2002, Barona sponsored the creation of the Blackjack Hall of Fame, which after a debate by notable blackjack players, inducted seven prominent players and authors. As of 2007, there are 11 members. The Barona Casino has a small physical Hall of Fame on one wall, with a plaque for each player along with their photo and a few words about their contributions and accomplishments. There is also a museum with cheating devices on display, such as the cigarette pack-sized computer invented by Keith Taft, and other computers that were hidden in shoes.
Barona has given each of the inductees a lifetime full comp, meaning free hotel, food and beverage, under the promise that they never actually play blackjack in the Barona’s casino.
Agua Caliente Casino
February 20, 2008
The Agua Caliente Casino is an Indian-gaming facility in Rancho Mirage, California. It is run by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. The facility currently has over 45,000 square feet of gambling floor. The casino is currently building a 16-story, 173-foot hotel tower than is set to be complete in December 2007. When completed it will be the second tallest building in the Inland Empire.
The tribe also runs the Spa Resort and Casino in nearby Palm Springs, California.
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