Indian Casinos in Northern California
Native American tribes gained the legal right to operate casinos in California when Gov. Gray Davis signed a gaming compact with nearly 60 tribes in 1999. Northern California is home to about 35 casinos that are allowed to offer slot machines, bingo, poker and banked card games such as blackjack and pai gow.
Cache Creek Casino Resort
The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation opened Cache Creek Casino in 1985 as a bingo hall. Card games were added in 1993, and slot machines appeared after the signing of the state's gaming compact in 1999. The current facility, which opened in 2004, features 2,400 slot machines, 122 gaming tables, a 200-room hotel, nine restaurants, a nightclub, a convention center and a health spa. The grounds also includes the 7,300-yard Yocha-De-He championship golf course. The tribe in October 2009 dropped plans for another massive expansion to the property, about 50 miles northeast of downtown Sacramento.
Cache Creek Casino Resort
14455 Highway 16
Brooks, CA 95606-0065
(800) 992-8686
cachecreek.com
Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino
Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, about 35 miles north of downtown Fresno near Yosemite National Park, features 1,800 slot machines and 46 game tables. The casino's 3 Peaks Poker Room hosts World Poker Tour satellite tournaments and free poker lessons weekly. The hotel's 400 room offer views of the Sierra Nevada and include hot tubs, plasma TV sets and video-game consoles. Nativo's Italian Restaurant and Vintage steakhouse are among the property's seven restaurants.
Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino
711 Lucky Lane
Coarsegold, CA 93614-8206
(559) 692-5200
chukchansigold.com
Bear River Casino
Bear River Casino is a small casino on the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria reservation near U.S. 101 about 250 miles north of San Francisco. The 13,056-square-foot facility houses 320 slot machines, nine table games and a four-table poker room. The property includes the Rivers Edge Restaurant and the Thirsty Bear Sports Bar and Grill. The Thirsty Bear hosts live entertainment on weekend nights. Bear River Casino offers free shuttle service between several neighboring cities with reservations.
Bear River Casino
11 Bear Paws Way
Loleta, CA 95551
(800) 761-2327
bearrivercasino.com
Tags: Bear River, slot machines, Bear River Casino, River Casino, about miles, Cache Creek