California set to open largest casino today

06.11.2013

(US).- Today, the state of California will see its largest tribal casino open its doors. The Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria, which boasts 1,300 members, will open the Graton Resort & Casino, according to The Sacramento Bee. The project came at a cost of USD 800 million. It is located in the Sonoma County wine country. The property reportedly will be the closest of its kind to San Francisco.

The precise location is next to Highway 101 in Rohnert Park. Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln is expected to be its main rival. The property will have 3,000 slot machines and 144 table games.

“This is the bear – no, make that the us$ 800 million gorilla,” Ken Adams, a Reno-based casino industry analyst, told The Bee. “It certainly is going to grow the total amount of gaming revenue in California. It’s going to force Cache Creek and Thunder Valley to respond competitively. “We’re off to the races,” he added.

California’s tribal casinos bring in about us$ 6.8 billion annually from gamblers, which is about 25 percent of the overall tribal gaming revenue in the country.

Some in California are looking to legalize online poker, but those efforts failed this year. 2014 is expected to see rejuvenated efforts.