Page 58 - 2019 Travel Guide to California

CASINOS
expansive poker rooms and host some of
the most popular tournaments in the area.
The Desert
Package deals abound for stay-and-play
vacations at casino resorts in and around
the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs. At
Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon,
for instance, where an effort to expand the
gaming floor was slated for 2019, $259 per
night gets guests a room plus a $30 casino
credit and a $100 credit at one of the on-site
restaurants. Similar deals are available at
the Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa
(Rancho Mirage). Most area casinos have
their own golf courses, but locals rave about
Eagle Falls, the course at Fantasy Springs
Resort Casino in Indio. The 18-hole course
was designed by architect Clive Clark.
AGUA CALIENTE CASINO RESORT SPA,
top; 5th hole at Journey, Pechanga Resort
Casino’s links-style golf course, above.
ican casinos in the state, including Harrah’s
Resort Southern California in Valley Center;
Pala Casino Spa Resort in Pala; Barona
Resort & Casino in Lakeside; and Pechanga
Resort & Casino in Temecula. All of these
properties boast Vegas-style hotels with
eateries, shopping and spas. In early 2018,
Viejas Casino & Resort, just outside San
Diego, added the adults-only Willows Hotel
& Spa with 159 suites to its 234-room hotel.
Closer to Los Angeles, the name of the
game is card rooms. Two facilities are worth
visiting for their grandeur alone: the Com-
merce Casino (Commerce) and the Bicycle
Club (Bell Gardens). Both venues have
Lake Tahoe
Okay, okay, so the casinos that sidle up to
Lake Tahoe are on the Nevada side of the
state line. Still, they’re close enough to
most other destinations in California that
they deserve a mention here.
Excluding those in Reno, the most acces-
sible venues are located in South Lake
Tahoe. Here, the Montbleu Resort, Casino &
Spa (formerly a Caesars property) is by far
the swankiest, with ultra-modern lounges
and a four-diamond steakhouse that makes
Ruth’s Chris seem like McDonald’s. The Hard
Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe, with 500
hotel rooms and a 25,000-square-foot
casino, opened in 2015 in the old Horizon
Casino Resort space located down the street.
Of course the best thing about casinos at
Lake Tahoe is that because they’re in
Nevada, they play by Nevada rules (see
sidebar). Since sports books and dice games
are illegal in the state of California, this
means Tahoe is the spot to place those
kinds of bets.
Big spenders, consider yourselves warned.
And good luck.
56 2019 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
STEVE CUKROV/SHUTTERSTOCK; AIDAN BRADLEY