Page 45 - 2023-2024 Travel Guide to California

HARRAH’S NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Casino,
opposite; baccarat action, bottom; Commerce
Casino in City of Commerce, right.
Placerville, offers child-care services for
tykes while mom and dad play.
Harrah’s Northern California, in Ione,
opened in 2019. It offers a Las Vegas vibe
in the heart of the Sierra foothills’ Wine
Country. It is surrounded by wineries, golf
courses, historic monuments and gor-
geous scenery.
Most of the other gambling options in
Northern California are card rooms, and
many are located in the suburbs of San Fran-
cisco and Sacramento. Popular ones are San
Jose’s Bay 101 Casino, Colma’s Lucky
Chances and San Jose’s Casino M8trix.
SoCal and LA
Southern California—from the northern
edge of the San Fernando Valley to the
Mexico border, the Pacific Ocean to I-15—is
home to some of the biggest Native Amer-
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. Viejas Casino
& Resort, just outside San Diego, with the
Willows Hotel and Spa, live events center,
bowling and outdoor ice skating rink, offers
staycation opportunities.
Closer to Los Angeles, the name of the
game is card rooms. Two facilities are
worth visiting for their grandeur alone: the
Commerce Casino (Commerce) and the
Parkwest Bicycle Hotel & Casino (Bell Gar-
dens). Both venues have expansive poker
rooms and host some of the most popular
tournaments in the area.
The Desert
Soboba Casino Resort, just outside of San
Jacinto, offers spectacular views of the San
Jacinto Mountains. Agua Caliente’s collec-
tion of three Casinos are located in Rancho
Mirage, Palm Springs and Cathedral City.
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.
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
accessible venues are located in South Lake
Tahoe. Here, Bally's Lake Tahoe is swank
with modern lounges and a four-diamond
steak and chophouse that makes Ruth’s
Chris seem like McDonald’s. Located down
the street is the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Lake Tahoe, with more than 500 hotel
rooms and a 25,000-square-foot casino.
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.
2023-24 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA 43