Page 34 - 2024-2025 Travel Guide to California

CASINOS
THE ACTION GETS HOT when your number comes up at Chukchansi Gold, above.
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 gorgeous scenery.
Most of the other gambling options in
Northern California are card rooms, and
many are located in the suburbs of San
Francisco and Sacramento. Popular ones are
San Jose’s Bay 101 Casino, Colma’s Lucky
Chances and San Jose’s Casino M8trix.
& Resort, just outside San Diego, with the
Willows Hotel and Spa, offers staycation
opportunities, and a live events center,
bowling and an outdoor skating rink.
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.
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
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 war-
ned. And good luck.
32 2024-25 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
CHUKCHANSI GOLD RESORT & CASINO