Red Rock Resorts is making a comeback in Northern California with new tribal casino projects alongside Caesars and Boyd. As the region sees rapid casino growth, experts debate whether Reno and Lake Tahoe will face renewed competition from California markets.
Red Rock Resorts hopes to find success in Northern California once more.
In collaboration with local tribes vying for a share of the country’s largest Indian gambling state, the company is assisting in the development and operation of casino-resorts with Boyd gambling and Caesars Entertainment.
Red Rock, which ran the Graton Resort & Casino in Santa Rosa from 2013 to 2021 and the Thunder Valley Casino outside Sacramento from 2003 to 2010, is making a comeback. In Madera, which is 140 miles south of Sacramento and 30 miles north of Fresno, the business started building a tribal casino last year.
Caesars owns one tribal casino in rural Ione and is building a second, while Boyd runs a casino in the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove.
Will California tribal gaming continue to steal business from Northern Nevada’s two biggest gaming areas, Reno and Lake Tahoe? That is the concern raised by the current wave of tribal casino construction in Northern California.
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This issue is not new, as Northern Nevada was severely impacted by the emergence of California tribal casinos around the turn of the century. Reno’s yearly gaming income dropped by over 12 percent since 2000, to $758.9 million in 2024. South Tahoe saw $244 million last year, a 30 percent decline over the previous 24 years.
Reno’s departure from gaming should protect it from pressure from the California market, according to two seasoned gaming industry professionals with deep connections to Northern Nevada.
Former television journalist and slot machine manager and consultant Buddy Frank stated, “I don’t think the steady stream of recent and upcoming casino openings in the California market will have much of an impact on Reno resorts.” “The actual harm was done years ago when the profitable Bay Area markets were cut off by Thunder Valley and Cache Creek, which are 45 miles west of Sacramento.”
Ken Adams, a CDC Gaming Reports contributor and seasoned Reno gaming analyst, claimed that competition from tribal casinos hampered investment and growth in Reno casinos.
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