Mother Lode`s Indian casinos a favorite of Valley residents

Mother Lode's Indian casinos
a favorite of Valley residents
By Kimberly Horg
Th'RLOCKJ01."R.
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The natives are not restless at the Indian gaming
casinos that have popped
up throughout the Central
Valley and Mother Lode.
Who needs to drive
through the desert to get
to Las Vegas when people
f~t""~ ·;,~~4~f,t~!~~£::'i'_._"
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games? There~
a hand~ " 'The Chukchi:msi Gold hotel and casino in Coarsegold.
ful of casinos located a
opened on Friday. It will
short distance from Turthe new one opens. The
have over 340 slots and will
lock-;and most of them ofplans for Phase II include
be open only on the weekfer round-trip shuttle serv940 slot machines, 24 table
ends. There are plans in
ices so yori don't even need
games, three restaurants,
the works for Phase IIL
to drive.-"'-,.-241anesJorbowling,
a live
, -entertainment lounge with
which will offer hotel accommodationsafterthe
a dance floor, a gift shop,
Black Oak Casino
arcade, sports bar, two casi- new casino is completed.
- Black Oak Casino in
The west side of the propno floor bars (that will
Tuolumne has Storer
erty will be turned into a
serve all drinks because it
Coachways that comes to
commercial and residential
Turlock, Modesto and Oak- will have an unrestricted
development accompanied
license) and a non-smoking
dale every Monday,
with a golf course, he said
Wednesday and Friday. It
gaming area.
"Our third anniversary
also has a Delta Charter
was May 15 and we just
Chicken Ranch Bingo
Bus that stops in Stockton,
If you're too chicken to
Tracy, Manteca, Modesto
kicked off our player's
club," said Al O'Brien, mar- play high stakes and just
and Oakdale on Tuesdays
want to stick with Bingo,
keting manager at Black
and Thursdays it goes to
Turlock, Manteca.
Oak. "Visitors come from
then the Chicken Ranch
as far as Merced, Lodi, Liv- Bingo might have what
Modesto and Oakdale.
you are looking for. It is loermore, and Tracy, but
Black Oak Casino is
cated in Jamestown, right
when Phase II is completowned and operated by the
outside of Tuolumne, and
ed we plan to also reach
Mi-Wuk Indians. It curit has computerized slots
the East Bay We have a
rently has 600 slot mawith a large area specifistaff of 350 people but it
chines and six table games
cally for Bingo. There is no
oudtismctneprogress
of
will be double that when
dining area but the snack
building anew bigger and , the new casino opens."
bar offers a variety of difLike gambling but don't
better casino that will be
ferent types of food
like all the smoke that
done by December of this
Evening sessions are
goes along with it? A nonyear. The current casino
Thursday through Saturwill no longer exist when
smoking warehouse annex
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day beginning at 6 p.m.
Warm-up begins at 7 prn.
and regular bingo starts at
7:30p.m. There are also
Sunday afternoon sessions
that open.at 1:30p.m.,
warm-ups at 2:30and regular bingo is at 3.It also offers bus services in the
area For Modesto, Riverbank and Oakdale pickups, call 524-3430,or for
Turlock, Ceres, Modesto
and Oakdale locations, call
632-9636.The casino is
open daily from 9 am. until
la.m.
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Chukchansi
I
Gold Resort
If you have been to those
places and are looking for
something different, less
than 2 hours away;outside
of Fresno are two Indian
Casinos nestled in the Sierra Foothills. Chukchansi
Gold Resort and Casino is
located in Coarsegold
about half of an hour
from Fresno. The casino
just celebrated its first anniversary when it opened
onjune 25, 2003. It has a
rustic mountain feel with
an upscale touch. A visitor
feels as if they have entered Lake Tahoe because
of the log design of the
large mountain lodge.
Chukchansi has seven
restaurants, a hot-dog cart
and 192 hotel rooms.
"The casino celebrates
all of California," saidjen
a
SEE CASINOS. PAGE 84
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PAGE B4 Wednesday,July
CASINOS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE AS
nifer Gaebe, public relations
manager for Chukchansi,
"We celebrate agriculture
from the area and the influence of the wine country. We
have Native American influence and all of our restaurants have themes. Our Vintage Steakhouse is modeled
after a San Francisco
Restaurant. the Dueces Diner is a '50s theme and our
Gold Field Cafe celebrates
gold mining.
It is open 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. The Half
Dome Theater provides a variety of headlining entertainers. This month Cyndi Lauper will perform on]uly 19
AROUND
7, 2004
and Engelbert Humperdinck
will do a show on July 29. If
don't want to listen to others
sing but do-it-yourself
Karaoke is on Mondays and
Thursdays at the Firehouse
Blues. For more information
ca11866-7-WIN-WIN.
"We are a completely different type of property than
Table Mountain Casino, we
feel it is a more upscale property," Gaebe said. "We have
an elegant feel that draws a
different type of clientele.
Our purpose is to provide a
high quality experience for·
guests. We also have an excellent filtration system so it
is not as smoky in here like it
is in some other casinos."
A bus that goes to
Chukchansi travels through
Turlock and Modesto every
Monday, Wednesday, Friday,
Saturday andSunday For
reservations call1-800-6213388.
Tabie
MOl..llntain Casfino
If you want to get down
and dirty with the locals
then a more casual establishment is 15 minutes north of
Fresno, off of Highway 41.
Table Mountain Casino was
the first of its kind in this
area opening in the late
1980s.
"Table Mountain Casino's
around-the-clock gaming action is more thrilling than
ever," said Paul McDougal,
senior vice president for
Thielen & Associates, a public relations firm representing Table Mountain Casino,
"Table Mountain is the place
where winners come to play
TURLOCK
and enjoy award-winning dining."
. Table Mountain Casino is
owned and operated by the
Chukchansi-Mono Band of
Indians and originally began
in 1988 as a small bingo hall
and grew to the Casino it is
now. In between gaming,
casino patrons can visit the
Table Mountain gift shop,
The Trading Post, for a wide
variety of authentic Native
American collectible artwork and handmade crafts.
The casino features bingo.
more than 35 table games including blackjack ..
More than 30 new slots
machines are on the way including new video games
from Konami.
Table Mountain Casino
features award-winning dining in two restaurants.
Eagles Landing Restaurant offers a variety of food.
A 24-hour all-you-can-eat
buffet with fooeifrom around
the world can be found at
Mountain Feast. Recently
voted "Best Casino Dining in
the Valley" by the California
Restaurant Association, both
restaurants feature an international and regional dining
experience. Each Wednesday and Friday seafood
lovers can sample their favorite fish at a seafood buffet. Borba said. To learn more
about Table Mountain Casino, call1-800-541-3637.
A quick glance
at Central
California's Indian casinos:
Black Oak Casino
Information: (800) 541-3637
Features: 250,000-square-foot casino with
2,000 slot machines, 32 table games and 800seat bingo, with Eagles landing Restaurant.
Directions: Take Highway 99 south about 50
miles to the Cleveland Ave. exit towards Millerton lakelYosemite. Turn left on West Cleveland
Ave and again onto E. Yosemite Ave, which
becomes Highway 145. Continue onto Road 145
and turn right on Road 206, which becomes
North Fork Road. Turn left on Millerton Road/N.
Friant Road. Turn left on Table Mountain Road.
Entire trip from Turlock is about 85 miles.
(Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk)
Address: 19400 Tuolumne Road North,
Tuolumne
Infonnatlon: (877) 747-8777.
Features: Open 24 hours, seven days a week.
22,500-square-foot casino with 600 slots and
six table games. Restaurants include the Black
Oak Cafe and Willow Creek Bar.
Directions: Take Geer Road to Oakdale and turn
onto Highway 108 east towards Sonora.Continue onto Highway 49/108 east for about five
miles and contineu onto 108 east. Turn right on
Carter Street and then left on Fir Ave. Total trip
from Turlock is about 62 miles.
Chicken Ranch Bingo & Casino
(Chicken Ranch Rancheria)
Address: 16929 Chicken Ranch Road,
Jamestown.
Infonnatlon: 984-3000
.Features: 30,000-squre-foot casino with 250
slot machines. Bingo on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Snack
bar.
Directions: Take Geer to Oakdale and turn onto
Highway 108 east towards Sonora. Continue on
Highway 49/108 and take a sharp left turn onto
Chicken Ranch Road. Total trip is approximately
49 miles.
Mono Wind Casino
Chukchansi Gold
(Picayune Rancheria of Chukchan~ Indians)
Address: 711lucky lane, Coarsegolu
.
Information: (559) 692-5238
Features: 1,800 slot machines and 46 table
games, seven themed restaurants, cafes and
bars, a hotel with 192 rooms.
Directions: Take Highway 99 south to Highway
145 east, then go north on Highway 41. Total trip
from Turlock is about 90 miles.
Table Mountain
(Table Mountain Rancheria)
Address: 8184 Table Mountain Road, Friant
(Big Sandy Rancheria)
Address: 37302 Rancheria lane, Auberry
Information: (559) 855-4350
Features: IO,OOO-square-foot casino with 329
slot machines, 10 table games and video lonary,
with Trail's End Restaurant.
Directions: Take Highway 99 souih about 50
miles to the Cleveland Ave. exit towards MillertonlakelYosemite. Turn left on West Cleveland
Ave and again onto E. Yosemite Ave, which
becilmesHighway 145. Continue onto Road 145
and turn right on Road 206, which becomes
North Fork Road. Turn left on Millerton Road/N.
Friant Road. Continue on Auberry Road/lodge
Road. Turn left on Auberry Road. Total trip form
Turlock is about 99 miles.