Casinos With Slot Machines In Ca

Casino With Slot Machines Near San Jose Ca
Casinos With Slot Machines In California

Introduction to California Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020

Patrons at California Indian casinos are pouring about $130 million a day into 52,600 slot machines. How much they are reaping in return and whether the payoff is better across the state line in Nevada is one of the central issues in the competition for the gambling dollar. Pala Casino Spa & Resort is located at 11154 Highway 76 in Pala, California about 100 miles East of L.A. The main draw is, of course, the 90,000 square foot casino featuring over 2,250 slots and video poker. 3,100 slots Viejas Casino Casino Resort, San Diego ‒ 3,000 slots Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Cabazon ‒ 2,600 slots. Barona Casino & Resort ‒ Lakeside ‒ 2,500 slots. Cache Creek Casino.

California slot machine casino gambling consists of 65 tribal casinos, the third-largest number of casinos in any U.S. state after Nevada and Oklahoma.

I’ve dedicated this weekly series to slot enthusiasts such as yourself as you master casino slots and win your way to success by using this State-By-State Online Resource to improve your slots gambling performance by reviewing your state’s slots gaming industry.

Keep Reading … Or Listen Instead!

Relevant Legal Statutes on Gambling in California*

The minimum legal gambling age in California depends upon the gambling activity:

Land-Based Casinos: 18 or, if serving alcohol, 21
Poker Rooms: 18 or, if serving alcohol, 21
Bingo: 18
Lottery: 18
Pari-Mutuel Wagering: 18

Slot Machine Private Ownership in California

It is legal to own a slot machine privately in California if it is 25 years old or older.

Gaming Control Board in California

The California Gambling Control Commission supports the regulation of tribal gaming through oversight activities as defined in California’s 61 tribal-state compacts.

Further, the Bureau of Gambling Control within California’s Department of Justice provides state law enforcement authority with jurisdiction over gambling activities.

Non-slots-related gaming control boards include the California Horse Racing Board and the California Lottery Commission.

Casinos in California

California has 65 American Indian tribal casinos, ten racetracks without gaming machines, numerous card rooms also without gaming machines, and cruise ships with onboard casinos to Hawaii, Alaska, and international destinations.

The largest casino in California is San Manuel Casino having 4,800 gaming machines.

The second-largest casino is Pechanga Resort Casino with 4,000 gaming machines.

Commercial Casinos in California

There are no commercial casinos with slot machines in California.

Tribal Casinos in California

California’s 65 tribal casinos are:

Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Palm Springs, 115 miles east of Los Angeles.
Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage, 115 miles east of Los Angeles.
Augustine Casino in Coachella, 125 miles east of Los Angeles.
Barona Resort & Casino in Lakeside, 15 miles northeast of San Diego.
Bear River Casino Resort in Loleta, 10 miles south of Eureka;
Black Oak Casino Resort in Tuolumne, 100 miles southeast of Sacramento.
Blue Lake Casino Hotel in Blue Lake, 10 miles north of Eureka.
Cache Creek Casino Resort in Brooks, 35 miles northwest of Sacramento.
Cahuilla Casino Hotel in Anza, 30 miles south of Palm Springs.
Casino Pauma in Pauma Valley, 35 miles northeast of San Diego.
Cher-Ae Heights Casino in Trinidad, 25 miles north of Eureka.
Chicken Ranch Casino in Jamestown, 100 miles southeast of Sacramento.
Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino in Coarsegold, 35 miles north of Fresno.
Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, 40 miles northwest of Santa Barbara.
Colusa Casino Resort in Colusa, 75 miles north of Sacramento.
Coyote Valley Casino in Redwood Valley, 115 miles north of San Francisco.
Desert Rose Casino in Alturas, 100 miles north of Susanville.
Diamond Mountain Casino Hotel & Brewery in Susanville, 160 miles northeast of Sacramento.
Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville, 60 miles southeast of Fresno.
Elk Valley Casino in Crescent City, 84 miles north of Eureka.
Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, 125 miles east of Los Angeles.
Feather Falls Casino & Lodge in Oroville, 100 miles north of Sacramento.
Fort Independence Travel Center & Winnedumah Winns Casino in Independence, 90 miles east of Fresno.
Garcia River Casino in Point Arena, 130 miles north of San Francisco.
Gold Country Casino Resort in Oroville, 100 miles north of Sacramento.
Golden Acorn Casino Travel Center in Campo, 40 miles southeast of San Diego.
Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park, 50 miles north of San Francisco.
Hard Rock Casino & Hotel Sacramento at Fire Mountain in Wheatland, 36 miles north of Sacramento.
Harrah’s Resort Southern California in Valley Center, 35 miles northeast of San Diego.
Havasu Landing Resort & Casino in Havasu Lake, 200 miles east of Los Angeles.
Hidden Oaks Casino in Covelo, 150 miles northwest of Sacramento.
Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort in Jackson, 50 miles north of Los Angeles.
Jamul Casino in Jamul, 10 miles east of San Diego.
Konocti Vista Casino Resort in Lakeport, 120 miles north of San Francisco.
Lucky 7 Casino Hotel in Smith River, 100 miles north of Eureka.
Mono Wind Casino in Auberry, 30 miles northeast of Fresno.
Morongo Casino Resort Spa in Cabazon, 90 miles east of Los Angeles.
Pala Casino Spa and Resort in Pala, 35 miles northeast of San Diego.
Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, located 50 miles north of San Diego.
Pit River Casino in Burney, 190 miles north of Sacramento.
Quechan Casino Resort in Winterhaven, 170 miles east of San Diego.
Rain Rock Casino in Yreka, 250 miles north of Sacramento.
Red Earth Casino in Salton Sea Beach, 114 miles southeast of Riverside.
Red Fox Casino in Laytonville, 150 miles northwest of Sacramento.
Red Hawk Casino in Placerville, 40 miles east of Sacramento.
Redwood Hotel Casino in Klamath, 65 miles north of Eureka.
River Rock Casino in Geyserville, 75 miles north of San Francisco.
Robinson Rancheria Resort, Casino & Bingo in Nice, 115 miles northwest of Sacramento.
Rolling Hills Casino Resort in Corning, 115 miles north of Sacramento.
Running Creek Casino in Upper Lake, 120 miles northwest of Sacramento.
San Manuel Casino in Highland, located 65 miles east of Los Angeles.
San Pablo Lytton Casino in San Pablo, 15 miles north of Oakland.
Sherwood Valley Casino in Willits, 130 miles north of San Francisco.
Soboba Casino Resort in San Jacinto, 90 miles east of Los Angeles.
Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella, 130 miles east of Los Angeles.
Sycuan Casino & Resort in El Cajon, 10 miles east of San Diego.
Table Mountain Casino in Friant, 15 miles north of Fresno.
Tachi Palace Casino Resort in Lemoore, 50 miles south of Fresno.
Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, 35 miles northeast of Sacramento.
Tortoise Rock Casino in Twentynine Palms, 125 miles east of Los Angeles.
Twin Pine Casino & Hotel in Middletown, 100 miles north of San Francisco.
Valley View Casino & Hotel in Valley Center, 35 miles northeast of San Diego.
Viejas Casino & Resort in Alpine, 25 miles east of San Diego.
Wanaaha Casino in Bishop, 130 miles northeast of Fresno.
Win-River Casino & Resort in Redding, 163 miles north of Sacramento.

Other Gambling Establishments

As an alternative to enjoying California slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering California is:

North: Oregon Slots
East: Nevada Slots and Arizona Slots
South: The country of Mexico
West: Pacific Ocean

Each of the links above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to California.

Our California Slots Facebook Group

Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in California? If so, join our California slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to freely join this closed Facebook Group community.

There, you can meet online and privately share your slots experiences with local slots enthusiasts about playing slot machines in California. Join us!

Payouts and Returns in California

Tribal-state gaming compacts negotiated between the state of California and its 61 tribes do not include theoretical payout limits nor require public reporting of return statistics.

Summary of California Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020

California slot machine casino gambling consists of 65 tribal casinos generally located on remote tribal reservations throughout the state.

Annual Progress in California Slot Machine Casino Gambling

Over the last year, Thunder Valley Casino Resort has fallen from second-largest casino to fourth largest after San Manuel Casino, Pechanga Resort Casino, and Graton Resort & Casino.

Also, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain has, at long last, opened.

Finally, one casino has permanently closed and another underwent a name change:

Lucky Bear Casino in Hoopa has permanently closed.
Paiute Palace Casino in Bishop is now the Wanaaha Casino.

Other States from Professor Slots

Previous: Arkansas Slot Machine Casino Gambling
Next: Colorado Slot Machine Casino Gambling

Have fun, be safe, and make good choices!
By Jon H. Friedl, Jr. Ph.D., President
Jon Friedl, LLC

CASINOS: Sovereignty keeps financial reports from state, public

November 24, 20033

By GUY KOVNER THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

© The Press Democrat

Nevada pays almost 95 cents of every dollar dropped into slots back to players, and it must account for every nickel in reports to the state. California has no such records, leaving gamblers at the state's 54 tribal casinos guessing and state policy-makers in the dark.

Indian casinos are located on sovereign territory, with most rules and enforcement handled by the tribes themselves. Their financial reports go to a federal agency, which doesn't share the details with the state or the public.

Tribal leaders say their casinos pay out as much as Nevada's. A Nevada gaming expert maintains the return is probably lower, but there is no independent verification for any claim.

'There's no way to know,' said Bill Thompson, gaming expert and professor of public administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Millions of gambler dollars are at stake because slots, from nickel-a-pull games to progressive machines with multimillion-dollar jackpots, account for the bulk of casino gaming revenues: 67 percent in Nevada; 80 percent to 90 percent in California.

Some Nevada gaming analysts say their state's 185,000 slots are more generous -- 'looser' in gaming parlance -- than California's, contending that stiff competition drives Nevada's odds in the player's favor.

Nevada casinos advertise as much as a 97 percent payback, with some machines set above 100 percent, Thompson said. Casinos advertise the rates to draw customers, and the 100 percent machines are scattered on the casino floor.

Nevada's Gaming Control Board polices casino advertising and constantly checks slot machine performance, said Joanie Jacka, administrative coordinator for the agency.

The state won't allow anyone to claim the 'loosest machines in town,' Jacka said, because individual casino payback rates aren't made public. Nevada reports slot payback by area, such as Las Vegas, Reno and Tahoe, and by type of machine, from 5 cent to $100 games. 'Our machines pay the most of any in the United States,' Thompson said.

Atlantic City slots return 91 percent to 92 percent to players, and New Jersey doesn't allow casinos to advertise their odds, he said.

In contrast, California's 54 casinos enjoy what Thompson calls a 'local monopoly,' sheltering them from competition and allowing a slot machine payback he estimates at 85 percent.

A tribal casino executive says there's no way the payoff could be poorer in the Golden State. 'You'd have a big empty room,' said Anthony Miranda, who runs the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Riverside County, one of California's largest gaming halls.

Tribal casinos pay back an average of 95 percent to 96 percent, keeping only 4 percent or 5 percent and depending on high volume, meaning heavy play at the machines, to make a profit, Miranda said.

'If we had 80 percent payout games, our customers would be flocking to Nevada,' he said. Miranda declined to cite Pechanga's payback, but said it was 'comparable to Nevada.'

A computer chip in every machine controls the payback rate. In Nevada, state officials test the machines before and after they are placed on a casino floor, assuring they meet the state's 75 percent minimum payback. Competition forces casinos to sweeten the pot considerably.

The payback varies, from 93.8 percent last year on the Las Vegas Strip to 95.35 percent in Sparks, one of the best rates in the state, according to Nevada Gaming Control Board reports. Reno casinos paid back 95.02 percent; South Shore Lake Tahoe, 94.23 percent; and North Shore, 94.62 percent.

Payback rate improves with the stakes: Nevada's nickel slots returned 92 percent to players, while $25 machines paid back 96.7 percent.

Patrons dropped $115 billion into Nevada slots last year, and the casinos kept $6.3 billion, about 5.5 percent. Keeping another 1 percent of the total would have added more than $1 billion to the casinos' coffers.

California tribal casinos do not make public how much they are making and paying back from slot machines, but state officials and other experts say slot machines earn casinos $250 a day, or $13 million a day statewide. If that represents 10 percent of the money put in by players, assuming a 90 percent payback, then $130 million a day -- $47.5 billion a year -- is pouring into the machines.

Tribal casinos submit annual independent audits, including slot machine payout, to the National Indian Gaming Commission, a federal regulatory agency.

The agency doesn't share the financial data with states, said Greg Bergfeld, who works in the national commission's Sacramento office.

California casinos' slot payback rate is 'very competitive with Nevada,' he said.

'There is no verification,' said Cheryl Schmit, director of Stand Up for California, a gambling watchdog group.

The only statistics released by the national commission are tribal gaming revenues by region, including one region that essentially covers California. Gaming revenue for fiscal year 2002 in California was $3.6 billion, up 24 percent, or more than $700 million, from the previous year, according to the national commission.

Critics say the tribes are too conservative in calculating their revenues. The state says tribal gaming revenue is $5 billion to $6 billion a year.

River Rock Casino, which opened amid controversy last fall in Alexander Valley, offers a payback 'similar to those in Nevada,' said spokesman Dave Reiseman. He didn't cite a specific figure.

Inside the domed, tent-topped casino, bright lights flash, chimes ring and drums spin on 1,600 slot machines with names like 'Blazing 7,' 'Movie Star' and 'Winning for Dummies.' A 25-cent slot lists a $1,198 jackpot, while the $1-a-play progressive slot 'Megabucks' shows a jackpot of $7.8 million and counting upward right before players' eyes.

Two players said they think Nevada offers better odds.

'I think they pay better in Nevada,' said Pedro Fernandez of Santa Rosa, who said he puts about $50 in the slots on his visits to River Rock.

James King of Santa Rosa said he has 'done pretty well' at River Rock, including a recent $1,700 jackpot. But he used to go to Reno once a month 'and it always seems I did a little better there.'

Even if River Rock slots are less generous, King said there's a big difference in time and money between a four-hour, 170-mile drive over the Sierra to Reno and a 20-minute trip to Alexander Valley.

Casino With Slot Machines Near San Jose Ca

Convenience is a significant economic factor, which may erase the difference in slot payback between distant Nevada and casinos near a Californian's home, Thompson said.

No matter how high the payback, there's no guarantee a player will profit from pumping money into a machine. By continued playing -- a process known in gambling parlance as 'the grind' -- machines will usually take it all.

If the experience lasts long enough, it may not matter. 'People tend to put in all their money anyway -- they're just buying time,' Thompson said.