Sycuan Casino
The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Ultimate Casino Guide takes a spin at the region’s 10 properties.
A sure bet for: Non-smoking gamers, bingo lovers and fans of seeing headliner acts in a small setting. The 33-year-old Sycuan Casino, which started as a humble bingo hall, has grown into a big-time player and philanthropic force in the community. A significant remodel was completed in 2012. In the near future, it will grow even more — a planned $226 million expansion will add its first hotel, with 300 rooms, gardens spanning an acre and a half, a separate adult pool and a pool with a lazy river. A 12,000-square-foot ballroom and five food and beverage venues will be built. The gaming area will expand by 55,000 square feet and a new high-limit area is in the works.
Sycuan Casino“We’re taking this whole property to a completely, entirely new level,” said John Dinius, Sycuan’s general manager.
Gaming: The current 90,000-square-foot casino floor, spread on multiple levels, has 2,000 slot machines, 40-plus table games and the largest poker room in San Diego, with 19 tables. Sycuan also features San Diego’s only completely enclosed non-smoking section, with 850 slots and its own separate entrance. It’s also where Paipa’s Surf & Turf Buffet is located. And because Sycuan is the official partner of the San Diego Chargers and San Diego Padres, players get special perks not found elsewhere, such as the Padres Club Sycuan card, the first in Major League Baseball. can get discounts on tickets, invitations to private Padres events and more.
Dining: There are five restaurants. At the 350-seat Paipa’s buffet, customizable burgers, tacos, burritos and milkshakes (chocolate, peanut butter, salted caramel pretzel anyone?) are popular, as are the lobster burritos. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served at the Wachena cafe. The GameDay Sports Bar & Grill — touted as “the official sports bar of basketball legend Bill Walton!” — serves Super Bowl Sunday-worthy eats 365 days a year. Choices include spinach dip, spicy wings, sliders, burgers, pizza, sweet potato tater tots, potato skins lobster burritos, cocktails and 32 mainly local brews on tap. In the sports memorabilia-filled venue, you can watch the game on 39 large screen TVs.
Amenity spotlight: Sycuan stays true to its bingo history with a state-of-the-art, 850-seat hall, the largest in San Diego. Players can engage in traditional paper, electronic and slot bingo simultaneously. “We started, with a small bingo hall and we … refer to bingo as the girl that brought us to the dance,” Dinius said. To appeal to a younger demographic, Sycuan introduced “BAD,” Bingo After Dark, at 11 p.m. Saturdays. DJs spin EDM, black lights come on and the old-fashioned game turns into “kind of a risqué type event,” Dinius said with a laugh. With just 450 plush seats, Sycuan’s Live & Up Close intimate theater features exceptional acoustics and sightlines. “We try to give every audience member a very exclusive show, so no matter where you sit, we try to make it special for that person,” said Juan Baca, director of security and entertainment. National acts often scale down their show, pulling out the acoustic guitar and interacting directly with the crowd. “The audience loves it, but the performers love it, too.”
Final spin: Most, in not all, casinos put money back into the community. Sycuan is a leader in this area, earmarking untold millions of dollars every year to 700 military, healthcare, education, youth, civic, and environmental groups and charities. “From the day we opened our doors in 1983, giving back to our community has been a priority,” said community development manager Lauren Morrow.
Sycuan Casino
5469 Casino Way, El Cajon.(619) 445-6002 or sycuan.com
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