San Diego isn’t the only place undergoing a casino expansion boom. Two big Palm Springs-area casinos are getting bigger, while two modest-sized ones in Riverside County are upping their game with new hotel resorts.
All five of the properties are within a quick day trip from San Diego County — and the area’s 10 casinos. Coupled with the $550 million expansion San Manuel Casino in Highland is undertaking, Southern California has arguably the most dynamic — and ultra-competitive — casino economy outside Las Vegas.
How hot is the market? According to 500nations.com, an independent site that follows the Indian gaming industry, 45 percent of all California slot machines are located in Riverside and San Diego Counties. In annual gross revenue, gambling at Indian casinos in California is a $9 billion business and makes up more than a quarter of the U.S. total of $32.4 billion.
As casinos in the desert heat up and San Diegans head there to enjoy the season, here’s a look at some of the changes to expect.
Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa
Already in the top tier of luxury casino resorts in the Palm Springs area, Agua Caliente will be adding a swanky new, 300-room hotel tower. With its 340 existing rooms and suites, the expansion will give Agua Caliente nearly double the accommodations of its closest competitor, Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa. The casino floor will also be enlarged, with approximately 200 new slot machines installed.
Ground will broken on the project in 2019. By the end of this month, however, a host of other new amenities and resort refurbishments will be complete.
“We’re excited to unveil a brand new, elevated Agua Caliente experience,” said Michael Facenda, the casino’s vice president of marketing. “Our target is to satisfy everybody’s needs.”
Below are highlights of what’s new. For a taste of what staying there is like, click here.
- Pívat: An ultra glamorous indoor-outdoor cigar lounge, Pívat — Cahuilla for smoking tobacco — opened in early November and already feels like the most sophisticated spot in the desert. With plush, over-sized leather chairs, an expansive humidor, curated bites from The Steakhouse, a foot-long list of single malt scotches and a cocktail program specifically designed to pair with different types of cigars, Pívat is an adult playground with a serious edge. Don’t miss the Pívat Old Fashioned, which is infused with applewood smoke.
- Sports bar: A new dining and drinking venue — The Grandstand sports pub — will be a new hub off the casino floor.
- Grand Palms Buffet: The newly remodeled buffet will include three new dining options — Mexican, Asian and a New York-style deli — that will operate like a food court right off the buffet.
- Club Mezz/The Show: As Agua Caliente’s first-class concert theater The Show prepares to mark its 10th anniversary in February, it already has something to celebrate. The recently opened Club Mezz, on the venue’s third floor mezzanine, hosts “the official after party” for shows, with cocktails and a DJ, in a clubby, private suite-like environment. And The Show is getting quite the birthday party: comedy superstar Jerry Seinfeld will perform there on March 2 as the marquee event feting the theater’s 10 years.
- Gaming: The Coachella Valley’s only live poker room has been remodeled, while a new high-limit slots lounge has been opened; the existing high-limit room is now dedicated solely to table games.
32-250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage. (888) 999-1995. hotwatercasino.com
Spa Resort Casino update: Agua Caliente’s sister property in downtown Palm Springs has significant expansion plans as well, but the details are still being worked out. Separate from the casino, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians broke ground on a monumental cultural center in Palm Springs in May. When complete, it will house one of the largest Native American museums in the country. It is scheduled to open in 2020.
Morongo Casino Resort & Spa
Driving on the I-10 to Palm Springs, you can see the 27-story Morongo Casino Resort & Spa from miles away. From the massive, 150,000-square-foot casino floor, however, there’s little indication of the changes that are afoot.
In October, Morongo broke ground on an expansion and renovation project that will significantly up its gaming capacity. The casino will increase the casino floor by about 30 percent, adding approximately 800 more slots and table games to the existing 3,000-plus slots and 77 table games.
According to the casino’s website, the development project will also “refurbish and replace numerous restaurants and improve our free valet parking services.”
A new, 750-space valet parking structure will be built and “the original Casino Morongo — currently operating as the Morongo Bingo Hall” — will be renovated and reactivated. It is slated to hold 300 slot machines displaced by the construction, the website said.
49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon. (800) 252-4499. morongocasinoresort.com
Soboba Casino
Like a number of Southern California casinos that started out as a humble bingo parlor in the 1980s, Soboba is now ing the ranks of casino resorts.
In February of 2017, the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians broke ground on a major expansion project a short distance from its current San Jacinto casino, north of Hemet. The new six-story facility, which is expected to be completed in the first part of 2019, will have a 200-room hotel, an 83,500-square-foot casino floor with 2,000 slot machines and 32 table games, multiple dining venues, a sports bar, high-limit room and an entertainment complex.
The hotel will be designed to have state-of-the art technology and a number of luxurious suites among its accommodations. Resort amenities will include a pool, fitness center, lobby bar, cabaret lounge and 15,000 square feet of event space.
23333 Soboba Road, San Jacinto. (866) 476-2622. soboba.com
Cahuilla Casino
This unassuming casino in Anza, about 30 miles east of downtown Temecula, will take on a much higher profile with the construction of its first hotel and permanent casino.
Currently housed in a semi-permanent tent, Cahuilla Casino will be transformed into a modern property, with a 57-room hotel that will include guest suites and a fitness center, a contemporary restaurant and bar, additional parking, an expanded gaming floor and a new high-limit area. The casino will now also now be offering table games.
The Cahuilla Band of Indians, which established the casino in 1996, broke ground on the expansion project in October. Construction is expected to be completed in late 2019.
“It’s an exciting time for our tribe as we enter a new phase of growth, building on our rich 20-year history to become a top-notch gaming destination,” tribal chairman Daniel Salgado said in a statement.
52702 Highway 371, Anza. (888) 371-2692. cahuillacasino.com