The Wheatland casino is owned by the Enterprise Rancheria - but it’s thoroughly a product of Hard Rock International, the global restaurant, hotel and casino brand. Indian gaming has lured big-time corporate casino partners to Northern California. The Residence Inn hotel across from the Capitol in Sacramento is controlled by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians in San Bernardino County.

The United Auburn Indian Community, owner of Thunder Valley, owns Whitney Oaks Golf Club in nearby Rocklin. The growth in gambling has lifted many tribes out of poverty while rising their political and economic profiles in the state. The payments last year totaled more than $172 million. However, the casino owners still contribute to a pair of state-run fund that are used to help poorer tribes, pay for programs for problem gamblers and other purposes. The casino tribes’ mandated contributions to the state’s general fund, once as much as $330 million annually, have declined to almost nothing in recent years after a federal judge ruled that such payments represented an illegal tax. The casino’s operator, a Pennsylvania company called Penn National Gaming Inc., announced in 2018 it was severing its ties with the casino and writing off $89 million worth of investments. In the San Diego area, the $360 million Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego defaulted on a $48 million loan a year after its 2016 opening.

Tribal gaming consultant Victor Rocha said other markets have become saturated with casinos. Spokeswoman Emily Cady wouldn’t comment on Red Hawk’s current revenues. That represented a 35 percent increase in six years. To support our work telling the stories of the Sacramento region, please consider a subscription to The Bee to support work like this and local journalism. We will also remain rooted in our commitment to holding the powerful accountable. We have more in the works.Īnother team of journalists are organizing community forums to open a conversation about how we avoid the mistakes of San Francisco and Seattle, where progress for a few came at the expense of so many. We have formed a team of reporters and editors who will write weekly stories focused on the challenges and opportunities in the region. This is Tipping Point, our new initiative focused on telling the stories of the Sacramento region’s evolution.

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