Hard Rock set to change Sacramento-area gambling landscape

The $440-million property, formally dubbed Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain, was expected to open with 60,000 square feet of gaming space, including 1,800 slot machines, 50 table games, video poker and more.

According to casino President Mark Birtha, slots will comprise a significant portion of the gambling offerings at the new property and will include old games, new games, and some of the most popular themed games on the market today. He adds that the casino soon will announce some vendor partnerships that will create a special lounge comprising new-to-the-market themed games all linked to a progressive jackpot.

“We expect to have a good mix of titles everybody knows and loves with new titles that people are going to be really excited to come and play,” he said, adding that Hard Rock will add another 500 slot machines by 2021.

Table games are expected to be a strong suit for the Hard Rock, as well. The property recruited Paul Mollo as vice president of table games from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa to oversee the department, and Mollo reportedly was looking into adding new (and, in some cases, locally developed) Asian games to serve what is expected to be a predominantly Asian clientele.

Perhaps the biggest area of excitement around casino-floor experience: Technology.


Birtha said the Hard Rock is implementing state-of-the-art floor and service systems that will expedite jackpot processing, response times, and beverage ordering. He declined to name the technology or provide specifics, but he noted the new systems would enable guests to fill jackpots and order beverages right from the games, without having to get up or wait for attendants.

“The goal is to make all of this more user-friendly,” he said in an interview last month. “We have the resources to do this differently and do it in a way guests want. We’re excited to make it happen.”

Gambling options aren’t the only notable attribute of the new Hard Rock, which sits adjacent to the Toyota Amphitheatre. While each of the existing casinos in Northern California is owned by one Native-American group, this Hard Rock is unique because it represents a partnership of two: The Seminole Tribe from Florida and the Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe of the Enterprise Rancheria from nearby Oroville in Butte County.

Hard Rock NorCal also will have 170 guest rooms (including 31 suites), six restaurants, shopping, meeting space, and a spa.

The project certainly has endured its share of controversy over the years. The Enterprise Rancheria tribe first applied to the federal government in 2003 for permission to acquire land in Yuba County for the casino. They received the land and finally broke ground in 2016 on a smaller, $170-million casino known as Fire Mountain Resort. That project was then halted due to lawsuits from other neighboring tribes that complained the property was too far from the tribe’s ancestral home.

For the initial project, the tribe only had a Class II license, which granted it the right to run electronic versions of bingo and other games. Eventually, as the lawsuits were settled, the State of California granted the tribe a Class III license, permitting Las Vegas-style gambling.

Hard Rock Northern California will be the second new casino in the area to open this year; Harrah’s Northern California, owned by the Buena Vista Band of Me-Wuk Indians and operated by Caesars Entertainment, opened in April.
With 950 slot machines and 20 table games, the Harrah’s casino already has put pressure other mega-resorts in the region, specifically Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln and Cache Creek Casino Resort in Brooks. Ken Adams, a casino consultant in Reno and senior analyst for CDC Gaming Reports, told the Sacramento Bee he sees the Hard Rock as “an entirely different competitor,” adding that this new casino will challenge veteran properties in the region even more because “their corporate resources are so much larger than anybody else’s.”

Doug Elmets, a spokesman for Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, downplayed the notion of competition from the newcomer, instead focusing on the things his property does well.

“Thunder Valley’s focus will continue to be providing superior guest service, diversifying our amenities, ensuring that our slot floor has the latest and greatest innovative products, and offering headline entertainment that has enabled us to be an industry leader,” Elmets wrote in a recent email.
A spokesperson from Cache Creek declined comment all together.

However the new Hard Rock impacts the overall Sacramento-area market, it undoubtedly will bring more gaming options into the region. According to a press release, the casino will celebrate its grand opening October 30, with parties and concerts continuing through the weekend of November 2-3.