Slot Machine Casinos In Southern California

California casinos are not what they seem. If you are new to California and have previously only experienced Atlantic City or Las Vegas style casinos, you will be surprised to learn about all of the new rules and formats at the majority of casinos here. Harrah’s Resort Southern California is in the minority when it comes to CA casinos, since it is almost the same as all major Las Vegas destinations. Other than a few small game differences, your general experience will be just about the same.

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Slot Machine Casinos In Southern California

The resort itself is located in a somewhat desolate area that you will arrive at by driving up 12 miles of windy roads. Surprisingly, there are several other casinos in the nearby area, including Pala Casino, Pauma Casino, Valley View Casino, and Pechanga Casino. Each of these properties are located several miles from one another, but they are all within a roughly 20 minute drive. The area is able to sustain such a large casino industry because of its proximity to San Diego. Needless to say, Rincon is among the most popular in this area.

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Casino at Harrah’s Southern California

The casino at Harrah’s SoCal is very modern and refined. When compared to just about any other Caesars Entertainment property, this one stands out in a very positive way. Unfortunately, over the years the majority of CET properties have steadily declined in just about every way possible. Harrah’s Southern California, however, is both newer and was also recently remodeled. When you walk in, you will feel like it is a brand new resort, and for all intents and purposes, it just about is.

Craps and Roulette at Harrah’s Rincon

The games available at Harrah’s Rincon are not limited, and include everything you would find at any major casino. With that said, there are some caveats worth mentioning. Even on Indian land as is the case with this casino, California laws prohibit the use of balls and dice in their games. For this reason, craps and roulette have significant tweaks. The craps tables allow dice to be thrown, but the result is then used to correlate with playing cards that are placed on the numbers to determine winners and losers. For a craps player, this is likely to become quite boring and annoying. You will not usually hear loud ruckus coming from Harrah’s Southern California craps tables like you would expect from other casinos.

Roulette works with a similar workaround to that of craps in order to circumvent the very odd California laws in place. Instead of a ball being rolled and landing on a number, the roulette wheel is spun and slaps playing cards one by one. You place your bet according to which one you think will be the final “slapped” card rather than where a ball will land. The roulette games is effectively the same thing as what you would find in other casinos, but if you are used to traditional roulette, it could certainly come off as very odd, because, well, it is.

Slot Machines at Harrah’s Rincon

There is an ample supply of slot machines at this casino and they make up the majority of the floor. The repeat clientele seems to primarily frequent these machines, and they cover around 80% of the floor as a whole. Even with this large number of games to choose from, on busy weekends, you may find it tough to get on a game. There is a video poker section that is located in the north east section of the casino (if you are entering from the front). The video poker games here do not pay particularly well, with 98% payback generally being the best that is available in the non-high limit sections.

Poker Room at Harrah’s Rincon

A poker room is also in operation at Harrah’s Southern California, but it is rare that more than a few games are running, and when they do, they will be low limits. For the most part, the games running are going to be $1/$2 NLHE and $2/$4 LHE. If you are looking to play higher stakes games in the nearby area, Pechanga will be your best option.

Bars and Dining at Harrah’s Southern California

For the size of the resort, there is a lot to choose from when it comes to bars and dining at Harrah’s SoCal. Everything from low end, late night food like Pink’s Hot Dogs to Fiore Steakhouse and Seafood are available. There is also a buffet that is frequently full, and is located in the dead middle of the casino action to the west side. In addition to these options, there is also a noodle bar named Fortunes and a street taco style restaurant that is named ‘Ritas Cantina. No matter the hour of the day or the type of food you are after, you will be able to find it at Harrah’s Resort Southern California.

In terms of bars, you will find two different primary destinations. The first bar is located just to the right of the beginning of the main casino floor. This is primarily a video poker bar with a few tables for seating. The video poker tables actually pay fairly since the drinks cannot be comped at this casino due to California laws. This goes for the Diamond Lounge also. Drinks are charged while the food is free. This is unlike Diamond Lounges in the majority of states where unlimited alcohol is included for free.

The other bar is located in the north area of the casino floor and is sports bar oriented. It too is loaded with the same video poker machines. Food can also be ordered at this bar. The bars are about equal in terms of general feel and experience, with no real differences between the two.

Hotel at Harrah’s Southern California

There are 1,065 total rooms at Harrah’s SoCal Resort. These rooms are split into two different towers, north and south, similar to the layout of another Caesars property, Planet Hollywood. In general the rooms are very nice, especially when compared to what you would find at your typical Caesars property. Renovations over the past few years have upgraded the rooms to be higher quality than you would even find in most Las Vegas casinos.

There are a number of upgraded rooms available, though they can be tough to secure since they are not in high supply. If you are a big player and/or reserve your room well in advance, you will have a better chance at landing a suite. These offer balcony’s and other amenities that standard rooms do not have.

Room rates, especially during the week and off season, are very reasonable. If you are visiting during the summer months, however, expect to pay a significant amount for a weekend visit. Since the San Diego weather is perfect for vacationing, the resort is typically jam packed throughout the summer weekends. There is a fitness center located in the lobby area of the hotel, right next to the entrance to the pool. A room key is required for entrance to the gym, and a number of different machines and equipment are available.

Pool at Harrah’s Southern California

The pool and swim up bar at this resort is one of its best selling features, especially during the warmer months of the year. Since Valley Center is located up in the mountains and desert, you will get all of the sun and heat that you can handle. This makes for perfect pool weather, and Harrah’s built a long, windy, lazy river style pool to accommodate. Kids and adults alike will fill the pool areas to the point where it can sometimes be hard to find an open seat.

The pool also offers a swim up bar right across from the lazy river section. During the summer, this is the most popular bar to visit, and they offer a number of unique drinks that you will not find at the bars inside the casino itself. If you are visiting and it is hot outside, we highly recommend checking out the pool, as its usage is included with your stay. If you would like, you can pay an extra charge for a cabana. Food and drinks can also be ordered from servers who are working around the pool area.

CASINOS: Sovereignty keeps financial reports from state, public

November 24, 20033

By GUY KOVNER THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

© The Press Democrat

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.

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.

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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.'

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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.

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.