Despite the proliferation of tribal gaming in California, the restrictions on locating casinos on reservation land have kept Indian casinos far from San Francisco. But the land-into-trust process allowed the Graton Rancheria tribe to build its spectacular new casino in Rohnert Park, just north of San Francisco.
Built and managed by Station Casinos, the Graton Casino Resort opened in November to thousands of visitors. But more than just a casino, Graton offers most of the amenities found at a top flight casino, except for the lack of a hotel. Joe Hasson, a veteran casino executive, who starred in one of the first reality TV series, American Casino, when he was president of Station’s Green Valley Ranch in Las Vegas, has taken the reigns at Graton and understands how the locals market respond to high quality gaming entertainment experience. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros in December less than a month after the opening of Graton.
