Thunder Valley Casino Resort, owned by the United Auburn Indian Community in Northern California is working to finish $56 million in upgrades and additions that includes a 25,000 square foot smoke free poker room and bingo hall with 27 tables, and a conversion of the existing poker room into a high limit slots area.
The high rollers room will have an additional 80 machines, for a total of 200.
The resort recently completed three floors of its 17-story hotel, which adds 111 rooms. The next phase will upgrade some rooms into luxury suites, one of them a 2,100 SF room. The work is aiming towards an March 1 opening, which is a firm date given that the poker room will be hosting a World Poker Tour event.
Doug Elmets, the spokesman for the tribe, told reporters last week “This is what you can do when business is good. Business is good, and the economy is hot.” The tribe is anxious to stay up to date and offer amenities that can compete with neighboring properties.
Some of the upgrades were driven by guest demands and are unrelated to the competition. The hotel normally has 97 percent capacity and the sort attracts up to 22,000 visitors daily.
By the middle of the year Thunder Valley expects to have more than 3,400 slot machines.
