1st tribal casino in Sacramento County opens doors early

The first tribal casino in California’s Sacramento County opened its doors two weeks early, the tribe and representatives of Boyd Gaming Corp. announced.

The Wilton Rancheria Indian Tribe surprised the public last week with a Facebook post announcing the doors were open for its Sky River Casino, a $500 million project in Elk Grove.

Shortly after midnight Tuesday, the casino posted: “Psst … you up? We’re open,” on Facebook.

“I can confirm that we had a soft opening at Sky River last Tuesday,” said David Strow, spokesman for Boyd, which is managing casino operations. “We plan to have a formal grand opening ceremony at the property next month, but it is open to the public now.”

Located 15 miles south of downtown Sacramento, Sky River is the closest casino to Sacramento and the South and East Bay areas. In addition to a 100,000-square-foot casino featuring 2,000 slot machines and 80 table games, Sky River features “The Market at Sky River,” a food and beverage marketplace with 12 restaurant venues.

Sky River was developed by Boyd, which will operate the facility under a management agreement with the Wilton Rancheria Tribe.

“Sky River Casino is an entertainment destination that will include a wide array of dining experiences that are sure to excite foodies throughout the area,” said Chris Gibase, president and chief operating officer for Sky River Casino, in a news release. “The property features cutting-edge technology that allows for an innovative approach to our loyalty program, Sky River Rewards, designed to create a memorable experience for our guests.”

Tribal Chairman Jesus Tarango said the casino is bringing jobs and long-term benefits to the tribe and to the region.

“Our people have fought for decades to achieve self-sufficiency,” Tarango said in a statement. “We fought for tribal recognition, for our land and for this historic project.”

Descendants of the Miwok-speaking Native American tribes, the Wilton Rancheria tribe is indigenous to territory within Sacramento County. A federally recognized tribe by the U.S. government, the Wilton Rancheria tribe currently has 700 members with 62 percent of the tribe living in Sacramento County. It’s also a young tribe with 40 percent of its members under 18 years old and 60 percent of its tribal youth in the Elk Grove Unified School District, the casino’s website says.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.