Caesars Entertainment has begun its rebranding of the River Rock Casino in Geyserville as one more addition to its far-flung network of casinos, resorts and other entertainment destinations. The mountainside resort will become known as Caesars Republic Sonoma County in the summer of 2027.
The casino and tribe announced a ground-breaking on Aug. 2 with a press release. It refers to the selection by the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians to name Caesars Entertainment as its development and management partner for the new integrated resort.
“Caesars Republic is our newest brand that takes on the unique personality of each location,” said Dayna Calkins of Caesars Entertainment. She named only two other Caesars Republics, one in Scottsdale and another just opened in Lake Tahoe, making Sonoma County the third in the growing destination brand.
The former Lake Tahoe Harvey’s in Reno has been remodeled at a cost of $160 million, some of it still underway. The River Rock project is currently estimated at $300 million.
“On the heels of a successful launch of Caesars Republic in Lake Tahoe, we couldn’t think of a better place than Sonoma County to continue the brand’s expansion,” said Anthony Carano, president and COO of Caesars Entertainment.
Caesars Entertainment has a local connection, too. The conglomerate originated in 1973 with the building of the Eldorado Hotel in Reno, whose primary investors were Don Carano and his family, among others. Carano later co-founded Ferrari-Carano Winery in Dry Creek Valley.
The Caesars portfolio was purchased by Eldorado in 2020, and their combined brands include Circus Circus, the Harrah’s casinos, the Flamingo in Las Vegas and the Atlantic City Tropicana, the Horseshoe casinos more familiar in the East, among many others.
The resort casino will completely transform River Rock and will feature a new casino floor with more than 1,000 slot machines and 28 table games. The destination will also be home to a new 100-room hotel with a luxury spa, pool and fitness center.
According to the River Rock Casino website, it currently has 1,100 slots, but the biggest difference will be in the luxury hotel itself. The main structure on the River Rock property at present is a tent-like building holding the restaurants and gaming. (The River Rock Casino will remain open during construction.)
Chris Wright, the chairman of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo, is quoted in the press release as saying, “This partnership with Caesars Entertainment represents more than just a new chapter in our casino’s story—it’s a bold leap into the future for our Tribe and our community. Together, we are creating a world-class resort experience that blends the natural beauty of Sonoma County with premier gaming, hospitality and entertainment.”
Although Caesars introduced the Caesars Republic brand in 2019 as a nongaming concept, a spokesperson for Caesars said recently that it “continues to evolve and will vary regarding gaming based on the market.”
The proximity of a destination Caesars Republic gaming resort raises the question of Las Vegas-style entertainment that could draw an additional audience. However, a spokesperson for Caesars Entertainment said, “We do not have plans for entertainment at this time.”
The Tribe
Official recognition of the Tribe as a sovereign nation occurred in 1915, when the federal government created the Dry Creek Rancheria and named the Tribe the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians. The rancheria occupies 75 acres in Geyserville off Hwy 128.
Dry Creek Rancheria is made up of approximately 1,300 Tribal members, more than 60% of whom live in Sonoma County.
According to the Sonoma County Tribal Affairs office, “Federally recognized Indian tribes can develop lands held in trust by the federal government without regard to local land use plans, such as the County General Plan. Such developments can result in significant adverse impacts on the county, its citizenry, services, lands, and infrastructure that the county may not have the ability to mitigate.”
Gaming
In March 2000, California voters passed Proposition 1A, the Gambling on Tribal Lands Amendment, approving Indian gaming on reservation lands. Dry Creek Rancheria opened River Rock Casino in 2002, which has been in operation since then.
About 80 tribal gaming casinos exist in California, 42 of them in the northern part of the state. The most recently announced is the Shiloh Resort and Casino on the southern border of Windsor, about halfway between the Graton Rancheria in Rohnert Park and River Rock in Geyserville. The Koi Tribe of Pomo, traditionally from Lake County, successfully applied to build the resort which was approved in the closing days of the Biden administration.
That project would be a 538,000-square-foot casino with 2,750 gaming devices, a five-story hotel with 400 rooms and more than 5,000 parking spaces. Three local tribes—the Lytton Rancheria of California, the Cloverdale Rancheria and the Dry Creek Rancheria—filed a lawsuit in federal court in February challenging federal approval of the Koi Nation’s casino project.
Tourist Attraction
If the Caesars Republic project is completed by its target date of 2027, it will add to several reasons why visitors might want to visit Geyserville. “Caesars Republic Sonoma County will also offer a robust food and beverage line-up, including a steakhouse, an upscale café, an Asian concept and an elevated quick-service option,” listed the statement from Caesars Entertainment.
“Additionally, guests will be able to enjoy a fireside bar, a sports bar and the resort’s dedicated wine bar, which will have an outdoor deck providing unparalleled views of the valley.”
See updates at drycreekrancheria.com.
