The Lincoln casino resort debuted The Venue at Thunder Valley, its 4,500-seat, 150,000 square-foot music and entertainment center, last week. Longtime players United Auburn Indian Community’s Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln and Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians’ Red Hawk Casino near Shingle Springs have answered newcomer Sky River with splashes of their own.
The only federally recognized tribe in Sacramento County, Wilton Rancheria’s casino is also the closest to the capital city, its vast 100,000 square-foot gaming floor, restaurants and rows of slot machines and table games landing squarely in the middle of one of California’s most competitive tribal gaming markets. Wilton Rancheria fought for years first for federal tribal recognition, then for the gambling pact with the state that was approved in 2019 by the federal Department of Interior.
