Bumper-to-bumper traffic greets formerly quiet community of Lincoln
The doors opened at least a half-hour early and by 10 a.m. the place
was at or above capacity.
By 10:30, finding an empty seat at a slot machine was difficult.
And by 11, traffic heading to the brand new Thunder Valley Casino in
Lincoln, Calif., was backed up more than seven miles, stretching all
the way down state Route 65, bumper-to-bumper, from Interstate
80.
By noon, estimates had it that the normally quick drive from Sacramento
to this formerly tranquil spot in the Sierra foothills was taking about
an hour to navigate. The east- and westbound exit ramps that form the
I-80 clover leaf onto Route 65 were snarled. Back roads were jammed,
too.
Owned by the United Auburn Indian Community and operated by Las
Vegas-based Stations Casinos Inc., Thunder Valley was in full
swing.
The $215 million gaming hall is expected to siphon away 10 percent to
20 percent — $100 million to $200 million — of Reno’s gaming revenues
in its first few months of operations, according to several Nevada
gaming experts and executives.
By the looks of things on a quiet and breezy Monday morning, those
numbers suddenly seemed much easier to believe.
“This is great, huh? You don’t have to go to Reno,” were the first
words uttered by J. R. Leverton, a Lincoln resident, after he entered
the east doors of the casino with his sister, Patricia Williams, also
of Lincoln, to “see what all the hoopla was about.”
About 8,000 others with the same idea already had made it into the
building.
The day started at 9 a.m. with a short ceremony featuring remarks from
Jessica Tavares, the tribe’s chairwoman, and traditional Native
American dancing to bless the 200,000-square-foot structure. Tavares
praised the community’s efforts to bring about the possibility of
economic independence for the tribe, and spoke of a vibrant future for
its children.
“Today we can finally say that we will live better than our ancestors,”
Tavares said. “No more do we have to look to others for assistance.
Today we open the doors to our future, a future full of hope,
self-determination and self-sufficiency.”
The casino was scheduled to open at 10 a.m., but with thousands already
on the scene, cash in hand, the doors were flung open early. Newly
minted dealers, bartenders, waitresses, food service staff, pit bosses
and security personnel — all of who had been told to be on the premises
by 8 — were ready.
“I love to gamble,” said Lillian Powell, who made the trip from
Pittsburg, Calif. “I don’t have much money to spend, but I’d probably
stay the night if they had a hotel here. I wanted to be among the first
to be here when the doors opened.”
About 50 yards away, the Falls Bar was doing brisk business, with
sports on multiple overhead flat-screen televisions and a Frank Sinatra
movie on in the corner. Every video poker machine inlaid in the bar was
occupied, some of the players briefly distracted by cocktail waitresses
sporting revealing two-piece black leather outfits with zip-up tops and
matching knee-high boots atop three-inch heels.
General Manager Scott Garawitz, a 10-year Station veteran who is
employed by the United Auburn tribe, was all smiles.
“Things are going extremely smoothly,” he said, not far from an ATM
machine where a line of at least a dozen gamblers had formed. “People
were waiting to get in here and have a good time.”
Blackjack dealer Sandy So-Cheung, formerly of Reno, was one of the few
dealers waiting for customers in the early going.
So-Cheung worked table games for five years at the Peppermill
Hotel-Casino in Reno before leaving for Lincoln in May. She said she’s
one of about 10 former Peppermill employees at Thunder Valley.
Ultimately, Thunder Valley will have about 1,800 employees when the
three large-scale restaurants open in the fall. Spokesman Doug Elmets
said that of the current 1,500 workers, at least 200 were recruited
from Reno casinos.
“They are experienced people who know the business,” Elmets said of the
Reno expatriates.
Annual salaries, including tips, range from $40,000 to $60,000, he
said.
“I don’t know if I’ll be going back to Reno anymore,” said Barbara
Zalikowsky of nearby Roseville. “Reno is a little bit scuzzy these
days, on the streets.
“Lake Tahoe is different, though. There’s a lot in Tahoe that Reno
doesn’t have.”
Zalikowsky’s friend and neighbor, who asked not be named, said she
thought she’d be back in the Reno-Sparks area at least three times a
year.
“We love John Ascuaga’s Nugget,” she said. “They’re just grand.”
