Revenue for 2004 puts it in the top five casinos nationwide
By: Joshua Bingham, Gold Country News Service
Scott Garawitz When Thunder Valley Casino opened on June 9, 2003,
General Manager Scott Garawitz was hesitant to anticipate
anything.
"We were kind of the unknown coming out here," said Garawitz, who lived
and worked in Las Vegas for 10 years prior to moving his family to
Granite Bay and working at Thunder Valley.
But with enough 2004 revenue to make Thunder Valley one of the five
most successful casinos - Indian and non-Indian - in the country, the
casino has undoubtedly been a big hit.
Thunder Valley public affairs spokesman Doug Elmets said the 2004
revenue figure is confidential.
"It's a lot, though," he added.
Garawitz said an element of the casino's success is that it brought
another form of wanted entertainment to the area. And many people go to
the casino just for its restaurants.
"It's the only game in town - entertainment 24/7," Elmets added, as
both men were interviewed together in Thunder Valley.
A hint of the public's desire for the casino, Elmets said, was that
when kiosks were set up at the Galleria at Roseville, 2,200 people
signed up for a casino "boarding pass" before Thunder Valley
opened.
Now, an average of 8,000 visitors pass through each Friday or Saturday,
Garawitz said. There are about 6,000 visitors during the slower
weekdays.
Patrons come from anywhere within about a 100-mile radius, Elmets said,
with the Bay Area being about the limit.
But no matter where people come from, Garawitz said a key to his job is
making sure no customer is unhappy.
"We look at (patrons) as a lot of ones, not 1,000," Garawitz said of
the casino's constantly evolving customer service approach.
When the casino was built, Garawitz said Feng Shui principles of design
and colors were taken into account for the exterior and interior. What
food is offered is based on customer surveys. And once a large Asian
market was identified as coming to the casino, Garawitz said an Asian
marketing team was developed that speaks every dialect.
"It's not just speaking Asian, but knowing the culture," Garawitz
added.
Also, as a help to customers, Garawitz designed all of the slot machine
chairs so that when a person leaves any one, it will move back to the
same direction and height as the rest of the empty chairs.
"It's details that add up for customer convenience," he said.
The casino offers more than 2,700 games, two of which were developed on
site, and the possibly most technologically advanced slot floor in the
country, Garawitz said.
There were 1,906 games prior to September, Garawitz said, but that
changed when the agreement with the state of California allowed for
more. The extension of the gaming floor is why concerts are no longer
offered at Thunder Valley.
Garawitz would like to offer concerts again, but there just isn't a
venue for them now, he added.
But before any decision could be made, Garawitz said the United Auburn
Indian Community tribal council would have to approve it. He said he
attends semi-monthly meetings with the tribal council to approve all
his decisions.
The approximately 255-member UAIC, a federally recognized organization,
owns Thunder Valley. The community - a majority of whom live in
Lincoln, Rocklin and Roseville - is made up of Maidu and Miwok Indians.
An act of Congress restored tribal recognition in 1994 and allowed the
tribe to select an area in Placer County for a reservation since
collectively the community only owned 2.8 acres. The site chosen is
where Thunder Valley Casino was built.
As tribal council chair of UAIC, Jessica Tavares is the CEO of the
casino. She's satisfied with Garawitz's performance.
"The management, headed by Scott, has made Thunder Valley into a
superior workplace that encourages teamwork and treats employees very
well," Tavares said.
The casino employs 2,000 people, Elmets said.
John Davis, a Carmichael resident who works at the Barbershop on Fifth
Street in Lincoln, said several of his customers work at the casino. He
thinks the casino has helped Lincoln commerce by bringing in people
with money to spend.
On Saturdays, Davis said the Barbershop closes early at 1 p.m., and he
and his boss sometimes then visit Thunder Valley to have a beer
and gamble. Davis won big his first couple visits, and then hit a
spell of bad luck. But his boss usually always comes out on
top.
"He makes withdrawals and I make deposits," Davis said.
All together, Davis enjoys the entertainment offered by the
casino.
"It seems fine," he said. "I think the Indians got ripped off to begin
with and they should get compensated one way or another."
With the revenue being made, Davis said he'd like to see the UAIC help
fund the Highway 65 bypass and an Amtrak train station in
Lincoln.
As it is, Elmets said the casino pays $45 million annually to the
state, about $2 million a year to Placer County police and fire, in
addition to a fire house the UAIC funded, and applicable taxes on food
and beverages.
And providing as much as $1 million annually to nonprofit organizations
in the area, the tribe's Community Giving Program is a philanthropic
branch of the tribal government set up in March 2004. Lincoln Arts,
Lincoln's Police Activities League and the Western Placer Unified
School District are among the program's beneficiaries.
Elmets said the irony is that prior to Thunder Valley, many tribal
members used the programs to which funds are now donated.
"As a member of the community, we are not only making a financial
commitment, but a commitment to creating a better place to live,"
Tavares said of the giving program. "To be able to give to so many
worthy causes enriches our people as much as it enriches those who
receive."
From the casino's revenue, Tavares said tribal members receive housing
grants and "per capita distributions. Substantial funds are used on
programs for health and wellness, education, cultural resources and
tribal governance."
Elmets said the most important thing for tribal leaders is not to have
the next generation go through what they did.
"For generations, members of our tribe have had a difficult time
getting by," Tavares said. "Our housing has been inadequate, our
healthcare has been minimal and our education a real challenge. With
the revenue from the casino we have been able to create a better life
for the members of our tribe and many people in Placer County."
Joshua W. Bingham can be reached at joshuab@goldcountrymedia.com.
