Sacramento’s Sky River Casino Moves Opening Up to Early September

Sky River Casino, a new California Indian casino in Sacramento County, is set to open sooner than expected.

Located in Elk Grove, 15 miles southeast of Sacramento, Sky River Casino will now open in early September, the casino announced this week. It was originally set to open in November. A potential opening date could be Labor Day weekend, although the casino didn’t give an exact date.

Wilton Rancheria, a tribe of Miwok people, owns the casino.

WANNA PLAY POKER? Best Site for Online Poker in California 2022

“Our people have fought for decades to achieve self-sufficiency,” said Jesus Tarango, Wilton Rancheria’s tribal chairman. “We fought for tribal recognition, for our land and for this historic project. We are privileged to partner with Boyd Gaming and look forward to the opening of Sky River, which will bring jobs and long-term benefits to our Tribe, our community, and the region.”

Sky River Casino Features

A $500 million project, Sky River Casino will feature 2,000 slot machines, 80 table games, a 12-table poker room, and just over 110,000 square feet of gaming space. There will also be four restaurants and a 12-story hotel with 302 rooms, a spa, a fitness center, and a pool. Construction began in March 2021, so this project will wind up taking just 17 months to complete.

When it opens, Sky River Casino will be the closest casino to Sacramento, California’s capital. Other casinos in the Sacramento area include Hard Rock Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain and Rolling Hills Casino and Resort.

Where Is Sky River Casino Located?

The casino’s address is 1 Sky River Pkwy, Elk Grove, CA 95758. It is built where the abandoned Elk Grove Mall used to be.

So it technically is not on reservation land. That means Wilton Rancheria had to buy the land and get approval from the US Department of the Interior. That happened in January 2017. Now, about 5 1/2 years later, Wilton Rancheria will have its casino.

 

About the Author

Matthew Bain

Matthew Bain started as News Editor and Content Manager at California Casinos in 2022. Before that, he spent six years as a sports reporter and then deputy sports editor for the Des Moines Register, during which time he won nine statewide journalism awards, including the Genevieve Mauck Stoufer Outstanding Young Iowa Journalists Award. As deputy sports editor, Matthew oversaw the Register's recruiting coverage while also innovating the outlet's high school sports coverage. Matthew graduated from San Diego State and grew up in California, but he's somehow a Boston Celtics fan. Long story.