The city of Elk Grove and the Wilton Rancheria celebrated the groundbreaking of a new resort-style $400 million casino that will open in 2022.
Sky River Casino will be built by Boyd Gaming Corporation of Las Vegas on the former site of a planned regional mall along Highway 99 and Kammerer Road in Elk Grove. Boyd has 11 Las Vegas casinos and properties in its portfolio in multiple states, but this is its first gaming project in California.
The operator plans for 110,260 square feet of gaming floor, 2,000 slot machines, nearly 100 gaming tables and a dozen food options at the nearly 40-acre site. It will also include over 600,00 square feet of hospitality and entertainment space, including a 12-story hotel, pool, spa, convention center, restaurants and bars.
The tribe and the gaming developer will focus first on building the casino and dining elements before the hotel is constructed.
The project is a breath of fresh air following years of dormancy at the site of the once-planned mall. The casino will enter a deep market for regional gaming, which includes Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Red Hawk, Cache Creek and the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel.
There’s a lot to be excited about. The tribe is promising to invest $186 million in the city and county over the next two decades to fund public projects. Business, tribe and civic leaders believe the casino will create fresh energy that will attract people from across the region given its location in Elk Grove.