Thunder Valley Casino Resort is a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

and

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

located in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Placer County Placer County ( ; Spanish for "sand deposit"), officially the County of Placer, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 404,739. The county seat is Auburn. Placer County is included in the G ...

Whitney, California Whitney is an unincorporated community in Placer County, California. Whitney is located on the Southern Pacific Railroad, north-northwest of Roseville. It lies at an elevation of and is home to the Thunder Valley Casino Resort. The name hon ...

near the city of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, 30 miles (48 km) northeast of

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. It is owned and operated by the

United Auburn Indian Community The United Auburn Indian Community (UAIC) is a federally recognized Native America tribe consisting mostly of Miwok Indians indigenous to the Sacramento Valley region. The historic Auburn Rancheria is located in the Sierra Nevada foothills near ...

and designed by architect Edward Vance of JMA Architecture Studios, located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The resort opened on June 9, 2003. It was operated by

Station Casinos Station Casinos, LLC is an American hotel and casino company based in Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin South, Nevada, and founded by Frank Fertitta Jr. Station Casinos, along with Affinity Gaming, Boyd Gaming and Golden Entertainment, dominate t ...

from 2003 to 2010. The 275,000-square-foot (25,550 m²) facility offers a variety of gaming including slot machines, live poker and various other table games.

History

Thunder Valley Casino Resort is owned by the

, a

Native American tribe In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, tribal nation, or similar concept is any extant or historical clan, tribe, band, nation, or other group or community of Native Americans in the Unit ...

consisting of mostly Miwuk and

Maidu The Maidu are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada, in the watershed area of the Feather River, Feather and American River, American ...

Indians indigenous to the Sacramento Valley region. In the 1950s and '60s, the United States government terminated 41 California rancherias—mini-reservations, including that of the Miwok and Maidu Auburn band. As a way to lift themselves out of poverty, the members of the tribe decided to build a casino after Congress restored the tribe's federal status in 1994, allowing the tribe to acquire land under

tribal sovereignty Tribal sovereignty in the United States is the concept of the inherent authority of indigenous tribes to govern themselves within the borders of the United States. Originally, the U.S. federal government recognized American Indian trib ...

. The United Auburn Indian Community entered into a tribal-state gaming compact with the State of California in September 1999 in order to conduct Class III gaming on trust land. This compact was later successfully renegotiated with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004. Thunder Valley was designed by JMA Architecture Studios and built by the PENTA Building Group. The casino was opened in June 2003 and then expanded starting in March 2009 and finishing July 2010. The UAIC is known for their efforts to abide by state and local land-use laws, even though they are not obligated to do so under sovereignty law. For example, the UAIC chose to include the California Environmental Quality Act in its local agreement, something only a handful of tribes submit to.

Gambling

The casino has over 3,000 slot and video machines, 125 table games (including blackjack and paigow) and a live poker room with enough space for 160 players. The casino regularly holds promotions and special events including drawings, cash prizes, and tournaments.

Attractions

The expansion completed in July 2010 includes a 17-story

luxury hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

with 408 rooms, with 46 suites. Inside the hotel is a large banquet and entertainment hall (Pano Hall) with the capacity of 1,000 guests, meeting rooms, bars and a gift shop. The pool has surrounding private cabanas and a poolside bar, Coconut. There are a total of 14 restaurants and bars. The spa offers facials, massages, pedicures, manicures, Lomi Lomi, hot stone massages, and the signature 24-karat gold leaf facial. There is also a sauna, whirlpool, steam room, and health club. Steelman Partners was the architect and interior designers. shop12 was the lighting designers for the major expansion in 2010. Thunder Valley Casino Resort hosts a number of concerts and shows in the summertime in their outdoor amphitheater.

Entertainment

The Venue

The Venue at Thunder Valley is a new $100 million entertainment venue which opening on February 17, 2023 with a performance by the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

. It hosts 4,500 seats inside a 150,000 square foot state-of-the art theater.

Events

Philanthropy

Using the revenue generated from Thunder Valley, the UAIC gives about $1 million annually to nonprofit groups in Placer County. Some beneficiaries of ongoing and previous donations include the Lighthouse Counseling & Family Resource Center, Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital Foundation, and Foothill Volunteer Center. In January 2005, the UAIC donated $250,000 to assist Habitat for Humanity International's (HFHI) relief efforts in southern Asia following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. In January 2010, the UAIC donated $50,000 to

Partners in Health Partners In Health (PIH) is an international nonprofit public health organization founded in 1987 by Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Thomas J. White, Todd McCormack, and Jim Yong Kim. Partners in Health provides healthcare in the poorest areas of de ...

for their efforts in the

2010 Haiti earthquake A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest department, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's c ...

aftermath.