If the cascading indoor water wall on the gaming floor of Valley View Casino & Hotel looks familiar, it’s because it used to be outside. Today, it marks where the newly expanded casino seamlessly transitions into the existing one.
In July, Valley View completed its 18-month, $50 million expansion and renovation project, which added an additional 43,000 square feet of casino, restaurant and public space, as well as a top-to-bottom remodel of the entire casino, high-limit slot area, VIP lounge, buffet and all-day cafe.
Nearly every inch is new, from the massive Australian umbrellas at the hotel’s infinity pool to the grand entryway to the player’s club desk, carpeting, wallpaper, chandeliers, ceiling tiles and gift promotions and slot tournament.
Among the features of its new expansion and renovation are:
- An additional 25,000 square feet of gambling space, with 250 new slot machines, for a total of 2,000, and 11 new table games, doubling the previous number. The new grand entrance leads to the added gaming area — made airy by a high ceiling and natural light coming through the sleek water wall. Slot machine aisles are more spacious, giving players more elbow room. Sightlines have also been improved for easier navigation.
- A new 160-seat restaurant and bar called Patties & Pints, featuring scratch-made, elevated pub fare. Patties & Pints serves eight kinds of burgers — made from a custom, Brandt beef grind — nine varieties of deep-dish pizza, 16 beers on tap, 16 in bottles, 17 kinds of ice cream shakes, including seven boozy shakes. (The beer taps mark the first time draft brew has been served at Valley View; it’s now available at all four of the casino’s bars.) There’s also a stand-alone take-out area and the bar area overlooks the casino.
- An entire renovation of the buffet restaurant, with updated furnishings, enlarged seating capacity (100 more seats, for a total of 600), and 25 new menu offerings. The buffet also now has new dedicated restrooms.
- A complete renovation of the former BLD Restaurant, now called The Café, which serves everything from eggs Benedict to BLTs and chicken pad Thai. Hotel stays include a full breakfast there.
If that’s not enough to entice players to check out Valley View, new players 21 and over are being offered $200 in cash and gifts for g up to The Club rewards program. The players club $200 package — believed to be the highest ever extended to potential at a local casino — includes $10 in free slot play, $10 to the Maine lobster buffet, $10 to Black&Blue Steakhouse, $10 to Patties & Pints, $10 to The Café, $10 to Stix, Snax or Sweets eateries, a movie ticket to The Lot luxury movie theater, a lift to Snow Valley Mountain Resort, $10 gift certificate to Wahoo’s Fish Taco, a 4-Pack of Cock’n Bull Ginger Beer, a certificate for an Oggi’s flatbread, and a certificate for a Sonic featured menu item.
What’s app-ening
Harrah’s Resort Southern California: Earlier this summer, Harrah’s SoCal introduced the eFunner Casino mobile gaming app, which allows players to play — and wager on — 12 different games, including poker, virtual slots and bingo, while on the property. That means being able to play on your phone while in your hotel room, at the pool, or at SR76 Beerworks, etc. Named for the resort’s marketing brand, Funner, the eFunner Casino is available to all Caesars Rewards (Harrah’s SoCal is part of the Caesars Entertainment empire). for iPhones from the Apple app store or by going to rapidgames-rapid.harrahs.com:10000/legal/androidinstall.html for Android phones.
Jamul Casino: Also new is the Jamul Casino app, which keeps players up-to-date on promotions at the casino, drawings, events, and special player offers. Sweetwater Rewards can check their tier points and comp status and access all their their information. Available for iPhone and Android at jamulcasinosd.com/app or at the app store.
Valley View Casino & Hotel: Valley View’s new app also lets players check their earned points, dining and special offers, promotions and events and more. Available for iPhone at the Apple app store or for Android on Google Play. directly at valleyviewcasino.com/casino/app.aspx
AAA honors the new kid item added 8/15
Less than five months after opening, Sycuan Casino Resort has garnered an AAA Four Diamond award, which recognizes “exceptional standards” in hospitality, design and décor, amenities and more. Sycuan s the San Diego area’s already celebrated AAA Four Diamond casino hotels: Barona Resort & Casino, Pala Casino Spa & Resort, Pechanga Resort & Casino, Viejas Casino & Resort and its sister property, Willows Hotel & Spa.
Food news
Viejas Casino & Resort: Putting a new, casual spin on dining, Viejas this summer converted its chef-driven restaurant Locale into Baron Long Bar & Grill. Named for the Baron Long ranch land that is now Viejas as well as the scrappy tribal fast pitch softball team from the 1970s and 80s, the eatery features a variety of burgers and brews. The fitting sports bar theme of Baron Long brings with it 16 TVs throughout the restaurant, including 10 85-inch screens. There are appetizers like a giant pretzel, street tacos, biscuits, Thai Brussels sprouts, elote and crab drip. In addition, soups, salads, pizza, main dishes, dessert, a seasonal craft cocktail menu and 16 draft beers are offered. The brews come from the showcase keg room (formerly Locale’s wine cellar) and focus on notable San Diego breweries.
Sycuan Casino Resort: Sycuan has collaborated with San Diego’s Thorn Brewing to make two casino-branded beers. “We are thrilled to introduce our new one-of-a-kind Blonde Ale and IPA craft beers,” said Paul Schwab, executive chef at Sycuan Casino Resort. “When we were looking for an iconic local brewery to create these beers, Thorn was the natural fit. Together, I think we have created something very special that will appeal to a wide variety of people.” The Sycuan Blonde is described as a 5 percent alcohol-by-volume malty blonde ale that’s ideal for the entry-level macro beer drinkers. The Sycuan IPA is a 6 percent alcohol-by-volume “West Coast classic that blends a malt backbone with throwback hops to bring out the delicious bitterness that seasoned IPA drinkers love.” The brews, created at Thorn’s 30-barrel production facility in Barrio Logan, will be available throughout the casino resort, at The unCommons food court, Rank & File pub restaurant, Lobby Bar, the all-day Viewpoint Neighborhood Kitchen and Bull & Bourbon steakhouse.
Jamul Casino: Next month, Jamul’s Loft 94 Beer Garden will get a pan-Asian noodle-centric food component. A yakitori grill will be added in addition to speciality noodles like ramen, pho, udon and Hawaiian saimin. The beer garden has an outdoor patio and serves 24 craft beers on tap. “At Jamul Casino, we offer truly unique dining venues and experiences for our guests in ways you won’t see elsewhere, and our enhancements to the craft experience at Loft 94 Beer Garden are another example of this distinction,” said Ben Petell, director of food and beverage.
Pechanga Resort & Casino: Pechanga unveiled a newly elevated Temptations Food Walk, its busy six-station food court that attracts approximately 2,200 guests during the week and 4,500 on weekends.The upgrades include more restaurant space, an updated design, streamlined menus and added contemporary food choices. “Our changes made a few of the walk-up restaurants larger, and we enhanced not only how they look, but also the selection and caliber of foods we offer to our guests,” said Pam Toscano, vice president of food and beverage. Temptations offers everything from gourmet coffees, teas and desserts to fried chicken with all the comfort food fixings, Italian, Mexican, American and Asian cuisines.
Highlights of the upgrades include:
- Added space to the 24-hour Caffé Cocoa, which features coffees, teas, smoothies, pastries, gelato, freshly made French macarons, Italian canolis, tiramisu cake, gourmet cupcakes, as well as several sugar-free options like cheesecake and chocolate cake. (Don’t miss the homemade gelato and cookies open-faced ice cream sandwiches.)
- An expanded Pechanga Fried Chicken, which now sells rotisserie whole chickens packaged in a heat-controlled bag. Fried chicken, green beans, baked beans, mashed potatoes, fresh biscuits and mac ‘n’ cheese are all available.
- Pronto Italiano now serves gourmet Italian sandwiches, including meatball provolone, chicken Parmigiano and caprese, along with new flatbreads and the classic giant pizza slices, calzones and pastas.
- Agave’s Mexican specialties include your choice of meat or protein in a bowl, taco, burrito, nachos or taco salad. Homemade quesadillas, bean and cheese burritos and more are served.
- The 24-hour American Classics stand continues to serve such favorites as burgers and fries but now also grills up turkey, chicken and veggie burgers. The new menu has gourmet hot dogs, loaded fries and Philly cheese steaks.
- In addition to Chinese specialties, served à la carte or with chow mein or fried rice, Little Wok serves four kinds of banh mi sandwiches.
- Temptations has added four new Coca-Cola Freestyle soda fountains. The touchscreen-operated dispensers offer nearly 200 soft drink options, including 117 low- or no-calorie beverages.