When I think of states with a lot of casinos or a lot of gambling, California isn’t the first one to come to mind. In my mind, people from California who want to gamble usually go to Nevada to visit Las Vegas.
San Manuel's card craps I have never explored, but without a 'shooter' to rally behind I could imagine it sorta losing the aesthetic. Wizard of Odds did an expose of San Diego area craps in 2009 but a lot has changed since then.
- Playing it with cards is plain boring, that and they almost never have a table open.I think there is only one craps table on each side of the central bar at the end of each pit. Source(s): played San Manuel many times.
- But craps players known as Golden Arms - who have rolled winning dice for more than an hour - disagree, while casinos say it’s more math than mystique. By David Montero April 28, 2017.
Space does not allow me to say more on that. To conclude, unless you're playing Card Craps at Viejas or San Manuel, the odds are exactly the same. If there's any negative, perhaps some players don’t find it as exciting as conventional craps. With Card Craps, the odds on some bets are better and on some are worse. It is owned and operated by the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians and located on a reservation that dates back to 1891. The casino offers more than 4,700 slots, poker and a high-limit room. You can also play local table game variants like San Manuel Craps, which uses cards instead of dice.
But, as it turns out, the California casino scene is poppin’. You can find over 60 different casinos throughout the state.
In this post, I provide an overview of what the California gambling scene is really like.
An Overview of the California Casino Scene
When it comes to overall number of casinos in the state, California is #2 – right after Nevada. It’s not really close, though. California has somewhere north of 60 casinos in operation, while Nevada has around 350 different casinos.
Still, 60+ casinos is an impressive number.
The two biggest casinos in California are:
You can gamble at the age of 18 in the state of California, although some casinos have policies to only allow 21+ year old gamblers. That’s not a state law, though – that seems to just be a corporate policy for some casinos.
California doesn’t just have casinos and cardrooms, though – the state also has at least 10 parimutuel racetracks, too.
Most of the casinos and gambling in California are tribal in nature.
Types of Gambling Allowed in California
If you want to run a casino in California, you need to be involved in a Native American tribe. No one else is allowed to run casinos in the state. Native American tribes are considered more-or-less independent nations within the United States, and they have specific agreements with state governments (called “compacts” which govern their affairs.
In many states, these compacts include the right to operate casinos as long as the money goes toward the welfare of the tribe. I guess the United States figures it’s the least they can do, considering.
In California, these casinos have a limited amount of freedom in terms of what they can offer. Electronic gaming machines – like slots and video poker — are allowed. Blackjack and other card games are also permitted.
Games which use dice and spinning wheels, like craps and roulette, are not legal in the state. As you’ll read later in this post, California has workarounds for these restrictions.
In many states where Indian tribes are allowed to offer slot machines, state law requires them to release their payback statistics. This is NOT the case with California casinos. Your guess as to the slots payback percentages for these casinos is as good as anyone else’s.
Many of the casinos in California are smaller operates, especially in Southern California.
But the state has its share of large casinos, too.
Cardrooms are almost ubiquitous in the state, too, and they often operate independently of any casino. Some cardrooms even offer player-banked versions of blackjack. There are almost 100 cardrooms throughout the state.
California Craps and California Roulette
Since it’s illegal to use dice or spinning wheels to determine outcomes of gambling games in California, the casinos there have come up with workarounds to get outcomes for games that mirror craps and roulette. These “California craps” and “California roulette” games use a deck of cards to duplicate the odds of traditional craps and roulette.
(Oklahoma used to do the same thing until they changed the laws recently.)
Here’s how that works, although the actual mechanisms sometimes vary by casino:
In some casinos, they will take cards numbered ace through six from two different suits and draw a card of each suit to get a craps total. The odds this way are exactly the same as they would be if you rolled two dice. You still have the same 36 possible outcomes with the same odds of achieving each of them.
Another way some casinos determine these results is to use a deck of cards with 36 cards in it. Each of those cards is coded to correspond to one of the possible outcomes of a pair of dice.
Some people might be confused about this. After all, if you roll two dice, you only have 11 possible totals.
But some of those totals are more common than others because you have multiple ways to get those totals.
For example, a total of seven is the easiest total to get in craps because you can roll any of the following combinations to get that total:
- 1, 6
- 2, 5
- 3, 4
- 4, 3
- 5, 2
- 6, 1
And yes, the order does matter.
Does San Manuel Have Craps Tables Against
California roulette is easier to understand. In a standard roulette game, you have 38 possible outcomes – one for each number on the wheel.
Without the rolling of the dice or the spinning of the wheel, craps and roulette lose some of their appeal. They’re still offered by California casinos, but they’re not exactly popular. Most gamblers enjoy playing blackjack for real money, and since that’s perfectly legal the way it was intended to be played, that’s where the casino devotes most of its table gaming space in California.
Can You Gamble Online in California?
Even though traditional brick-and-mortar cardrooms and casinos are common enough throughout the state, there is no official, regulated online gambling scene in the state. There are no online casinos or online cardrooms operating within California’s borders.
I try to restrain my opinions about the legality of that from a player perspective. It’s clear that it’s a grey area for these offshore casinos to offer casino games, poker, and sports betting for California gamblers.
It’s not clear what is the legality for California gamblers to play at these sites, though. In fact, I know of exactly zero instances of an online gambler getting in any kind of trouble for placing real money wagers of any kind on the internet.
What Is San Manuel Casino Like?
San Manuel Casino is in Highland, California and requires its patrons to be 21 years old or older to enter. It’s the largest casino in the state and easily one of the most popular. They’re open 24/7.
Highland is a little over an hour outside of Los Angeles. They offer slot machines and traditional table card games. They just renovated their non-smoking area in the casino, too.
Like many casinos, San Manuel organizes their gaming into various areas. The Rockin’ Casino, for example, has over 800 new slot machines and 16 table games. It’s designed to have a rock and roll feel. The high limit room, on the other hand, offers a newly-renovated casino experience at the upper betting limits – both slots and card games.
San Manuel has a lucrative arrangement with Konami and boasts of having more Konami games than any other casino in the world. They also offer over 130 different tables of casino games – mostly blackjack.
Finally, the Lotus Palace is an Asian-themed casino gambling area with baccarat and Asian-inspired slots.
What Is Thunder Valley Casino Resort Like?
Thunder Valley Casino Resort is located in Lincoln, California, and they’re open 24/7. The casino offers 3000 different gambling machines, including some big name slots like the following:
- Farmville
- Lightning Link
- Lock It Link Superlock
- Quick Hits
- Triple Diamond
- Wizard of Oz Munchkinland
They offer slot machine gambling at all betting limits, too, from penny slots to $100 per spin.
They also offer a robust selection of casino games, including:
- Baccarat
- Blackjack
- Blackjack Switch
- Chase the Flush
- Criss Cross
- DJ Wild
- Face Up Pai Gow Poker
- Fortune Pai Gow Progressive
- Four Card Poker
- Free Bet Blackjack
- Mystery Card Roulette
- Spanish 21
- Three Card Poker
- Thunder Valley Craps
- Ultimate Texas Hold’em
- Zappit Blackjack
Their “Thunder Valley Craps” is another example of California Craps. In this version, the craps table has a red box and a blue box. You toss the cubes on the table, and the number of dots on the cube corresponds to a card. That card determines the craps total.
“Mystery Card Roulette” works just like any other California roulette game – you draw a card from a deck of 38 cards, and it determines which roulette number was the winner.
Conclusion
California is a big state for gamblers – especially casino gamblers and poker players. You can’t find any place to bet on sports here, yet, and online gambling is more-or-less off-limits.
But there are enough casinos in the state that you can easily scratch that itch.
The state laws allow you to gamble even if you’re only 18, but many of the casinos require you to be 21 to gamble as a policy.
The San Manuel Casino is located roughly 60 to 75 minutes east of Los Angeles, CA in San Bernardino County. The casino is owned and operated by The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, a federally recognized tribe of the Serrano people.
San Manuel is the nearest Las Vegas style casino to the majority of the Los Angeles area. This casino is very similar to other Indian run casinos in Southern California, including Harrah’s SoCal and Pechanga, and also northern CA casinos, like Cache Creek. The differences between San Manuel and a casino you would find in Atlantic City or Las Vegas are very minor, and when they exist, are due to state laws. For the most part, San Manuel is the most complete real casino experience achievable in California.
San Manuel Casino
Does San Manuel Have Craps Tables 2019
If you are an avid gambler in Southern California, in particular, the Los Angeles area, one main difference you will notice is that San Manuel is an actual casino. Unlike cardrooms in California tribal casinos, such as San Manuel, contain table games, bingo, slot and gaming machines, and more. Additionally, there are no fees to play table games and the rules are generally more favorable at San Manuel and other tribal casinos compared to California cardrooms.
When you arrive at San Manuel you’ll notice the sheer size of the property. Relative to competitors in the area the casino is rather large and contains ample parking. However, if you choose to attend on busy nights (typically weekends), parking in the garage is sparse, so you’ll definitely want to consider what time you arrive or valeting your car. Another thing to also consider is that there is no hotel on-site, but you there are many hotel options in the area.
Inside the first-floor, casino level area plenty of gaming options. You’ll notice a circular bar in the middle of the floor where you can grab a drink, game, and/or watch one of the many TVs. Around the floor are several slots, table games, and a few more bars. Drink prices are around $7-$10, which is pretty reasonable and the floor is filled with cocktail waitresses to serve you. If you are used to receiving comp drinks, you’ll be disappointed to know that San Manuel does not offer comp drinks even if you are playing.
Gaming at San Manuel
As indicated above, there are several gaming options to choose from at San Manuel. Table games include blackjack, EZ Baccarat, let it ride, three card poker, four card poker, craps, fortune pai gow, roulette, and ultimate Texas hold’em. Their poker room has around 35 tables with games ranging from Texas hold’em, Omaha hi-lo, or seven card stud.
San Manuel offers free bet blackjack, buster blackjack, house money, double-deck and high limit blackjack. The majority of the tables are 6-deck games with automatic shuffling. On weekends, you should expect the tables to require a minimum bet of $25 to play, however, on non-peak days minimums may decrease to as low as $5. The max bet is $2,000. All the shoe games pay 3 to 2, require the dealer to hit on soft 17s, allow doubling on any two cards after splitting, allow re-splitting of aces, and allow you to surrender.
In the high limit area, the minimum bet for blackjack is either $50 or $100 depending on which table you choose. Otherwise, the rules are the same including dealers hitting on all soft 17s. The rest of the area is nicer relative to the floor simply due to the fact that fewer people play in the high limit area. You’ll enjoy a more relaxed atmosphere with your own cocktail waitresses, video poker bar, and slot and table games.
San Manuel has over 4,000 gaming machines ranging from mechanical reel slots, video reels, video keno, in-house progressive jackpots, and over 115 video poker machines. There is also a dedicated non-smoking area if you are looking to play without being exposed to cigarette smoke as it is allowed throughout the casino.
Poker at San Manuel
Below is a breakdown of the poker games you’ll find inside the poker room at San Manuel.
Limit Hold’em: 2/4 (2/2 blinds); 3/6 (1/3 blinds); 4/8 with a kill; 8/16 with a half kill or a full kill; 20/40 with a kill
No Limit Hold’em: 2/5 blinds (100-300 buy-in); 5/5 blinds (300-500 buy-in)
Omaha/8: 3/6 full kill
Seven Card Stud: 2/4 ($0.50 ante and bring-in); 3/6 ($1 ante and bring-in)
It is best to check with the casino to see what games are running the particular day you are interested in going. Often times the 20/40 with a kill limit hold’em and the seven card stud games are very rare or limited.
Typically, the poker room attracts low-limit action and inexperienced players. As with most poker rooms the higher the stakes generally the more experienced the players are. However, one positive is that the wait times have been known to be small or completely non-existent. It’s likely you’ll find a game going during any time of the day.
The rake at San Manuel is 3 + 1 jackpot on all the limit games up to 8/16, 4 + 1 jackpot on all limit games from 20/40 up to and on all no-limit games.
The majority of the tables use machine shufflers, and they typically reserve hand-shuffles for tournament games or out of necessity. As a new player, you do not need to post to enter a game and killer acts last. There is absolutely no smoking inside the poker room at San Manuel.
The casino also runs several poker tournaments and jackpot promotion throughout the year depending on the month and day of the week. Overall, the poker room will suffice if you are an inexperienced player or not quite an expert. However, it could be argued that there are better poker rooms in the Los Angeles, CA area with higher limits and more experienced players.
Dining at San Manuel Casino
There is no shortage of food options in San Manuel. The easiest and most convenient options are the quick eating options located on the first-floor. The area resembles a food court setup and you can choose from burgers, Thai food, pizza, and other quick bites.
Additionally, there are casual options such as George Lopez’s Chingon Kitchen, Just Barbecue, Rock & Brews, and the Serrano Buffett. If you are looking for upscale options you can either try The Pines Modern Steakhouse and/or the Pines Sunday Brunch.
There are plenty of drink options as well, but the casino adheres to current state law which does not allow alcohol after 2am.
Bars and Entertainment at San Manuel Casino
Located on the first-floor, The Tukut lounge offers free entertainment every night of the week. On weekdays, alcohol service begins at 5pm and ends at 1:15am and weekend service begins at 8am and ends at 1:15am. Every Tuesday is Salsa Night, with lessons starting at 8pm. Wednesdays is Country Night from 8pm to 1:30am, and every Friday is Latin Friday starting at 9pm.
Also on the first-floor is Bar Bar Bar, where you most likely be able to listen to local DJs just about every night of the week. Other bars inside the casino include the Tropical Storm Bar, Finish Line Bar, and Round Up Bar. As previously indicated above, drinks are reasonably priced around $7-$10. You can most likely find some sort of live music or entertainment every night of the week at San Manuel.
Features at San Manuel Casino
As eluded to above, the main features of San Manuel pertain to the Vegas-style of gaming it offers relative to competitors in the state of California and the surrounding Los Angeles, CA area.
If you are looking for an option to play slots, table games, poker, and bingo without fees and unfavorable rules San Manuel is most likely your best bet. The minimum age to play at San Manuel is 21, and the casino offers a rewards program that yields credits, discounts on food, and more.
In November 2017, San Manuel announced an expansion plan that would upgrade and improve the casino facility all-around. The main features include the addition of a 500-room resort style hotel, expanded casino floor space, a 4,000-seat performance venue, additional meeting and event space, new amenities including a spa and more shops, and a new 2,200-vehicle parking structure. The casino is expected to break ground by mid 2018 and conclude by the end of 2020. The plans not only improve the casino, but will also stimulate the local economy by adding more jobs.
Location
San Manuel Casino is located at 777 San Manuel Blvd. Highland, CA 92346. It is about a 60 to 75-minute drive from Los Angeles depending on the time of day you leave and traffic. As traffic is a notorious issue in Los Angeles, it is best to allow enough time to travel there or to travel during off-peak hours (i.e. late at night or early in the morning).
The casino also offers charter bus options from various locations in Southern California. For more information visit their website here.