Karuk Tribe getting closer to opening of long-awaited $35 million gaming facility

Monday, January 15, 2018

Gaming machines being installed at the Rain Rock Casino, owned and operated by the Karuk Tribe in Yreka, California. Photos: Rain Rock Casino

The Karuk Tribe is putting the finishing touches on a $35 million casino in northern California.

The Rain Rock Casino is expected to open by the end of February. The 36,000 square-foot facility will feature 349 slot machines, eight card tables a stage, a bar and dining options, The Medford Mail Tribune reported.

The tribe is hiring about 200 people to work at the facility, which is slated to include a hotel and more gaming machines in phase two of the project. A job fair earlier this month attracted between 800 and 1,000 applicants, according to news reports.

The casino has been in the works for more than a decade. It finally moved forward after the National Indian Gaming Commission issued a favorable Indian land determination for the site in 2012 and the state approved a Class III gaming compact in 2014. Agreements with the local community were finalized in 2014 and 2015.

Groundbreaking took place July 2016 but rain and weather delayed progress, according to the tribe's update page.

The facility is located in Yreka. It's about 17 miles south of the Seven Feathers Casino Resort in Canyonville, Oregon, owned by the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe.

Read More on the Story:
Yreka's Rain Rock Casino about to roll (The Medford Mail Tribune January 14, 2018)
Over 800 turn out for Rain Rock Casino job fair (The Siskiyou Daily News January 11, 2018)
Rain Rock Casino job fair attracts an estimated 1,000 attendants (KTVL January 7, 2018) $P National Indian Gaming Commission Indian Lands Determinations:
April 9, 2012 | October 12, 2004

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