Beyond games at Cache Creek
Cache Creek Casino isn’t on the way to anywhere — it’s a destination in its own right. Located in Brooks on Highway 16, about a 40-minute drive north of Vacaville, the casino resort draws two-thirds of its visitors from “west of us,” primarily from the Bay Area, said spokesman Mike Traum.
Gambling is a big attraction, but so are the concerts and comedy shows, dining, the Yocha Dehe Golf Club, pool and spa. Treatments include hot stone, Thai and aromatherapy massage, foot reflexology, facials and mud wraps.
The casino is always on the lookout for new games and fresh slot machines to keep its patrons entertained, Traum said.
“Often we get new slots that you can’t find anywhere else in the world, or certainly nowhere else in Northern California,” he said. “We’re frequently the roll-out location for new games,” he added, noting that Cache Creek has an area on its gaming floor called Latest Hits: World’s Newest Slots.
A recent innovation that’s made a splash: the “larger-than life” slot machines in a section called Land of the Giants, Traum said. The machines are 12 to 16 feet tall and have, for example, three 32-inch screens rather than the classic wheels that show numbers and symbols. Among the themes are “Game of Thrones” and “Big Bang Theory.”
Then there’s the penny zone, where players can bet as little as 88 cents a pull (or these days a push of the button) and extend their bankroll. Cache Creek also has more than 100 Asianthemed slots. And on Thursdays at noon there’s a series of slot tournaments for seniors (Cache Club members over 50 may play).
The selection of table games evolves as well, with Cache Creek recently introducing a new dice-free craps game — gambling with dice is illegal in California. So the casino found a way to replace dice with six playing cards (ace, 2,3, 4, 5, 6) and colored cubes that look like dice without the dots.
How this is different than using dice seems clear only to the lawyers, but somehow it’s legal, and it’s speeding up Cache Creek’s version of California craps, Traum said.
Cache Creek also offers a single-zero, roulette-themed card game, Traum said. Having only one zero instead of the typical two reduces the house’s advantage and makes the game more appealing to players.
Among the other games are mini-baccarat, blackjack (single-deck is available), a stud poker variant called Let It Ride, and fortune pai gow with a wild joker.
In its Club 88, the casino features entertainment including shows designed for Latino and Asian audiences. Among the upcoming events: San Francisco Comedy Competition Finals on Oct. 2, Olivia NewtonJohn on Oct. 17 and 18, Los Huracanes del Norte on Oct. 23, a Thai-LaoHmong performance with Aoy Katon & Nutlady Sehamayavong on Oct. 25, and Art Garfunkel on Nov. 6.
After a night of revelry, guests can stay in the upscale, 200-room hotel, which has views of the pastoral Capay Valley. Cache Creek Casino Resort, 14455 Highway 16, Brooks; (888) 7722243. www.cachecreek.com. Rooms from $220.
“We’re frequently the roll-out location for new games.”
Michael Traum, Cache Creek