Cache Creek Casino

The casino essentially sits in the middle of nowhere, about 20 miles due west of Sacramento. It's tricky to get there, but recommended route is to head onto I-505 north from I-80, take the CA Highway 16 exit, head west, and drive about ten miles. Be careful; Hwy 16 doglegs several times, goes through small towns and villages, drops to speed limit 35 a few times through Esparto, Madison and Capay,(and they do enforce it!), and in general is more bucolic than efficient. You can't miss the casino, though, it's the only thing in view for miles when you get there. Parking entrance is on the west side of the casino.

(If coming from Sacramento, take I-5 north to Hwy 16 and go west from there).

Games
Wait Time: Varies, though often a seat available in some game. Impossible to hear your seat called from elsewhere in the casino - hang nearby or risk missing your seat. On weekend nights, the wait list can get long and the wait can be an hour.

Game Nature: All games are more action-filled than is typical for low-stakes games like these. A lot of passive callers at limit, a lot of action players at no-limit. The games seem to mostly be populated by either local rocks or gamblers who don't know basic poker strategies.



Rake: $1 jackpot drop is taken even if there is no flop.
 * 3/6, 4/8, and 6/12 limit hold'em: $3+$1 jackpot for 7-9 players, $2+$1 for 6 players, $1+$1 for 5 or fewer players
 * Omaha games: $4+$1 jackpot for 7-9 players, $3+$1 for 6 players
 * all no-limit games, and 10/20 limit: $5+$1 jackpot for 7-9 players, $4+$1 for 6 players

Posting: New players do not need to post to enter a game.

Shuffling: Shufflemaster machines on all tables

Kills: Killer acts last unless raised before them.

Tournaments
No regular tournaments. Occasional "special event" tournaments - call the casino for details.

Jackpots
As of May 2008, Bad Beat is now Aces full of queens, and the total jackpot amount available has grown to 225,000. Jackpot pays out (usually 10,000-20,000), where 50% goes to the badbeat, 25% to the winner, at the other 25% to the rest of the table. Overnight play has a high hand award every two hours.

Royal Flush Jackpots are also available, $250.

Atmosphere
The gorgeous poker room at Cache Creek is no more. They are completely retooling the former poker room to house a new "high limit slots" area, and will be moving the poker room to new digs when the high-limit slot move is complete sometime in mid-to-late 2010.

Until then, they have moved all the poker tables out into the main casino floor (sort of in the back left part of the room), separated from the nearby slots only by rope barriers. The noise can be overwhelming, and although the poker room is nominally no smoking, drift does now occur from the slots nearby. There are six flat screen TVs on the wall next to the tables. A computerized board helps track the wait list.

Cache Creek has the same sort of high-tech players-card automated table system found at the Station Casinos chain; hand your players club card to the dealer when you sit down, and they will swipe you in at the table. Your first name will appear on the dealer's display screen, and they can track the number of hours you play. They award prizes to players who play regularly, and being "swiped in" also qualifies you for casino-wide promotions like "Cash Blitz" and such, that run at different times throughout the year.

They do not track wins and losses - only hours played.

Although they purport to spread 10/20 half-kill, Omaha, and 1000-min no-max NL, they usually fill all of their tables with 3/6, 4/8 kill, and 200-500 NL. They do occasionally run 10/20 half kill, but it's rare, especially now that they only have 14 tables. The emphasis is squarely on the lower limits here, though at peak times you can find medium limits.

Neighborhood: You're in the middle of nowhere! What neighborhood? There's farms and fields on all sides.

Parking: Lots and LOTS of parking available on site. Valet parking also available.

Tables and Chairs: Extra-large 9-player tables. Felt is soft rich ruby felt with good padding and a clean commit line. Player chairs are extra-comfy lowbacked leather-padded wooden chairs with nice padding. Slide-in cup holders available for drinks.

Service and Comps
No food service; looks like you cannot eat at the tables. Drinks available through standard casino cocktail waitresses, with standard slide-under-the-armrest cup holders. Drinks seemed reasonably priced.

It's unclear if you earn comp points on your Cache Creek Player's Card for playing; they certainly track it and you earn rewards, but I don't know if those count the same as comp points for the other games and slots at the casino.

Links and Notes

 * Official Cache Creek Website