Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino is a San Diego area casino, hotel, and golf course owned by the Barona Band of Mission Indians, and known for sponsoring and housing the Blackjack Hall of Fame. It is one of the three largest casinos in the area, located in the foothills of Lakeside, California, at an elevation near 1,300 feet. The casino started as a 1990s bingo hall that grew into a Native american casino in 1999 after the passing of California's Proposition 1-A, which the Barona tribe had actively promoted. The casino is "dry" in that it does not serve alcohol, but alcohol is available in other locations of the ranch.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Blackjack Hall of Fame
3 Notes
4 External links
[edit] History
The Barona Band of Mission Indians, part of the Kumeyaay Nation, had been forcibly evicted from the area now containing El Capitan Reservoir. In 1932, they used their share of the proceeds to purchase the Barona Ranch. In the early 1990s, they opened a bingo hall at the location. The tribe became active in court cases that eventually legalized Native American bingo halls in California, and were a proponent for the passage of balloted measures such as Proposition 5 and later Proposition 1-A. After 1-A passed, the tribe's bingo hall grew into a full casino, known as The Big Top, which opened in 1999, after which the tribe has played a more passive role in the politics involving Indian gaming.