The Graton Resort and Casino, which opened in 2013, has been in expansion mode developing a $175 million hotel that is expected to open to the public on November 15. The tribal casino which is owned by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, believes that the addition of 200 hotel rooms will enable the casino resort to become a major player in Wine Country as well as in the $7.3 billion tribal gambling industry in California.

The casino, which is located not too far away from Rohnert Park, becomes the first casino in Sonoma County to have a hotel. Tribal chairman Greg Sarris expects the new hotel to help the tribe reduce its debt that is tied to the casino resort, thereby allowing additional funds to be utilized for the Graton Rancheria’s social justice and environmental projects.

Station Casinos which owns 20 casinos in southern Nevada runs operations at the $850 million Graton casino resort. The addition of the new hotel to the Graton casino along with a 20,000 square foot multi-purpose hall, a fitness centre and spa and a resort style pool has transformed Graton Resort’s image into something that is similar to one of the Las Vegas properties that Station Casino owns.

The luxury hotel rooms will cost guests $300 per night and is expected to draw more customers from areas like Monterey Peninsula, South Bay and eastern parts of California. The vice president and general manager of the Graton Casino resort, Joe Hasson believes that the property will now be an ultra regional destination. The room rates will fluctuate based on seasonal demand and Hasson expects room rate occupancy to be around 80 percent on average. During the opening week, room rate reservations are expected to be in the mid $200 range.

In a statement, Sarris said “We also very much needed, for many of our guests who come from far away, a place for them to stay right on the facility. Before, if they wanted to stay overnight, we had to either shuttle them across town to a hotel in Rohnert Park, or even down to a hotel in San Francisco. And now, everything is all in one place.”

There are very few casinos near to the Bay area that have a large number of slot machines and hotel rooms. Graton Resort meets this need and now can be considered as one of the biggest casino resorts in the northern half of California. The new hotel is also expected to attract visitors from other parts of the state as they now have an option to stay overnight at the facility.

Singer Patti LaBelle was part of the inauguration ceremony for the multi-purpose hall on November 12 and a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new hotel has been planned for Tuesday morning. Some of the resort’s loyal customers have already been given a preview of the new Graton hotel.