The Soboba Casino that is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month is a far cry from the bingo hall that opened and closed regularly on the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians Reservation near San Jacinto.

And while there are plans for a glitzier casino and resort on nearby land just added to the reservation, the operators revel in what the site has become – a gaming spot for locals.

While Morongo Casino Resort and Spa to the north and Pechanga Resort amp; Casino to the south are similar to Las Vegas Strip facilities, Soboba is the neighborhood casino frequented by people who live nearby.

Director of Marketing Michael Broderick said the casino prides itself on being a local place.

“We’re after that discretionary dollar,” he said. “It’s another source of entertainment.”

Exactly when the current casino opened is unclear. Legends Casino at Soboba started calling bingo games Jan. 13, 1995. Pull-tab slots were in by late May, and casino officials suspect the grand opening was in June.

Gaming was offered on the reservation as early as 1984, when the $2 million Soboba Bingo and Casino facility was built. In the years before tribal gaming was legalized in California, the bingo hall would open, the operator would not deliver as promised and the games would close. The hall opened and closed so frequently, even tribal leaders lost count of how many times it happened.

Click the graphic for a larger version.

But since the current casino opened in 1995, it has thrived and today boasts 2,000 gaming machines, 22 tables and nearly 700 employees.

The original bingo hall became Legends and the facility expanded by 25,000 square feet in February 1999 and 20,000 more in 2001.

Sherri Percival of Riverside said she comes to Soboba a couple times a week. Recently, she was playing two hands of 21 – and collecting a large pile of chips.

“They have more blackjack tables than other casinos,” she said.

Broderick calls the casino a melting pot, with players of all ages and from all walks of life.

“If you want to understand America, come to a property like this,” he said.

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