The Red Hawk Casino is also very close to Sacramento. Further competition arrived on Decemwith the opening of the Red Hawk Casino run by the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. In addition to being 80 miles closer, it is also at low altitude, so that it is not necessary to cross the Sierra Nevada mountain range which frequently becomes hazardous in winter. This casino is off Interstate 80 on the drive from San Francisco and Sacramento, California. Reno is competing with the United Auburn Indian Community which has built the large Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California. The older casinos, particularly the Atlantis and the Peppermill, have been updated and new hotel towers have been added. Unlike Las Vegas, the Reno/Sparks region built only one major new casino since the 1990s, the Silver Legacy Reno.
In other reports the Reno region is consolidated with the Sparks region which is only four miles farther east on Interstate 80. The Nevada Gaming Commission groups it as one gaming region, with a total of five casinos earning more than $72 million in the last fiscal year. Reno is only 14 miles over the California border.
Nevada Gaming Control Board reporting area
