Red Hawk Casino outside Sacramento has opened “The Apex,” an amusement and entertainment center the resort hopes will usher in a new customer demographic.
Go-kart racers race around the indoor track at Red Hawk Casino in Northern California. The casino’s family-friendly entertainment complex is called The Apex. (Image: Red Hawk Casino)
Red Hawk is located in Placerville, about 30 miles east of the California capital. Owned and operated by the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Red Hawk’s newest nongaming attraction is an effort to lure families to the tribal resort.
The Apex is an 80,000-square-foot facility built on top of an existing parking garage at the casino. The attraction features indoor go-karts, an 18-lane high-tech “ultramodern” bowling alley, a virtual reality arcade, golf simulators, and a sports bar.
The track is OPEN! Come check out a new way to play, open tonight for walk in activities with online booking available Tuesday, Dec. 27. pic.twitter.com/j02knlSa5i
— Red Hawk Casino (@RedHawkCasino) December 27, 2022
Red Hawk says The Apex is home to the state’s first fully electric, multi-level, indoor go-kart racecourse. The roughly quarter-mile track was designed and built by 360 Karting, a Slovenia-based firm.
The golf simulators come from Golfzon, a South Korea-based manufacturer. The hitting bays allow players to test their skills on many of the world’s best golf courses.
The Apex bowling alley offers “state-of-the-art interactive” bowling with comfortable couch seating and an array of tech features atypical of bowling alleys of yesteryears. The virtual arcade features dozens of immersive games.
The Apex opened to the public on December 26.
Family Appeal
Red Hawk Casino offers more than 2,500 slot machines and 75 table games. The tribal casino opened in December 2018.
The resort additionally features six restaurants, plus a kid-friendly arcade called Cyber Quest, which offers only nonviolent games.
The casino serves as the economic heartbeat of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. As gaming continues to expand across the US, as well as in Northern California, where tribes continue to enlarge their casino operations, Red Hawk is seeking to diversify its resort with The Apex.
We wanted to focus on family-friendly entertainment,” Red Hawk Casino CEO Bryan deLugo told The Sacramento Bee.
deLugo said the tribe initially considered following its competitors’ leads in developing nongaming entertainment focused on concerts and theatrical shows and events, adding that the tribe opted for a different approach with The Apex.
“We wanted to do something that the whole family could come and enjoy,” the Red Hawk Casino boss added. “We’re trying to provide something family-friendly for the whole family.”
Along with its new family-friendly entertainment space, Red Hawk is currently building the casino’s first hotel. The property, which is expected to reach completion early next year, will have 150 guestrooms and suites.
Sports Bar to Sportsbook
The Apex is mostly open to all ages, the lone exception being The Apex Grill, as the sports bar features bar-top video poker machines. deLugo says the casino plans to make The Apex Grill the property’s on-site sportsbook should a change to California law come in the future.
Californians last month voted against two ballot measures that sought to authorize sports betting. Proposition 26 would have allowed retail sports betting at tribal casinos and state-licensed racetracks. Proposition 27 would have permitted gaming tribes in California and commercial sports betting entities like BetMGM and DraftKings to operate online sportsbooks. Both were easily defeated by voters.
deLugo, however, believes it’s only a matter of time until the competing gaming interests in California settle their differences and find mutual ground to allow legal sports gambling to come to the Golden State.
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