Persistence pays off for California tribe with a Hard Rock casino hotel near Sacramento
By Roger Gros
The Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe of the Enterprise Rancheria never lost hope in the 17 years that it took to persuade the state and federal governments that the tribe indeed met the criteria to open a casino in California . And the end of that road arrived in late October , when the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain debuted to rave reviews .
And to make it all the more sweeter , the tribe employed another tribe , the Seminoles of Florida , to help build and operate the casino .
“ This project is the first of its kind , with two tribes joining together to bring this integrated resort to life ,” Enterprise Chairwoman Glenda Nelson said at the grand opening . “ We are proud of our partnership with Hard Rock and the Seminole Tribe , and we are enthusiastic to continue collaborating to provide guests with an unparalleled entertainment destination experience .”
Mark Birtha , the highly respected gaming executive chosen by Seminole Gaming to lead the Sacramento project , said it was a very emotional day .
“ The tribal members were literally pinching themselves ,” he said . “ This is something that they have been dreaming about , and to see it come to life has been extraordinary . And what has been more satisfactory for me was to hear how they considered themselves very fortunate and blessed to have the vision to partner with the Seminole Tribe of Florida to bring the Hard Rock here .”
The experience was similar for the Friedmutter Group Architects , which had been working with the tribe for many of those 17 years . Suzanne Couture , vice president of interior design , says there were many partners , investors and master plans along the way , but until Seminole Gaming came along , nothing had jelled .
“ We could see how excited the tribe was to have an internationally recognized brand added to the mix ,” she says . “ This was a huge turning point for them , and allowed them to see where they were going to be able to position themselves inside of that market . We knew it was real once that relationship was built .”
Luckily for Friedmutter , they already had a relationship with Seminole . Joe Emanuele , Hard Rock ’ s senior vice president of design and construction , once worked for Friedmutter , so the respect is mutual . Bob Dollar , senior vice president with Friedmutter , says it was the perfect fit .
“ We consider ourselves to be an extension of Hard Rock ,” he says . “ We try to work almost as their in-house architects and designers . We listen to them . We go to all their meetings . We ’ re hearing the program and the design direction evolve as it ’ s happening .”
Birtha says Hard Rock Sacramento has raised the bar in a crowded gaming market .
“ Along with the recognizable brand ,” he says , “ we ’ ve opened up this building at $ 450 million-plus with absolutely amazing finishes and a great product . It is truly an integrated destination resort with all the services and amenities and the quality that you would expect of an IR .”
Dollar says the first thing that changed when the Seminole partnership was
24 CASINO STYLE 2019 inked was the addition of a hotel .
“ In that market , you ’ ve got many existing properties within a 50- or 100-mile radius or , with many different names that have been established over the years ,” he says . “ But with Hard Rock , they were confident they could fill the hotel rooms .”
Birtha says the idea was to give visitors a wide range of experiences .
“ We wanted to offer all of the amenities including hotel , gaming , food and beverage , meeting space , entertainment , spa , pool … so that people would come here not only to have the gaming experience but also a non-gaming experience ,” he says . “ And that ’ s where the industry has evolved into . And putting the Hard Rock brand on the property appeals to a large number of people who may not have gamingspecific needs . So we wanted to have a size and scope that would cater to everybody in the marketplace , whether they ’ re coming here to play slots or tables or they just want to have a great meal and stay in a great hotel to have a weekend getaway . We wanted to have more than slots in a box .”
Like all Hard Rock properties , Sacramento has several “ wow ” features .
“ The marquee board we have out front , it ’ s just so dynamic and exciting ,” he says . “ It ’ s definitely a Kodak moment — or an Instagram moment these days . People walk in the door , and there ’ s another wow factor of the exploding guitar on the ceiling . The extraordinary finishes of the property just create a real wow experience . And it ’ s those authentic experiences that rock what we deliver .” Developing those “ wow ” factors was a true collaboration , says Couture . “ For the exploding guitar , we worked with a variety of people and organizations ,” she says . “ The decorative lighting and audio-visual elements extend all the way through from the main entry to the Hard Rock Cafe feature bar . The exploding guitar has fire-like colors on it , and licking flames coming out of it . It ’ s just an amazing decorative light fixture piece that we really developed with Hard Rock and all of their great design resources that they have in house along with custom fabricators . We showed every element to the tribe along the way and got their feedback and input on it .”
Most important to the tribe and to the casino was instilling the corporate culture that has been made famous at every Hard Rock facility , whether it be a cafe , a hotel or a casino .
“ We want to save the planet , take time to be kind , and all the other mantras Hard Rock has become known for ,” says Birtha . “ We bring those things to life , and I think our employees here since the opening get to experience it . They had a lot of fun . They work hard , they get to know the brand . We bring our corporate people in from all around the world . What is important to the Hard Rock brand , to the company , to the vision , to the philanthropy that we do to community relations and the focus on delivering these incredible experiences , is not about selling commodities . We sell experiences .”
Hard Rock and tribal officials celebrate the grand opening of Hard Rock Sacramento with the traditional “ guitar smash ”