There are 25 tribal casinos in the running to be named best casino in the Southern California Gaming Guide Reader’s Choice 2023 Best Casinos poll.
Those 25 casinos are:
- Pala Casino Spa Resort
- Casino Pauma
- Morongo Casino Resort & Spa
- Agua Caliente Cathedral City
- Augustine Casino
- Havasu Landing Resort & Casino
- Soboba Casino Resort
- Valley View Casino & Hotel
- Chumash Casino Resort
- Spotlight 29 Casino
- Sycuan Casino Resort
- Jamul Casino
- Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
- Pechanga Resort Casino
- Yaamava’ Resort & Casino
- Cahuilla Casino Hotel
- Tortoise Rock Casino
- Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage
- Red Earth Casino
- Harrah’s Resort Southern California
- Viejas Casino & Resort
- Quechan Casino Resort
- Barona Resort & Casino
- Golden Acorn Casino & Travel Center
- Agua Caliente Palm Springs
What other award categories are there?
“Best casino” is just one of 16 categories in the Southern California Gaming Guide Reader’s Choice awards for Southern California casinos.
The other 15 categories are:
- Luckiest casino
- Loosest slots
- Best casino resort
- Best casino services
- Best casino promotions
- Best players club
- Best slot tournaments
- Best fine dining
- Best casual dining
- Best headlining entertainment
- Best blackjack
- Best bingo
- Best poker room
- Best casino resort spa
- Best casino golf course
- Best casino resort pool
Voting is live for all of August, and you can submit your votes at TheGamingGuide.com.
Harrah’s SoCal named best casino in 2022
Readers named Harrah’s SoCal the best Southern California casino in 2022, followed by Valley View Casino & Hotel, and Viejas Resort & Casino. All three of those casinos are in the San Diego area.
In 2021, readers put Valley View first, Viejas second and Barona Resort & Casino — another San Diego-area casino — third. And, in 2020, Barona was No. 1, Valley View was No. 2 and Fantasy Springs Resort Casino (in Palm Springs) was No. 3.
Sensing a trend here? Other than one Palm Springs casino, the San Diego area has had eight of the nine top-three best casino spots over the past three Reader’s Choice awards.
The largest casino of the 25 nominees is Yaamava’ Resort & Casino, with 7,000 slot machines. The smallest is Golden Acorn Casino & Travel Center, with 350 slots.
Info on the Southern California Gaming Guide
The Southern California Gaming Guide is a free monthly newspaper distributed at 3,500 locations (such as grocery stores and convenience stories). According to its website, it estimates more than 450,000 casino players read it every month. It has been in operation since 2002.
