Nguyen is happy at his job but casino owners are worried about their ability to find more people like him as the industry expands. The married father of two, who was hired as slot shift manager and promoted in 2017 to slot operations manager, said he enjoys good pay and benefits, including a 401(k)-matching program, further growth potential and a supportive culture at Graton. “It was probably one of the best decisions I've ever made in my career and in my life.” “A lot of times, it's not always greener on the other side of the pasture, but I wanted to take a chance to move up in slots, so I did,” said Nguyen, who in 2013 left Cache Creek Casino in Sacramento to join Graton. The strip casinos have recovered – to the tune of $6.3 billion last year.Buoi Nguyen took a roll of the dice when he left a casino job he’d been at for seven years to join Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park. Gaming revenues on the Las Vegas Strip hit $6.8 billion in 2007, before plummeting during the recession, according to the research center. While Reno has seen its casino industry wither, Las Vegas has fared better due to its diverse array of attractions such as shows, hotels, shopping and night clubs that draw a wide variety of tourists.

“You don’t have to drive up the mountain to go gamble.” “It hasn’t really come back because of competition from Sacramento,” said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

In 2016, they raked in about $800 million, according to the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. After maintaining a steady $1 billion in revenue annually from 2000 to 2007, Reno area casinos lost ground during the recession and have not recovered. The rise in the number of Northern California casinos directly correlates to the falling fortunes of commercial casinos in Reno.

Graton casino commercial 2017