Harrah's Resort Southern California

Harrah's Resort Southern California (formerly Harrah's Rincon) is a Native American gaming casino and hotel in Valley Center, California. It is owned by the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians^[3] and operated by Caesars Entertainment.

Harrah's Resort Southern California
Location	Valley Center, California, U.S.
Address	777 Harrah's Rincon Way
Opening date	December 20, 2004; 19 years ago (2004-12-20)^[1]
No. of rooms	1,087
Total gaming space	86,000 sq ft (8,000 m^2)
Notable restaurants	Earl of Sandwich Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen KJ Chinese Restaurant Oyster Bar at Salt & Fin 'Ritas Cantina & Taco Truck Salt & Fin Smashburger SR76 Beerworks Starbucks The Café at Harrah's
Casino type	Land-based
Owner	Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians
Operating license holder	Caesars Entertainment
Architect	Paul Steelman Design Group^[2]
Previous names	Harrah's Rincon (2004–2014)
Renovated in	2014, 2015
Coordinates	33°16′03″N 116°57′20″W / 33.267416°N 116.955525°W / 33.267416; -116.955525
Website	caesars.com/harrahs-socal

Hotel rooms

The hotel has three towers: Dive Inn (formerly Garden Tower, opened in 2002 and renovated in 2004), Resort Tower South (formerly Spa Tower, opened in 2004 and renovated in 2015) and Resort Tower North (opened in 2014). There are 662 rooms in the Resort Tower South and Dive Inn and there are 403 rooms in the Resort Tower North. The casino consists of 1600 slot machines and 51 tables, including eight poker tables. The architects for this casino were the Steelman Partners of Las Vegas, NV, providing interior and lighting design.^[4]

The resort also includes a spa and nearby Woods Valley Golf Club. The North and South Towers includes non-smoking and smoking Luxury rooms, as well as the La Jolla suite (2 rooms on each floor of the South Tower and the majority of the rooms on the 20th floor of the North and South Towers), 4 Coronado Suites total on each floor which includes a balcony with a table and 2 lounge chairs facing east (South Tower) and north or south (North Tower), Catalina suite which is exclusive to the renovated South Tower and features 1 king and 2 queen beds, extra space and 2 lounge chairs and a table on the private balcony facing west and the "Mayoral Suite" located on the top floor of the South Tower. In 2017, the resort introduced "Resort Wellness Rooms and Resort Wellness Suites" located on the 2nd floor of the North Tower which has Vitamin C infused showers, bathrobes and slippers as well as exercise equipment in each room. The rooms are also in close proximity to the fitness center on the 2nd floor of the South Tower. Dive Inn includes non-smoking and smoking Deluxe rooms with a small balcony. The Palomar Suite is the smallest suite in this tower while the larger Laguna and Malibu suites include a private small heated pool outside the room. Rooms on the first floor facing the pool also have a private balcony with lounge chairs.

Expansion

On November 1, 2012, construction began on a $160-million expansion that included a new 403-room hotel tower and a 23,000 square foot convention center, which can be converted for meetings, concerts, and other uses. The project also consisted of many other expansions, including a renovation of the pool area featuring a lazy river and swim-up bar, a food court comprising Earl of Sandwich and the reopening of Pink's (now Smashburger), a Starbucks location, Corked (featuring regional premium craft beers), Spiked, and Rita's (an indoor/outdoor Mexican restaurant). The lazy river, swim-up bar and pool restaurant were completed during the summer of 2013, while the convention center and the bar Corked were completed by December. Starbucks opened in early 2014. The new hotel tower was partially opened in March and fully open by April 2014, bringing the resort's total room count to 1,065, making it the largest Indian casino resort by room count in the state of California at the time. Spiked and the food court also opened in April. The entire project was officially completed on April 18, 2014.^[5] Upon its grand reopening, the resort was renamed Harrah's Resort Southern California.^[6] In 2015, after the expansion, the south tower was modernized to mimic the newer north tower.

History

The land on which Harrah's Resort Southern California^[7][8] sits was officially and unanimously renamed by the Rincon Band of Luiseño Mission Indians^[9][10] to Funner on August 1, 2016, with the public unveiling of this change occurring on May 5, 2017. Together with the Tribal Council, Harrah's Resort Southern California management stands firmly committed to promoting "Fun" as the underlying operation guide for business practices.^[11]

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Funner has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps. Temperatures range from 100+ degrees Fahrenheit to 32 degrees and below.^{[citation needed]}

Celebrity spokespersons

The Rincon tribe and Harrah's management have appointed a "mayor of Funner", who is a notable celebrity, to promote the resort. In their role, they provide pre-recorded messages on a hotline for hotel guests and appear in television and print advertising. The "term" is two years.^[12]

On May 18, 2017, Funner, California introduced its first official mayor: David Hasselhoff.^{[13][14][15][16][17]}

On May 15, 2019, Funner, California introduced its second official mayor: Rob Riggle.

On May 16, 2022, Jane Lynch was announced as its third mayor.^[18]

On May 13, 2024, Martin Short will begin serving as its fourth mayor.^[19]

References

1. "California Casinos". Indian Casinos of Southern California. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
2. Hotel and restaurant design, Issue 2. Visual Reference Publications. 2005. p. 284. ISBN 1584711078. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
3. Levine, Andrew. "The Curious Case Of Funner, California". Forbes.com. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
4. "Center for Gaming Research". University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
5. "The Resort Tower North Opens at Harrah's Resort Southern California". Hotel News Resource. April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
6. Forgione, Mary (March 5, 2014). "San Diego: Harrah's casino-resort changes name, adds 403-room tower". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
7. Faw, Larissa. "Harrah's SoCal Resort Is now called 'Funner'". MediaPost. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
8. Graves, Brad. "As Competition Heats Up, Harrah's Says It's 'Funner'". nbcsandiego.com. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
9. "Welcome". Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
10. Boman Coates, Sanna. "David Hasselhoff Puts the Fun in Funner, California The tiny North County town gets a fun-loving new mayor". San Diego Magazine. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
11. Coffee, Patrick. "David Hasselhoff Plays the No-Rules Mayor of 'Funner, California' in This Wacky Campaign". Ad Week. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
12. "Column: Jane Lynch's party politics are more party than politics". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2022-06-02. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
13. Coffee, Patrick. "David Hasselhoff Plays the No-Rules Mayor of 'Funner, California' in This Wacky Campaign". AdWeek. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
14. Levine, Andrew. "The Curious Case Of Funner, California". Forbes.com. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
15. Bell, Diane. "David Hasselhoff is here to put Funner on the map". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
16. Lake, Heather. "David Hasselhoff named mayor of Funner, California". Fox 5 San Diego. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
17. Boman Coates, Sanna. "David Hasselhoff Puts the Fun in Funner, California The tiny North County town gets a fun-loving new mayor". San Diego Magazine. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
18. California, Harrah’s Resort Southern. "BELOVED ACTOR, AUTHOR AND COMEDIAN JANE LYNCH APPOINTED AS NEW MAYOR OF FUNNER, CALIFORNIA". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
19. Piña, Christy (2024-04-01). "Martin Short to Be Inaugurated as Mayor of Funner, California". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-04-18.

External links

• Official website