River Rock Casino develops new table game

After more than a year in development, River Rock Casino is debuting a new electronic table game — Turn & Burn Craps — which it created with hopes it will not only catch on with customers, but spread to other casinos that will want to lease it.

Casino officials are calling it a unique game that is easy to learn, simple to play and 'easy to win on.'

'There's not a long learning curve,' said River Rock Chief Executive Officer David Fendrick, who said he came up with the idea, a simplified version of the classic table game of craps.

Turn & Burn, offered exclusively at the Geyserville-area casino owned by the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, is being trumpeted on a Highway 101 billboard and in newspaper ads.

It's been certified by Gaming Laboratories International, a leading testing company for gambling machines, vetted by attorneys, approved by Dry Creek's gaming commission and also has a patent pending.

It's apparently unusual for a California Indian casino to invent a new game, according to industry sources.

'My personal opinion is it's kind of a rare occurrence,' said Leon Acebedo, executive director of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association.

The game is a hybrid of slots and table games and it doesn't involve tossing actual dice, which is not allowed in California casinos.

Up to eight players place their bets on a felt layout with a minimum $5 bet. A random number generator is activated by computer to determine the outcome of the game. A pair of virtual dice are 'rolled' and come to rest with the winning combination on the digital monitor.

Unlike a traditional craps game in which players can roll multiple times, until they 'crap out,' Turn & Burn entails only one virtual roll per bet.

On Tuesday around lunch time — a slow time of the week — there were no patrons playing the new game, but De Lugo said that on a Friday or Saturday night there are usually several at the table.

'A lot are learning,' he said. 'We'll see if players take to it.'

Fendrick said that Turn & Burn Craps has a 'house advantage' of slightly more than 5 percent, meaning that in the long run, for every $100 wagered the house keeps $5.

It's doubtful it will do much to reverse the fortunes for River Rock, Sonoma County's first Indian casino, which saw its revenues tumble after the bigger, splashier Graton Resort and Casino opened in November 2013 just west of Rohnert Park.

'It's a very small offering which will be moderately successful in terms of profitability,' Fendrick said of the new game. 'It's not a panacea in terms of the financial issues that we have.'

But he also said it could help the 13-year-old casino compete.

'Any time we can offer a product or service Graton doesn't have, that's certainly to our advantage,' he said.

Dry Creek tribal officials last year said that Graton had taken as much as 50 percent of River Rock's revenues. That has stayed pretty consistent, 'probably mid-40s,' according to Fendrick.

The last full year River Rock's revenue was publicly reported was in 2010, when it was $124 million.

Following the drop in revenue, the Dry Creek tribe defaulted on its bond obligations, including missing three separate interest payments since June 2014. It loan principal now totals $165 million.

'We have been in constant negotiations with our bondholders. We haven't come to anything decisive. We have a good dialogue and want to restructure our debts,' Fendrick said.

The tribe still is in negotiations with the county over a $3.5 million payment it missed last year, part of a 20-year agreement it made seven years ago to offset the impacts of the casino.

At one time, River Rock employed about 600 people, but now has 388 employees, according to Fendrick.

As part of a 'waterfall' agreement with bondholders that kicked in when River Rock defaulted on its debt, a trustee bank — UNB of St Louis — took control of the casino's cash. There is no issue with quick payments to vendors and employees, Fendrick said, 'so we're making money.'

In the meantime, the number of slot machines and table games also has been cut back, reducing general operating expenses and payments to the state. There are now 1,150 slots and 18 table games, compared to a previous high of 1,300 slots and 22 table games, according to Tim De Lugo, director of casino operations.

Although it is farther away than Graton from populated cities in the county and Bay Area, River Rock bills itself as 'a better deal' with loose slots that make the drive to the country casino off winding Highway 128 worth it.

There also are about 25 charter buses daily that bring guests from as far as San Jose.

One area the casino has not cut back is employees in food service or slot personnel.

'We want to make sure the customer experience is not negatively impacted,' Fendrick said.

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @clarkmas