In California, after undergoing a $53 million expansion and relocation, the new Bay 101 Casino in San Jose that now calls North First Street home, had its grand opening on Friday, Sept 29, 2017. The 68,000 square foot building is located on a 16-acre site owned by Bumb and Associates, who also operate the card room. The new Bay 101 is located just down the street from the competitor and San Jose’s only other card room, Casino M8trix.
The casino’s director of sales, Rich Alvari said they were proud of the finished product. He added, “The lighting, the open space, the rich wood. The idea was to have a comfortable space — not the glitzy Las Vegas feel,” according to The Mercury News. Formerly Sutter’s, the long time San Jose card room was originally founded in 1929 and in 1994 was rebranded as Bay 101 when it relocated to Bering Drive. The card room, which had a soft opening last Thursday, was forced to relocate after the lease on the building on Bering Drive was due to expire in November. Peery-Arrillaga, the reality group which owns the land, reportedly announced plans for a business park at the location.
The new digs, which uses energy-efficient lighting and is Feng Shui certified, has 49 gaming tables featuring card games such as Omaha Hi-Low, EZ Baccarat, Texas Hold’em, Three Card Poker and Pai Gow Tiles. Giant flat-screen TVs are situated above the card tables, which now include high-tech tablets for gamblers to order-food-to-table from. While city law limits both Casino M8trix and Bay 101 to 49 gaming tables, the Bumb family reportedly plans to ask San Jose City Hall for 10 more tables.
Known by longtime Bay 101 gamblers for its world-famous Shooting Star poker tournament, the popular event will continue at the new location, according to the news agency. The Province, a 5,000 square foot contemporary Asian fusion restaurant, also calls the new venue home. The Chris Yeo Group, owners of a trio of upscale Santana Row eateries; Straits, Sino and Roots & Rye, operate the restaurant and have also created a café and large bar inside Bay 101. The large restaurant serves Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese cuisine and features an outdoor patio complete with fire pits.
The new card room is reportedly phase one of a larger expansion project, which includes two hotels; the first, a seven-story 174-roomEmbassy Suites, and a 237,000 square feet tech campus.
