The Diamond Mountain Native American Casino is located in Susanville, a small community located roughly 60 miles north of Reno on Highway 395. The Diamond Mountain Casino started in 1996, expanded in 2000, and they are just now finishing their latest expansion. The interior parts of the remodel are currently done (the total casino has been doubled in size to something over 20,000 square feet) but as of late

– when I visited – they were still working on exterior parts of the remodel. This is not, by any means, a Cache Creek, Thunder Valley or Jackson Rancheria sized casino. Rather, this is much smaller, more intimate type property similar to Colusa Casino in California. Gaming Unfortunately, another thing they share with Colusa Casino and also Cache Creek are mediocre video poker paytables. They are not as awful as those at Thunder Valley, but they are what I would call the "Native American Standard" of: 8/5 Jacks or Better, (97.3% return), 7/5 Bonus Poker (98%), 9/6 Double Bonus (97.5%), and 17/7 Kings or Better Joker Wild (98%), and other games in the 97% to 98% return range. These games are available in denominations from nickels to two dollars, mostly on multi-game, multi-denom IGT GameKings with just a few Bally's GameMakers thrown in the mix. As near as I could tell all machines are uprights; there are no slant-tops anywhere on the property. The have four table games, three of them blackjack and one 4-card poker. The blackjack tables are all continuous shuffle machines with standard "hit 17, double after split" rules leading to a house advantage of around .65% (actually probably the best deal in the casino). I did not see any bingo – usually a staple of Indian gaming. Nor is there any live poker. There is a player's club for comps only with a return that "varies depending on your machine and other factors" according to the boothling with whom I spoke. I'm actually not sure she knew the system at all other than to hand out new cards, but I didn't pursue it because I was not planning on playing since I had already looked at the paytables. Food They have two restaurants. First, at the very front of the casino is a sports bar with a casual dining café next to it. Reasonably priced food and comfortable seating make this a worthwhile stop for a meal if you happen to be in the area. It's a bit louder than I prefer because it is open to the casino, but it's off to the side so it wasn't bad. They also have, in the back of the casino, a steakhouse called Lava Rock Grill that I did not try. Directions Highway 36 (Main Street) is the road that goes directly through Susanville. About in the middle of town you'll see a turn for Highway 139 (Ash Street). Take that turn, then about 1½ miles on take a left on Skyline drive. It's a mile or so ahead on your right. Summary This is a place worth visiting for a meal if you happen to be in the area. Right next door to the casino – and I believe owned by the tribe - they also had a gas station with reasonable gas prices (as these things go these days). All in all, the Diamond Mountain Casino is worth a stop for a break or a meal, as long as you are not hoping to do any gaming on reasonable full-pay machines or play any beatable blackjack, because neither are to be found here.