If you were to ask me what the most Vegas-style casino is in California, I would say Pechanga. The video poker selection here is more extensive than the other California tribal casinos I have been to, and they have better paytables, and a variety of bet denominations to choose from. I found the casino to be very clean, bright, airy and lively, without being too crowded or overly smoky. Lots of casino attendants, and The parking was free, plentiful and close to the casino, unlike some other casinos (I'm looking at you, Yaamava). I like their food court, and the grounds in general are beautiful and relaxing. Can't make it to Vegas? Come here, and you will feel like you are in Vegas! JustShane

A USA Today listing of the best casinos in America listed Pechanga first and I decided I had to check it out. I'm a JoB player mostly and on occasion I'll play some DDB. I checked out Pechanga on VPFree2 and was pleased to see some good pay tables for JoB at a lot of different denominations. That's a big plus for me because I tend to move up and down through denominations and I love to be able to do it at the same machine. I headed over late on a Saturday evening, arriving around 11pm. As I entered the casino I noticed a lot of people leaving but once inside I could see the place was still packed. I would guess the ratio of slots to VP is probably about 12 to 1. As I walked through the casino I noticed row after row of machines with no vacancies. I also noticed how big this place is. It's so big they have 2 slot club desks and one never closes. Signing up for their slot club was a breeze and you get a sign up bonus based on a wheel spin which is done at any slot or VP machine. Your points are also multiplied for the first 24 hours of play. I walked around a bit looking for an open machine and just checking the place out. It took me a while but I finally found a row of VP machines that had a few empty seats. I sat down at an upright and began playing. The machine seemed newer than VP machines I've been playing on Vegas with a larger screen too. I prefer slant tops to uprights but these uprights had a small shelf extension that you could keep your hand on between deals and I found it very comfortable to play. After playing a while, the machine next to me was being used by a smoker. His smoke seemed to move sideways directly at me. With few empty seats available, I decided to move and go up to a larger denomination than my machine offered. I headed over to the High Limit area. I found a bar top machine with a $5 denomination and played there for a while. These machines were older with smaller screens and some with muted suit colors. I played there for a while and decided to call it a night. With a 2 hour drive home ahead of me, I didn't want to play too long and be too tired on the road. I did make a point of stopping by the no smoking area to see if there was some good VP there as well. Unfortunately all of the machines were being used so I couldn't check out the pay tables, but there are some VP machines there. While I didn't visit any of the restaurants, I did earn enough in play for a free buffet. I'll probably make use of that on my next visit. Overall I was very pleased with my first visit to Pechanga. The casino is huge but it doesn't overwhelm you (although I did have to ask for directions to the proper exit). Being 2 hours away (with no traffic) it still is a trek but I can definitely see it being my day trip casino destination in between my Vegas visits. patcamp22