Thousands of people clogged Highway 101 and side streets to experience the debut of the $825 million Las Vegas-style gambling hub, built in a former cow pasture in a collaboration between a Nevada casino giant and a once-destitute Native American tribe.Ĭritics warned the 320,000-square-foot facility would lead to sharp increases in traffic, crime and personal bankruptcies while damaging the region’s environment and depleting its groundwater supply. Five years ago, the largest casino in the Bay Area threw open its doors on the western outskirts of Rohnert Park amid much fear - and hope - about the ways it would change Sonoma County.
