The opening of a new 2,500-seat venue in the Inland Empire caught many by surprise earlier this year, but the signs of things to come had been in plain sight for months. Since January, those driving along the Southland’s busy interstates, freeways and thoroughfares have all cruised past a bombardment of billboards promoting shows by Missy Elliott, Janet Jackson, Dave Matthews Band, The Killers and Ed Sheeran.
These acts could easily sell out celebrated Los Angeles venues like The Hollywood Bowl or the Dolby Theater, but instead have elected to play a small theater 65 miles east in Highland, Calif., on land owned by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, one of California’s wealthiest tribal groups.
The billboard advertising campaign is part of an ambitious national marketing plan to promote the 20-year-old casino following a $750 million upgrade, a name change to Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in Highland (it was formerly called San Manuel Casino) and a first of its kind exclusive booking agreement with Live Nation Southern California aiming to bring 100 shows per year to state-of-the-art venue.
The campaign is designed to be “something that gains much greater national recognition” says Drew Dixon, Yaamava’s vp of entertainment, “something that’s not just a play for these artists, but a tour destination where they want us to be part of something larger that they’re creating.”
Yaamava’ is already well on its way, as the largest of a half-dozen Southern California tribal casinos that are serving as the gateway for artists to access new audiences and lucrative guarantees in California’s fast-growing regions like Sacramento, East San Diego and Palm Springs/Coachella Valley. The location of Yaamava’ and other Southern California tribal casinos makes them convenient tour stops when routing acts to or from Los Angeles, with these facilities just far enough outside the city that they don’t run into too much red tape around L.A. radius clauses.
Tribal gaming in California is a $10 billion business, formally legalized by voters in 2000 after years of operating under a patchwork of local ordinances and supportive rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court. Proposition 1A legalized the operation of slot machines and card games like blackjack, poker and pai gow on tribal land, often in areas outside of San Francisco and Los Angeles that went on to explode in growth throughout the decades that followed. Southern and Northern California, according to a source familiar, are now the most competitive regions for tribal gaming in the U.S. alongside the Atlantic City/Philadelphia area.
As a result, California’s tribal groups are now among some of the richest in the country, with some properties generating hundreds of millions of dollars per year in revenue. While tribal groups are not required to disclose income, a 2004 agreement between then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar and the United Auburn Indian Community estimated the tribe’s Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, the third largest tribal gaming property in the state — about 30 minutes outside Sacramento — generated $350 million a year in revenue from its 3,000 slot machines. It’s a safe bet Yaamava’ is making even more as California’s largest tribal gaming casino with 6,500 slots. And its ownership group, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, is expanding outside the state: In April 2022, the tribal group purchased the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for $650 million.
With access to millions in capital and a year-round need to draw customers, it’s no surprise that tribal gaming executives believe music and live entertainment can help drive more traffic to tribal casinos. But money alone isn’t enough, explains Seth Shoames, a former UTA agent who now runs his own company Day After Day Productions, which represents Ludacris (who opened for Jackson at her Yaamava’ performance), Staind frontman Aaron Lewis, Brian Wilson and Wayne Newton, and also owns Billy Brill’s Billy Alan Productions with Danny Wimmer Presents in a deal funded by Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies and now books talent on behalf of the company’s casino clients.
“It’s all about how artist and casino can align,” says Shoames, noting that artists can benefit from being exposed to “millions of people in the casino’s database” that the artist might otherwise not have access to through email blasts and social media.
Booking big talent comes at a cost — and often casinos are willing to overpay for talent for strategic purposes, says Shoames. On May 13, for example, Missy Elliot performed at Yaamava’ Theater a week after playing Live Nation’s Friends and Lovers festival in Las Vegas — her only two shows of the year. For Missy Elliot, the Yaamava’ show was a chance to create a more intimate follow up experience; for the casino, the show was a chance to make a statement about Yaamava’ being the host site for unique experience in an intimate setting and worth paying a premium for. A source close to the matter estimates that Janet Jackson was paid $2 million for her June 14 Yaamava’ show and that Andrea Bocelli’s May 18 performance earned the singer between $2-3 million — fees that would exceed ticket sales for the venue.
Concert tickets at Yaamava’ do run higher than average, with tickets for Lionel Richie’s Sept. 16 show at Yaamava’ starting at $250 and going up to $1,050 plus fees. Meanwhile, tickets for Richie’s Sept. 15 show at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles top out at about $250. (A representative for Yaamava’ declined to comment on artist fees or ticket pricing.)
Besides underplays with major acts that boost a casino’s visibility, tribal leaders typically expect concerts to pay for themselves. “Twenty or 30 years ago, [shows at] casinos were a loss leader, but that’s no longer the case,” says Brill, who serves as a talent buyer at Thunder Mountain Casino and the Agua Caliente Casinos’ three locations in Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs and Cathedral City. “In Agua [Caliente’s] case, we want to make money on each show.”
Yaamava’s efforts are designed to attract younger crowds, developing a new generation of gamers while also serving as a convenient alternative to Las Vegas. Yaamava Theater was built with this younger demographic in mind, with its massive 3,800 square foot stage aiming to attract bigger and larger shows like its inaugural April 14 concert by Red Hot Chili Peppers, who performed a private show for Tribal members, journalists and other invited guests. The Black Crowes performed Yaamava Theater’s first public concert in late May.
The property’s partnership with Live Nation helps facilitate the booking of some of its larger acts, which over the next few months include Ed Sheeran, Lionel Richie, The Killers, Kali Uchis and a co-headlining set from Nas and Wu-Tang Clan. Dixon, a former market general manager for Live Nation, also spent 12 years running nightclubs and restaurants in Las Vegas and directs a staff with both casino and music industry backgrounds.
“Yamaava’ is making a substantial effort to rebrand themselves,” says UTA music agent Darius Sabet, who specializes in national casino booking for the agency. “That was obviously a strategic decision that they made, and I believe it’s starting to pay off for them in big ways.”
Monica Reeves who books shows for the three Agua Caliente locations says Yaamava’s upgrades have brought “stronger competitiveness” to the market, with new competition also coming from Acrisure Arena, a 10,000-capacity venue that opened in the Coachella Valley this past December and whose upcoming concerts include ODESZA, Sting, KISS and Madonna.
While all this competition is “great” for artists, says Sabet, the casinos are also competing for the crowds to come see them. Friday and Saturday concerts are most attractive for these properties, given that the fans who come for such events are more likely to stay the entire weekend, not only spending money at the concert, but on rooms, slots, blackjack, food, drinks, spa treatments, steak dinners and other add-ons. That’s a shift from past strategies when many of these casinos did the bulk of their business Monday through Thursday, at which point many locals would decamp to Vegas for the weekend.
Back in this era, performances at the former San Manuel would happen in a bingo hall that was converted into a concert space for shows. With this showroom shut down for years amid the remodel, Yaamava’ “wanted to come back to the market like a boss, and they are,” says Michael Scafuto, CEO of M&M Group, that bought entertainment for San Manuel before the remodel.
“The local casino market is getting to be a brute battle as most of the So Cal Properties are all fighting for the same guests and players,” Scafuto adds. “[Yaamava’] needs to ensure they appeal to SoCal guests and players, so they are dominating the market with a huge brand campaign that involves major stars.”
