Rooftop dining, 2,000 new slots on smoke-free floor, fancy doughnuts: Here's what to expect at newly expanded Graton Resort and Casino

The 2,000 additional slot machines are all there, flashy but silent at the moment, on a sprawling new smoke-free gaming floor of Graton Resort and Casino.

Beyond them sit an array of new eateries, a new screen-heavy sports tavern - personal gaming tablets are built in to the bar - and an artisan doughnut shop. Yes, you read that last part right.

Upstairs, past the foyer and through the wine tunnel - with hundreds of backlit bottles from vintages that span the globe - sits the casino's new rooftop restaurant, AYA, where plush green upholstered seating out a 1960s style book awaits guests.

It all opens Monday, May 4, the second phase of Graton's $1 billion expansion, underway since 2023. It will culminate in a new hotel tower with about 200 rooms, to be completed in 2027, and a 3,800-seat entertainment venue in 2028.

With the expansion, the casino-resort owned by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, already the Bay Area's largest gambling destination, is poised to be an even weightier player in the California tribal gaming and entertainment market.

It's also aiming for sheer dominance in Sonoma County, where, at least for now, it is the younger of two tribal casinos while leading the fight against a proposed third, by another Pomo tribe, about 20 miles to the north outside of Windsor.

"There is nothing like it in Sonoma County and this part of Northern California," tribal Chairman Greg Sarris said of the Las Vegas-style gaming hub developed outside Rohnert Park. "You can simply park your car and have a whole weekend here. We think we're just going to build on the success that we currently have."

The expansion gives it nearly double the gaming floor space and will eventually double its hotel capacity, with about 420 rooms in all, making Graton the largest single lodging operator in the county.

It is also meant to brighten its appeal for those seeking greater glitter in their North Bay night life, with three new restaurants for now and later, the large event space. An adults-only pool is coming with the hotel expansion.

Sarris has steered the project from concept to buildout over the past two decades as his tribe secured land in federal trust and fought for its right to build a casino. He continues to relish his role as builder in chief.

"We're booked and busier than ever," he told The Press Democrat.

About 500 new employees have been added, including 160 culinary and food and beverage professionals, burnishing Graton's status as one of the largest employers in Sonoma County.

The buildout comes at a lucrative time for California's tribal gaming industry, where annual gross revenue stands at about $8.5 billion, with about 63,000 jobs, according to American Gaming Association.

Graton's share of that revenue isn't clear as the tribe hasn't publicly reported its numbers for a decade or more. But Sarris has long touted the casino-resort's growing role in the county's tourism economy and as a regional employer, with most jobs unionized.

Rohnert Park has received at least $117 million from the tribe through 2025 to offset impacts from the gaming resort, including to roads, public safety and other services. The tribe has also made tens of millions of dollars in payments to the county, and has been a big benefactor for its park network.

It has also poured millions of dollars into political spending on the national stage, emerging as the largest donor to federal candidates and political committees among Native American tribes in the 2024 election cycle.

In Rohnert Park, the casino's outsize influence is such that it was featured in the General Plan update as one of the main "drivers for the city's tourism, retail, and other visitor-serving uses," alongside Sonoma State University, the Green Music Center and, broadly, Wine Country businesses.

Eateries anchor smokefree gaming wing

The main event Monday will be opening of second-floor restaurant AYA, helmed by Michelin-starred chef Roy Ellamar and his wife, culinary operations vice president Jennifer Murphy-Ellamar.

It's another move by the tribe into a very competitive dining space, with six restaurants now in total at the casino vying for attention across the wider Wine Country menu.

The $40 million AYA restaurant will feature Coastal California cuisine with Asian influences. Its launch menu includes crudos, local oysters and wild-caught seafood prepared over a wood-fueled grill.

Graton is expanding its nearby tribal farm on 40 acres to grow produce that will be used at AYA. Boutique meat production, including organic lamb, pork and premium beef, is also envisioned, Sarris said.

The Ellamars are known for their restaurant roles in the acclaimed L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas and Harvest by Roy Ellamar at the Bellagio.

Sarris said he "stole" the Ellamars to give the resort new star power. "I guess I've done a lot of stealing out there," he said, "but I always say, if you want the best you have to go out and look for it, and get it."

On April 27, during a press tour, Ellamar showed off the restaurant space as staff prepared for a practice run. Just outside the entrance, the wine tunnel featured selections from the tribe's $1 million wine library for AYA.

It is not set up to be a stuffy fine-dining experience. A DJ booth will bump music for events, while a landscaped path winds through an indoor "Zen garden" with succulents under low lighting. Guests can hang there while waiting to be seated in a space that can accommodate more than 200.

Wait staff practiced setting tables on the outdoor covered terrace, with a view east to the rolling, green flanks of Sonoma Mountain.

Sarris said he had a big hand in the restaurant's design. "I've been a pain in the neck with people to get what I want," he said.

The restaurant, with a state-of-the-art kitchen, will be powered by more than 70 staff, from seasoned veterans to kitchen novices. It will begin will begin with service Wednesday through Sunday and eventually move to seven days a week.

Ellamar, who is of Filipino heritage and is from Hawaii, said it was a dream of his to work as a chef in Sonoma County. "It was always in the back of my head since I visited years ago," he said. He looks forward to sharing his style of cooking with the county.

"I hope people feel transported, especially at night, when the room is stunning," he said.

Downstairs sits the Playbook Sports Bar, with so many screens. It has large televisions lining the walls, a "dramatic halo screen" shaped in an oval above the bar and smaller tablet-sized screens for bar patrons. Its menu features Detroit-style pizza, birria nachos, cheeseburger egg rolls and smoked pork belly burnt ends.

And don't forget the house-made doughnuts. The neon pink sign is hard to miss.

SoCo Dough Co., styled like a modern diner, will serve house-made doughnuts and savory breakfast items, alongside gelato and flavored iced lattes and milks. Staff were taste-testing doughnut holes on their April 27 dry run.

Next door, a Japanese bodega-style boutique, Neon Kitty, will open later this summer. It will offer snacks and grab-and-go options.

Betting on the future

When Graton Resort and Casino opened in 2013 it was billed as a new kind of Bay Area gambling destination.

"What you see is what $825 million buys you," Sarris said at the time, standing by the six-lane, glass-enclosed valet entrance. His voice competed with the sound of construction crews hurrying to finish the job.

Fast forward nine years, to 2022, when the $1 billion expansion was floated as one of the largest commercial building projects in Sonoma County in years - and a clear move by Graton Rancheria to solidify its place as a powerhouse in California's tribal gaming industry.

Jeremy Weinstein, the casino-resort's chief marketing officer, said he's worked at several other Las Vegas-style casinos which underwent the same growth, where amenities are added over time to attract different kinds of guests.

"The economics are, you open and you expand as the market dictates," he said. "It's also securing the future of the tribe."

Weinstein said Graton's surveys indicate 90% of all guests live within a two-hour drive from the resort, with many people from the broader Bay Area visiting on weekends.

The ongoing construction isn't hard to miss. Crews were at work last week on the new hotel tower on the south end of the complex. That's where the adults-only pool is slated for completion in early 2027.

The final stage will be the large entertainment venue - nearly double the size of the casino's current event space and more than twice as large as the Green Music Center and Luther Burbank Center - which will allow the resort to host a wider range of events and bigger star acts.

Tribal casinos like Graton don't pay taxes. But boosters say their economic value is evident in other forms.

Cathy Slack, Rohnert Park Chamber of Commerce CEO, called the expansion "a significant regional investment."

"We've already seen the positive impact the resort has had in helping put Rohnert Park on the map, alongside destinations like the Green Music Center," she said. "Rohnert Park is experiencing strong economic momentum, supported by ongoing investment and long-term planning efforts, including the anticipated development of a downtown district."

Sarris touted the economic infusion that comes with the 3,000 casino jobs, nearly all on the Kaiser Permanente Gold plan, the provider's "Cadillac" option, he noted. "The vision from day one has been that this business would benefit Indian and non-Indian alike," he said.

Kevin King, Rohnert Park's senior analyst of economic development, said any growth at Graton brings interest in the city's commercial properties.

Developers of the city's newest hotels, added in the past decade, cited the casino as a major driver of construction, he said. Those hotels have added to Rohnert Park's tax base, and the casino's hotel guests do shop locally, he said.

"A successful business venture often creates success and opportunities for others near it," King said. "I'm hoping for that here."

Staff Writer Natalie Hanson reports on business and agriculture for The Press Democrat. She can be reached at natalie.hanson@pressdemocrat.com or at 619-665-5887.

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This story was originally published May 2, 2026 at 9:49 AM.