Coming soon- HARD ROCK TEJON- Kern County, CA

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09-25-2025, 11:09 AM
desertrunner

Coming soon- HARD ROCK TEJON- Kern County, CA

Desertrunner Notes-

- This will have a negative impact on the Las Vegas gaming industry. They are now grabbing the the North LA County, Kern County and Ventura County regions.
- Very close to the I-5 highway and existing retail, stores and hotels.
- There are already too many Indian casinos in California, its getting over saturated now. Its like an over-grown tree choking itself out.
- Druff and Desertrunner live close to each other, so we will have to meet there and review in person
- Druff will absolutely cover this on PFA-Vampire Radio, when he finally gets around to it. (Nut still no more free rolls)
- Desertrunner will still be going to Las Vegas and Laughlin instead of this local property.
- Will Druff also get banned from this property??

https://casino.hardrock.com/tejon/

Coming in 2025: Hard Rock Casino Tejon

Phase One will feature 150,000 square feet of gaming space with over 2,000 of the most popular slots, 58 table games, and video poker. Hard Rock Tejon will be the second closest Class III casino to Los Angeles, just under an hour away. The first phase will also introduce multiple dining options, including a signature Hard Rock Cafe, as well as a Rock Shop® and more.

https://casino.hardrock.com/tejon/-/...A4B9CB2D4A6EEA

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...8g&oe=68DB42C3

Seriously, Druff should change the name to "Poker Fraud Alert-Vampire Radio" for real.
09-25-2025, 01:04 PM
Jayjami

Not going to effect Vegas much. I know this area well. My dad spent part of his youth in Metler, and my friends' families have been farming out there for 100 years. This casino is out in the middle of nowhere. It's not directly on 99 or I-5. It will attract freeway and Bakersfield degens, but not much else. Chumesh is closer for Ventura county residents, and North LA county residents have Morongo as an option. Maybe they'll get a few people from Santa Clarita. If they get a poker room, I'll do a TR.
09-25-2025, 11:04 PM
desertrunner

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayjami

Not going to effect Vegas much. I know this area well. My dad spent part of his youth in Metler, and my friends' families have been farming out there for 100 years. This casino is out in the middle of nowhere. It's not directly on 99 or I-5. It will attract freeway and Bakersfield degens, but not much else. Chumesh is closer for Ventura county residents, and North LA county residents have Morongo as an option. Maybe they'll get a few people from Santa Clarita. If they get a poker room, I'll do a TR.

I disagree as this will impact Vegas some. Why drive 4/5 hours away when you can just drive 1 hour and not have parking and resort fees? Out in the middle of no where, most of the CA indian casinos are and still successful. Chumesh is far into Santa Barbara County and will still get the west side Ventura County people, but the new Hard Rock will get the East Side Ventura County people- jump on the 126 to the 5, easy.

"North LA county residents have Morongo as an option"- No, thats way too far out on the 10, heck drive down to San Diego Rincon instead. I would always go to Vegas over Morongo any day.

I think they will cover most of Kern County, all or north LA county and parts of Ventura. If they get some good concerts in, then the place will really take off.
10-04-2025, 09:52 AM
desertrunner

UPDATE-

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...cA&oe=68E73884

The date is set, Hard Rock Casino - Tejon, has announced the grand opening. November 13th is the date.
The project has been years in the works.

In the release from Hard Rock they say "When the doors open, guests will experience a 150,000-square-foot gaming floor featuring more than 2,000 slot machines, more than 50 live table games including blackjack, Ultimate Texas Hold ’em and Three Card Poker, and exclusive VIP rooms for blackjack and baccarat. The property will also showcase an extensive collection of authentic music memorabilia, telling the stories of iconic artists and infusing the property with Hard Rock’s legendary energy."
10-04-2025, 07:37 PM
desertrunner

https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...VQ&oe=68E7BF19

California is about to get a massive new casino that rivals Vegas' best
10-04-2025, 10:58 PM
desertrunner

https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...iQ&oe=68E7C3C6

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/mas...qI1P-OX9GYdsfQ
10-10-2025, 12:36 AM
Dan Druff

Unfortunately I've been no-offered already by Hard Rock (not banned though), so there's not a lot of point for me to gamble there.

I agree with Jayjami that it will not take a lot of business away from Vegas. Most people driving to Vegas do not pass through this area, and even if they did, it wouldn't matter much. Yaamava is bigger, super busy, and more impactful, yet I don't think it's made a huge dent in Vegas.

It is 20 minutes north of Frazier Park on I-5, so it's not even terribly out of the way for me if I want to stop by there after visiting Mt. Pinos, which I sometimes do in the winter with Benjamin. But I'm not sure I'll ever go, because again, I'm no-offered, so that's kind of a killer for me.

Most of their business will come from Bakersfield, which is about 20 minutes away. Some will come from Santa Clarita, about an hour away. Some truck drivers may stop by, as it's close to both the 5 and 99. It will hurt them a little bit that they may not be too visible from the 5, despite being close.
10-10-2025, 08:26 AM
Jayjami

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Unfortunately I've been no-offered already by Hard Rock (not banned though), so there's not a lot of point for me to gamble there.

I agree with Jayjami that it will not take a lot of business away from Vegas. Most people driving to Vegas do not pass through this area, and even if they did, it wouldn't matter much. Yaamava is bigger, super busy, and more impactful, yet I don't think it's made a huge dent in Vegas.

It is 20 minutes north of Frazier Park on I-5, so it's not even terribly out of the way for me if I want to stop by there after visiting Mt. Pinos, which I sometimes do in the winter with Benjamin. But I'm not sure I'll ever go, because again, I'm no-offered, so that's kind of a killer for me.

Most of their business will come from Bakersfield, which is about 20 minutes away. Some will come from Santa Clarita, about an hour away. Some truck drivers may stop by, as it's close to both the 5 and 99. It will hurt them a little bit that they may not be too visible from the 5, despite being close.

It will hurt are the Indian casinos in Handford and Porterville. Lots of Bakersfield degens go to them.
10-14-2025, 12:38 AM
desertrunner

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Druff

I agree with Jayjami that it will not take a lot of business away from Vegas. Most people driving to Vegas do not pass through this area, and even if they did, it wouldn't matter much. Yaamava is bigger, super busy, and more impactful, yet I don't think it's made a huge dent in Vegas.

It is 20 minutes north of Frazier Park on I-5, so it's not even terribly out of the way for me if I want to stop by there after visiting Mt. Pinos, which I sometimes do in the winter with Benjamin. But I'm not sure I'll ever go, because again, I'm no-offered, so that's kind of a killer for me.

I somewhat disagree because I see the Indian casino threat as an overall "Southern California consolidation block" vs all Las Vegas. Its not various single properties, its the whole network. Like Mike said in Grinders- Its like like they're working together, but they are also not against each other as well.

Now the home I live in, we have two overgrown trees in the back yard and they seem to be choking themselves out and I pick out the dead brown branches. The solution is to trim back the overgrowth and let the other branches breath and have space to thrive. Now, BOTH the So Cal indian casinos AND Las Vegas are doing the same thing- chocking themselves out and killing off various branches, but in different ways. California doesnt need any more indian resort casinos and Las Vegas just needs to stop with the price gauging.

When will the indians stop building resort casinos in California...once the business dies down, the doors close and the water seeks its own level. In 10 years, I expect less indian resort casinos in California, it just cant self sustain itself at this pace. Add in- Las Vegas will finally wake up and self correct too with less fees, over-priced everything and price gauging.
11-14-2025, 02:19 PM
brutal_thinker

I am considering a drive up to the Bakersfield area to check this place out. I would probably head up there tomorrow (Saturday) morning. Some reports are saying that the place is packed and at capacity. That nobody is being let in for now. Has anyone heard the same?
11-14-2025, 06:50 PM
Dan Druff

Quote:

Originally Posted by brutal_thinker

I am considering a drive up to the Bakersfield area to check this place out. I would probably head up there tomorrow (Saturday) morning. Some reports are saying that the place is packed and at capacity. That nobody is being let in for now. Has anyone heard the same?

I wouldn't go this weekend. I'm curious about it, too, but there is a ton of excitement about this place in Bakersfield, and a lot of people there are going to make the drive south for it (which isn't very far).

Plus they will get Santa Clarita people driivng up for it, as well.

Waiting a week is probably the right play.

BTW, tomorrow has a lot of rain in the forecast, so it won't be a pleasant drive.
11-15-2025, 11:12 AM
desertrunner

Quote:

Originally Posted by brutal_thinker

I am considering a drive up to the Bakersfield area to check this place out. I would probably head up there tomorrow (Saturday) morning. Some reports are saying that the place is packed and at capacity. That nobody is being let in for now. Has anyone heard the same?

I would not go as the media is posting pics of the roads all grid locked coming into the casino. Add in the rain right now, I would def pass.
11-16-2025, 01:58 AM
Dan Druff

Well, the reviews are in, and they are NOT good. But I'll get to that in a bit.

First off, here is the press release about the Grand Opening: https://www.hardrock.com/blog/hard-r...-grand-opening

Apparently they did some weird "guitar smash" ceremony, where they then made a "$100,000 charitable donation" (probably to their own tribe), and opened the doors at noon:

https://www.hardrock.com/content/dam...g-1200x800.jpg

Country star Brett Young did a live performance there, as part of the festivities.

Now, what about the hotel? Well.... umm... that doesn't exist yet. It's just a casino now. So if you think you're going to earn comp rooms there, think again. It's probably better to wait until they have the hotel up and running, unless you live in the area.

The hotel, which will have 400 rooms (not exactly a huge property) will be completed in "Phase II", whenever that is.

Now onto the reviews...
11-16-2025, 02:11 AM
Dan Druff

The casino already got 116 reviews on Google, despite being just a day old. It's averaging 3.3 stars out of 5. Ouch!

Here is a selection of them:

Quote:

If you want a smoke free casino inside with a designated area for smokers only, then Tachi Palace in Leemore has always been the better choice but is further away. I wish this place was smoke free because nobody can't stand how they even allow smoking inside the casino area, which includes myself. They should remove smoking inside the casino and have a dssignated area for smokers. But please stay away from here if you want your health to be safer.

Quote:

well need more ventilation... too much smoke..

Quote:

I’ll start off with the Pros. The design is nice, the workers are trying, the location is good, workers are smiling and most people seem happy. The cons, long lines to food and cash out and casino cards as well as traffic. The floors are dirty. The waiters take a long time. It smells like smoke, badly. It’s not that big.

Quote:

Went on their grand opening day and it was horrible experience despite me walking out a small winner. First of all, the place smelled heavily of cigarettes which tells me they have poor ventilation. It was definitely overcrowded. They didn’t limit people coming here which concerns me. They should have a capacity in case of emergencies.

The gaming floor was already filthy being that it was their first day of opening ! There were alcohol bottles and cans all over the floor. I was surprised to see that there was ripped carpet in some areas as well. Didn’t they just open ?! It seems as if their only concern was to make $ and I get it, but they need to put safety over everything. We won’t be back. The size is the size of a Costco if not smaller.

Noticing a pattern?

Yes, apparently the place is small, poorly ventilated, and smells like cigarette smoke. Not good.

Also..

Quote:

As others have mentioned the dealers have no idea what they’re doing. The slot machines are weird variations of popular games like quick hit and hot stuff. Not a fan. Prefer the regular versions. Felt smaller than advertised. Will probably improve over time but unforgivable terrible opening weekend.

Quote:

If I could put a zero I would. Unfortunately only option is 1 star. Food courts sucks long line and don't accept cash and NO REFILLS on the drinks. The promotions don’t work either. Won’t be coming back here. I rather go somewhere else. Overall don’t waste your time and money coming here. HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT AND FAILURE 😡

Quote:

EPIC FAIL… Very disorganized. Worst part is the food court. No designated smoking area. Not coming back.

Quote:

Very disappointing. It was disorganized when it came to buying food. AND YHE MACHINES DID NOT PAY!! Everyone was saying they didn’t win. YAMAVAA FOR THE WIN. definitely won’t be coming back.

Quote:

For barely being open for 24 hours the place was dirty, ceilings aren't high enough so the non smokers have to inhale cigarettes, everyone was mad, the ATMs were down, some machines not working, people were trying to cash their winnings but the machine took their tickets and the machines had no money, some of the machines had electrical glitches. Hot mess!! I'll stick to going to tachi casino...

Quote:

No place to sit down and have breakfast like ihop or Dennys
Constant grind is slow food was hot but by the time we got it shot was cold

What a mess.

There were some good reviews interspersed in there, but not many.

So the consensus:

- Casino is too small

- Food options suck

- Somehow the place looks worn and dirty after 1 day

- Strong cigarette smell throughout the property

- "Machines didn't pay well", which might be bullshit, but it's possible they've set the machines to have a lower RTP (return to player)

Sounds like they fucked this up royally. They had enough land to make this place bigger, and they apparently fucked up the ventilation system because it's smoky.

Not sure about the food complaints, as this page indicates they have a cafe and steakhouse, so maybe that one review is wrong. But several people seem unhappy with the food court.

They've got a good location. People in Bakersfield can get there within 20 minutes. This is Kern County's version of Yaamava -- potentially. But not if they fuck it up.

Yaamava is absolutely crushing it because it has a great location (close to San Bernadino, also closest casino to LA), plus it's a nice place and well kept up. The hotel is beautiful and well maintained. The food court is decent quality. They basically do everything right, and it prints money.

Sounds like Hard Rock Tejon didn't pay much attention to getting things right, and they're going to suffer for it if they don't change course.
11-16-2025, 03:26 AM
Dan Druff

Here's an LA Times article which is much more positive on it.

But it may have been a paid piece.

https://www.latimes.com/travel/story...o-tejon-photos
11-16-2025, 02:23 PM
go_buccos

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Druff

The casino already got 116 reviews on Google, despite being just a day old. It's averaging 3.3 stars out of 5. Ouch!

Here is a selection of them:

Quote:

well need more ventilation... too much smoke..

Quote:

I’ll start off with the Pros. The design is nice, the workers are trying, the location is good, workers are smiling and most people seem happy. The cons, long lines to food and cash out and casino cards as well as traffic. The floors are dirty. The waiters take a long time. It smells like smoke, badly. It’s not that big.

Quote:

Went on their grand opening day and it was horrible experience despite me walking out a small winner. First of all, the place smelled heavily of cigarettes which tells me they have poor ventilation. It was definitely overcrowded. They didn’t limit people coming here which concerns me. They should have a capacity in case of emergencies.

The gaming floor was already filthy being that it was their first day of opening ! There were alcohol bottles and cans all over the floor. I was surprised to see that there was ripped carpet in some areas as well. Didn’t they just open ?! It seems as if their only concern was to make $ and I get it, but they need to put safety over everything. We won’t be back. The size is the size of a Costco if not smaller.

Noticing a pattern?

Yes, apparently the place is small, poorly ventilated, and smells like cigarette smoke. Not good.

Also..

Quote:

As others have mentioned the dealers have no idea what they’re doing. The slot machines are weird variations of popular games like quick hit and hot stuff. Not a fan. Prefer the regular versions. Felt smaller than advertised. Will probably improve over time but unforgivable terrible opening weekend.

Quote:

If I could put a zero I would. Unfortunately only option is 1 star. Food courts sucks long line and don't accept cash and NO REFILLS on the drinks. The promotions don’t work either. Won’t be coming back here. I rather go somewhere else. Overall don’t waste your time and money coming here. HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT AND FAILURE 😡

Quote:

EPIC FAIL… Very disorganized. Worst part is the food court. No designated smoking area. Not coming back.

Quote:

Very disappointing. It was disorganized when it came to buying food. AND YHE MACHINES DID NOT PAY!! Everyone was saying they didn’t win. YAMAVAA FOR THE WIN. definitely won’t be coming back.

Quote:

For barely being open for 24 hours the place was dirty, ceilings aren't high enough so the non smokers have to inhale cigarettes, everyone was mad, the ATMs were down, some machines not working, people were trying to cash their winnings but the machine took their tickets and the machines had no money, some of the machines had electrical glitches. Hot mess!! I'll stick to going to tachi casino...

Quote:

No place to sit down and have breakfast like ihop or Dennys
Constant grind is slow food was hot but by the time we got it shot was cold

What a mess.

There were some good reviews interspersed in there, but not many.

So the consensus:

- Casino is too small

- Food options suck

- Somehow the place looks worn and dirty after 1 day

- Strong cigarette smell throughout the property

- "Machines didn't pay well", which might be bullshit, but it's possible they've set the machines to have a lower RTP (return to player)

Sounds like they fucked this up royally. They had enough land to make this place bigger, and they apparently fucked up the ventilation system because it's smoky.

Not sure about the food complaints, as this page indicates they have a cafe and steakhouse, so maybe that one review is wrong. But several people seem unhappy with the food court.

They've got a good location. People in Bakersfield can get there within 20 minutes. This is Kern County's version of Yaamava -- potentially. But not if they fuck it up.

Yaamava is absolutely crushing it because it has a great location (close to San Bernadino, also closest casino to LA), plus it's a nice place and well kept up. The hotel is beautiful and well maintained. The food court is decent quality. They basically do everything right, and it prints money.

Sounds like Hard Rock Tejon didn't pay much attention to getting things right, and they're going to suffer for it if they don't change course.

How does a restaurant INSIDE A CASINO not take cash??? 😵